Of all the punk bands to follow in the wake of The Sex Pistols, none were more suited to myth-making than L.A.'s The Germs. Fronted by Darby Crash, a Nietzsche-quoting David Bowie acolyte, The Germs left a legend that far surpassed their actual output. With only a few singles and one full-length to their credit, the bulk of The Germs’ posterity comes from Crash's riveting performance as captured by Penelope Spheeris in her documentary, The Decline of Western Civilization, a source that writer-director Rodger Grossman acknowledges as his inspiration.

Crash's reputation as a cult front man had been well documented in oral histories, and Grossman's film hints that The Germs was Crash's attempt to create a family unit more stable than his own highly dysfunctional one. However, What We Do Is Secret is more an attempt to add form to the energy, excitement and mystique that The Germs generated in their brief onstage moments. Grossman punctuates the re-creations of the few Germs performances with biographical sketches. Thus, when we first meet Crash (ER's Shane West) and the soon-to-be christened Pat Smear (Rick Gonzalez of Reaper) in 1975, Crash is outlining his five-year plan to become famous, and, tellingly, the first three steps were to form a band, book a show and learn to play — in that order. The band's sheer inexperience meant that early shows were highly confrontational; Darby would fight with audience members, break equipment and even cut himself.

Grossman shows that these early concerts would haunt Crash and set up a vicious circle wherein The Germs achieved a level of infamy unrivalled in the nascent punk scene. Banned from almost every available venue because of their reputation for causing damage, the few occasions they did play only heightened the expectations for self-destruction and violence. Even Spheeris had to book a special location just so that she could film The Germs for her own documentary. As 1980 and his five-year plan wound to a close, Crash found himself trapped, more known for his nihilistic antics and less for his music.

More memory than biography, What We Do Is Secret is a fitting souvenir for those who were there, though some might look for a more fitting introduction.