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The Ergs!

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The Ergs!

The Ergs! were an American punk rock band formed in 2000 in South Amboy, New Jersey, by 3 high school friends: drummer/lead vocalist Mikey Erg (Mike Yannich), guitarist/vocalist Jeff Erg (Jeff Schroeck), and bassist Joey Erg (Joe Keller). Through touring and recording, the Ergs! became recognized on a national and international level, touring and playing with such noted acts as The Bouncing Souls, Lifetime, Less Than Jake, The Loved Ones, The Gaslight Anthem, Dillinger Four, None More Black, The Explosion, Municipal Waste, Lemuria, Hunchback, and many more. They have appeared at a number of festivals including Riot Fest, Insubordination Fest, and The Fest, the latter of which the band played 4 consecutive years, including as a headlining act in 2008. The Ergs! played their farewell show on November 15, 2008.

History

Early history

The Ergs! formed in 2000 by Old Bridge High School students whose previous band the Flatliners (unrelated to other bands with this moniker) had broken up. The band members shared a common passion for all forms of music and culture and had no desire to be pigeonholed. In a 2007 interview with Steve Bove of the Asbury Park Press, Joey Erg cited John Coltrane's seminal jazz record Giant Steps with instilling in the band aspirations "to maybe making music that was more than just punk."[1] Even early songs novelty songs poked fun at generic songwriting, such as "Xerox Your Genitals, Not the Ramones," which encourage punk bands to strive for their own sound because there would only ever be one Ramones.

The band quickly recorded a pair of CD-Rs, f'n and Digital Endpoints, selling them at live shows throughout New Jersey. The band went on its first tour outside New Jersey as the support of Dirt Bike Annie, a noted pop-punk band for whom Mikey Erg also played drums for.

New York's Whoa Oh Records took an early interest in the band and issued their first 7", entitled 3 Guys, 12 Eyes, which was soon followed by a self-released CD-EP, "The Ben Kweller EP," whose artwork (and lyrics) lampooned that of indie darling Kweller. The Ergs set out on a brief tour in the spring/early summer of 2003 in support of The Ben Kweller EP with their friends and Whoa-Oh! labelmates, Charlie Brown Gets A Valentine (touring to promote their album "Dismissed"), called the "Who Grabbed My Ass? Tour". It began at the now closed Uncle Joe's in Jersey City, NJ, looped out west as far as Columbia, MO and ended with a show in an apartment in Philadelphia that featured Dirt Bike Annie. Several of the pictures that make up the collage in the cd-tray of the much later release "Hindsight Is 20/20 My Friend" were taken on this tour.

Dorkrockcorkrod

After a few tours around the United States, the band entered Technical Ecstasy Studios with Chris Pierce to record their first full length. Dorkrockcorkrod was originally released on CD by Whoa-Oh! Records in 2003(and on vinyl in 2005 by Don Giovanni Records). While playing more and more shows at home to increasingly large and rabid audiences, the band began to draw attention on a national level, including that of hip-hop artist and Adult Swim contributor mc chris. This led to the band writing an original song, "All Kids Out Of the Pool" to be used in an Adult Swim promo spot. In the summer of 2005, mc chris chose The Ergs! and North Carolina's SNMNMNM as the openers for his 2 and a half month Revenge of the Nerd Tour.

With fans now awaiting the follow up to dorkrockcorkrod, the band returned to Technical Ecstasy with Chris Pierce and emerged with the 7-song EP Jersey's Best Prancers. An initial pressing of only 100 records reached the band while they were on the road and were sold out by the time they returned home. The title and artwork parodied that of Lifetime.

Upstairs/Downstairs

On the strength of dorkrockcorkrod, Jersey's Best Prancers, and a various 7" singles, the Ergs! took their New Brunswick cohorts, Hunchback, on their Discover America Tour in the summer of 2006.

At the midpoint of the tour in Seattle, WA, the band, with Hunchback in tow, entered the studio of Conrad Uno, a seasoned record producer whose past credits include the Grammy-nominated debut of The Presidents of the United States of America, as well as Mudhoney and The Young Fresh Fellows.

Taking its title from an infamous nervous breakdown suffered by Can vocalist Malcolm Mooney, the resulting LP Upstairs/Downstairs was released by Portland, Oregon's Dirtnap Records. Styles which had previously been alluded to were introduced full-bore on the record.

The albums closing title track, was an almost 20 minute expression of romantic remorse and mental instability that erupts into an abrasive noise collage.

Reception of the record among fans of the band's earliest pop punk work was at first confused,[2] but the record found an audience quickly. Janelle Jones of Alternative Press reviewed the record, hailing it as "the punk album to beat this year."[3] As the band embarked on another full-US tour, this time with Buffalo indie rock trio Lemuria.

