Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band consisting of Ben Weasel (vocals), Mike Kennerty (guitar), Mike Hunchback (guitar), Zach "Poutine" Brandner (bass) and Pierre Marche (drums). Screeching Weasel is originally from the Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights, Illinois.[1] The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead. Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have reformed several times with lineup changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant member, though Jughead was present in every incarnation of the band until 2009. Other prominent members include guitarist/bassist Dan Vapid and drummer Dan Panic, who have each appeared on six of the band's studio albums, and Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt who appeared on one.[2]
Screeching Weasel
Punk rock, pop punk, skate punk, hardcore punk (early)
- 1986–1989
- 1991–1994
- 1996–2001
- 2004
- 2009–present
Monona, Underdog, Roadkill, Lookout!, Selfless, Fat Wreck Chords, Panic Button, Asian Man, Recess
Ben Weasel
Mike Kennerty
Mike Hunchback
Pierre Marche
Zach "Poutine" Brandner
John Jughead
Vinnie Bovine
Steve Cheese
Warren Fish
Aaron Cometbus
Brian Vermin
Douglas Ward
Dave Naked
Scott "Gub" Conway
Dan Panic
Johhny Personality
Mike Dirnt
Mass Giorgini
Dan Lumley
Phillip Hill
Simon Lamb
Dan Vapid
Drew Fredrichsen
Justin Perkins
Adam Cargin
Dave Klein
Zac Damon
Trevor Jackson
Screeching Weasel has recorded 14 studio albums so far, splitting time between a number of famous independent record labels such as Lookout! Records and Fat Wreck Chords. Despite never achieving mainstream success, a number of largely popular acts cite them as influential.
History[edit]
Early years (1986–1989)[edit]
The band originally called themselves All Night Garage Sale but changed their name to Screeching Weasel, a variation of a name a friend had suggested, Screaming Otter, which was a reference to a T-shirt that read, "I'VE GOT A SCREAMING OTTER IN MY PANTS!".[3] Shortly after their formation, Weasel decided that it was too difficult to play bass and sing at the same time, so Vince Vogel, who took the stage name "Vinnie Bovine" joined as the band's bassist. The band recorded their debut album, Screeching Weasel, in one night for $200 and released it on Chicago label Underdog Records in 1987.
In 1988, Bovine was fired from the band and was replaced with Warren Fischer, better known as Fish, and former member of the band Ozzfish. The band recorded their second studio album, Boogadaboogadaboogada!, which featured Weasel playing second guitar (he would later state that he only played on about a quarter of the songs) and made a name for themselves by opening a show for Operation Ivy at 924 Gilman Street. Steve Cheese was fired from the band shortly after the recording due to his unwillingness to tour outside of Chicago. He was replaced by Aaron Cometbus for two shows[4] who then was replaced by Brian Vermin. Boogadaboogadaboogada! was released in late 1988 on Roadkill Records, a label formed by David Best.
After what Weasel described as a "disastrous" tour,[5] Fish left the group and was replaced by Dan Schafer, originally nicknamed "Sewercap" and later renamed Danny Vapid. The new band members recorded an extended play entitled Punkhouse for Limited Potential Records soon after that. The band ended up recording four more songs in 1989 that were featured on compilations, featuring a second guitarist Doug Ward, who also joined the band for several live performances. Screeching Weasel disbanded when Vermin and Vapid stated that they wanted to leave the band to concentrate on their side project, Sludgeworth.
First reformation (1991–1994)[edit]
After the break-up, Weasel and Jughead formed a new band called The Gore Gore Girls, and Ben briefly performed in the original incarnation of The Vindictives. On December 29, 1990, the members of Screeching Weasel reunited for what was intended as a one-off gig to pay off debts the band incurred from the recordings of Boogadaboogadaboogada! and Punkhouse ep. The lineup consisted of Ben, Jughead, Vapid, Vermin, and Ward. After the show, Vapid discussed the idea of reforming Screeching Weasel with Jughead. All of the band's members agreed to reform, with the exceptions of Brian Vermin and Douglas Ward. To replace Vermin, drummer Dan Panic (Dan Sullivan) was brought in. Before recording their third studio album, My Brain Hurts (1991) for Lookout! Records, Weasel decided that he wanted to focus on singing and would no longer be playing guitar in the band. Vapid switched instruments from bass to guitar, and former Gore Gore Girls bassist Dave Naked joined the band. The recording sessions for the album also produced the extended play Pervo Devo.
After recording My Brain Hurts, Dave Naked was fired from the band and Scott "Gub" Conway, Panic's former bandmate, was brought in as the band's bassist to tour. After the tour, Johnny Personality of The Vindictives became the band's bassist, as Gub was committed to another band. By late 1992, the band had recorded the follow-up to My Brain Hurts, Wiggle, which also marked their first collaboration with producer Mass Giorgini, who also became the bassist of the band from 1998 to 2004. Personality then left the band to focus on The Vindictives. Instead of adding a new member, Weasel moved back to guitar, and Vapid moved back to bass. The band was then asked to record a cover of an entire Ramones album, Ramones (1992), followed later that year by Anthem for a New Tomorrow. Shortly after the record's release, Weasel decided that he no longer wanted to perform live, and Vapid left after falling out with Ben. After the release of How to Make Enemies and Irritate People (1994), the band broke up for the second time.
