An incomplete history of Chicago punk rock (vol. 17)

Posted on 6 March 2007 | 3 Comments

Filed Under: Chicago Punk, Punk, Ska

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Does anyone remember Dill Records? That was the name of Mike Park’s label (and a reference to his band Skankin’ Pickle) before he changed the name to Asian Man Records. It seems like such a long time ago. I also bring this up because one of my favorite albums of all time was originally released on Dill Records. It is Slapstick’s punk-ska masterpiece Lookit!.

Slapstick was an energetic and snotty punk-ska band from Elgin/Chicago, IL that played from about 1993-1996. I think the first time I saw Slapstick was when they opened for Less Than Jake at the Fireside. From that day until their official last show at Metro, I probably saw the band live a dozen times or so and was never disappointed. Maybe it was because I was 16 or 17 years old and nostalgia has colored my memory, but those were some of the best shows I’ve ever seen. In November of 1997 I even got to see the band play two reunion/benefit shows at the Fireside Bowl. Those were amazing times.

Since their breakup in 1996, the former members have gone on to play in bands like The Honor System, The Broadways, Tuesday, Less Than Jake, Colossal, Duvall, Smoking Popes, Whale|Horse, Lawrence Arms, Alkaline Trio, and The Falcon. Pretty impressive, huh? I could say that Slapstick was the best band ever, but they weren’t. Yeah it was an absolutely perfect marriage of crunchy rock guitars, rocksteady bass, punk rock backbeat, and bright melodic horns, but they were sloppy, rebellious, teenage punks.

Despite having two 7” records, a few compilation appearances, and Lookit!, the only remaining music of theirs still in print is their green Discography CD. Luckily for us, it contains a majority of their recorded material. I have two copies of the Lookit! CD and the Discography. You should really go to Asian Man Records and buy this today.

Comments

1 anthony - 638 days ago I got into slapstick by backtracking from Alkaline Trio. They make me very happy. So does hearing these songs, my cd is in storage, sad face.

2 Charles - 638 days ago I fell in love with Slapstick when I borrowed a copy of the Misfits of Ska CD and heard "Nate B." It took me a year of searching to find anything by them but I finally picked up the Discography CD in Berkeley.

Has it really been over a decade?

Anyways, absolutely fantastic stuff.

3 Andy - 637 days ago I am suddenly reminded of a young skippy consuming drugs and listening to "the park" again and again for hours. good times. PS, did you hear allister broke up? And that Tim is having a kid? whoa.