During this tour, the band was contacted by New Brunswick punk rock veterans The Bouncing Souls who wanted the Ergs! to be a part of a tour with the Souls and Lifetime celebrating the generations of punk rock in New Brunswick and New Jersey at large.[4]

More recording followed, with the band releasing numerous 7" vinyl EPs and singles, as well as more touring, both on their own and supporting larger acts such as Philadelphia's The Loved Ones and fellow NJ residents The Gaslight Anthem.[5]

Hindsight Is 20/20

Following the success of Upstairs/Downstairs, Dirtnap Records offered to issue a compilation record of the Ergs' now sizable catalog of singles, b-sides, and compilation appearances. The CD, entitled Hindsight Is 20/20 My Friend (after a line spoken by Chevy Chase in 1998 Norm Macdonald vehicle Dirty Work) was released in the summer of 2008, just as the Ergs! and Hunchback took to the road again for the Jackalry Across America Tour.[6] Despite the tour's success, by its end Hunchback had chosen to break up, and the Ergs! would follow suit in a matter of weeks, announcing that they would complete their remaining tour plans and play a final show in November at the Asbury Lanes.[7][8][9]

In October of 2008, the Ergs began their final bout of touring with dates supporting Less Than Jake alongside Landmines and Bomb the Music Industry!, followed by a Canadian and American tour which included 2 shows at Chicago's Riot Fest. This tour closed with a spot supporting Dillinger Four at the Brooklyn, NY record release show for D4's long-awaited 4th LP, Civil War.[10]

The Ergs! bid farewell to their largest collection of fans from around the US and the globe at No Idea Records' The Fest 7 in Gainesville, Florida, where they were the only band on the headlining stage at the Fest to play two consecutive sets. During the first set, the band played songs from throughout their career, and during the second, played the LP dorkrockcorkrod in its entirety.

On November 13th, 2008, the Ergs! played an unannounced set at a Lemuria show at the Parlor, a New Brunswick basement. On Saturday, November 15th, 2008, The Ergs! played 2 shows at the Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, NJ. The band played long, retrospective sets at each show, and at the late show closed with an extended version Upstairs/Downstairs that eventually incorporated all the night's band members and much of the audience demolishing instruments.

Discography

Demos

Year Title Label Format Other information
2000 f'n Frilly Pink Records CD-R
2000 Digital Endpoints Frilly Pink Records CD-R
  • Recorded in the style of a science fiction radio drama

EPs, Singles, and Splits with Other Artists

Year Title Label Format Other information
2001 3 Guys, 12 Eyes Whoa Oh Records 7" vinyl
2002 The Ben Kweller EP Fongul Records CD
2003 Cotton Pickin' Minute Prison Jazz Records 7" vinyl
  • features original country songs
2004 All the Hits! Grateful Records (later repressed by Salinas Records) 7" vinyl
2005 Jersey's Best Prancers Don Giovanni Records CD, 12" vinyl
2006 Jazz Is Like The New Coke Art of the Underground 7" vinyl single
2007 Lemuria Split Whoa Oh Records/Art of the Underground/Yo-Yo Records 7" vinyl
2007 Blue (The Ergs! record) Toxic Pop/Wallride Records 7" vinyl
  • b-side features a cover of "Blew" by Nirvana.
2007 Books About Miles Davis Whoa Oh Records 7" vinyl
  • a-side is alternate mix of an album track from the Upstairs/Downstairs LP.
  • b-side features a cover of "Only Babies Cry" by Paul Baribeau.
2007 Grabass Charlestons Split No Idea Records 7" vinyl
2008 That's It...Bye Don Giovanni Records 12" vinyl Single

Full Length Records

Year Title Label Format Other information
2003 dorkrockcorkrod Whoa Oh Records (CD)/Don Giovanni Records(vinyl) CD, 12" vinyl LP
2007 Upstairs/Downstairs Dirtnap Records CD, 12" vinyl LP *Features a collaboration with Hunchback on the title track
2008 Hindsight is 20/20, My Friend Dirtnap Records CD, 12" vinyl 2xLP *Collection of previously released material from singles, 7"s, and compilation appearances

References

  1. ^ http://blogs.app.com/rhythmroom/2008/10/23/peace-ergs/
  2. ^ http://www.punknews.org/review/6354
  3. ^ http://www.alternativepress.com/reviews/789.htm
  4. ^ http://www.punknews.org/article/24015
  5. ^ http://www.punknews.org/article/26996
  6. ^ http://www.punknews.org/article/29088
  7. ^ http://www.punknews.org/article/30341
  8. ^ http://www.alternativepress.com/news/4653.htm
  9. ^ http://www.punknews.org/article/30638
  10. ^ http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/archives/2008/10/new_venue_for_d.html
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