Second reformation (1996–2001)[edit]
Following the second breakup, Weasel, Vapid, and Panic formed the band the Riverdales and experienced some notoriety touring with Green Day.[6] By 1996, they rejoined with Jughead and recorded a new Screeching Weasel album Bark Like a Dog for Fat Mike's Fat Wreck Chords label. The album peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, making it their highest-charting album.[7] However, both Vapid and Panic left by mutual decision after the recording, and Weasel and Jughead decided to go on without them, adding bassist Mass Giorgini and drummer Dan Lumley, both from Squirtgun. Weasel also decided for the second time that he no longer wanted to play guitar, so guitarist Zac Damon was added.
In 1998, the group's new lineup recorded the Major Label Debut EP; the first release on Panic Button Records, a label Ben and John had formed that year and quickly followed it with Television City Dream. Their next release, 1999's Emo, featured the same lineup minus Zac Damon, who was unable to record due to school commitments at the time. In 2000 the band brought in Phillip Hill as a second guitarist and recorded what was intended to be their final album, Teen Punks in Heat. After the album, Screeching Weasel made their first live appearances since 1993, playing 30 minute matinees at Chicago's House of Blues. The band broke up for the third—and allegedly final—time on July 6, 2001, due to Jughead's frustration of a lack of touring.[8]
Hiatus and brief third reformation (2001–2008)[edit]
After the third breakup, Jughead started a new band called Even in Blackouts, while Weasel released a solo album titled Fidatevi,[9] and new Riverdales album, Phase Three.
Both Weasel and Jughead authored books seemingly related to Screeching Weasel. In 2001, Ben Weasel published Like Hell, the account of a fictional punk band called Pagan Icons and the life of their frontman, Joe Pagan. Jughead released Weasels in a Box, his admittedly fictionalized account of Screeching Weasel's history. Both books were published by Hope And Nonthings, a publishing house run by Jughead. Jughead also continued his membership with the Neo-Futurists, a theater group he has written and performed with since 1997, appearing in a show called Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind.
In 2004, Ben reclaimed all of the Screeching Weasel masters from Lookout! Records in the wake of long-running financial and personal conflicts. The masters were subsequently licensed to and reissued by Asian Man Records.[10] That same year a lineup consisting of Ben Weasel, Jughead, and multi-year Screeching Weasel veterans Dan Vapid, Mass Giorgini, and Dan Lumley came together to play surprise sets at the Chicago club The Fireside Bowl.[11] According to Ben Weasel, there was an intention to tour that year, but "the offers just weren't there".[12]
Ben released a second solo album, These Ones Are Bitter, in 2007, and gave his first solo live performance at that year's Insubordination Fest in Baltimore. During his set, backed up by The Guts, he was joined on stage by Dan Vapid for several Screeching Weasel and Riverdales songs.[13] Ben Weasel and Dan Vapid also played two shows in August 2008 at Reggie's Rock Club in Chicago, playing the entirety of My Brain Hurts as well as other songs by Screeching Weasel, The Riverdales, and from Ben Weasel's solo albums.[14]
Fourth reformation (2009–2011)[edit]
2009–2011
In March 2009, Ben Weasel announced on his blog that he had reformed Screeching Weasel. For the first time, the band featured a lineup without John Jughead, although longtime member Dan Vapid had rejoined. Ben wrote:
Musical style and legacy[edit]
In addition to the Ramones, Ben Weasel credits bands such as Black Flag, D.O.A., The Dickies and Zero Boys for laying the groundwork for Screeching Weasel.[32] Much like the Ramones, Screeching Weasel's common lyrical themes include girls and mental health problems (Weasel suffered from anxiety).[3] While Weasel has been the sole writer of the majority of the band's catalogue, a number of songs credit Vapid, Jughead, or The Queers' frontman Joe King as co-writers.
Many subsequent punk and pop punk bands who have experienced mainstream success cite Screeching Weasel as an influence. Blink-182 covered the band's song "The Girl Next Door" on their album Buddha, with Blink-182 guitarist Tom Delonge citing them as one of the biggest influences on his songwriting.[3] Other influenced bands include Green Day (whose bassist Mike Dirnt previously played in Screeching Weasel), The All-American Rejects (whose guitarist Mike Kennerty produced First World Manifesto, Carnival of Schadenfreude, Baby Fat -Act I and Some Freaks of Atavism), New Found Glory,[33] Eve 6,[34] Bowling for Soup,[35] MxPx,[36] fellow Chicago bands Rise Against, Fall Out Boy, Allister,[37] and Alkaline Trio, and popular ska punk band Less Than Jake.[12][38][39]
Additionally, a number of independent punk bands such as The Apers, Bigwig, The Leftovers, The Manges, and The Unlovables cite Screeching Weasel as influential.[40][41][42][43] Screeching Weasel has been categorized as skate punk,[44] pop punk[45][46][47][48][49][50] and punk rock.[51][52]