GOOD TIMES
From 1995 to 2000, the
Chumps, who play for the first time in six years Friday at
Beerland, embodied a particularly debauched strain of Austin punk rock. Their live shows were marked by flying bottles and bodies, and notorious parties at the band's house on 38th Street often lasted for days. "We wanted to do what the
Motards were doing, basically turn the
Blue Flamingo upside down," says bassist
Frankie Nowhere. "I remember more when I see photographs of those days, but a lot of it is blurry," admits singer
Sean McGowan. The band quickly won an enthusiastic and loyal following with squalid songs like "Kill All Musicians," "I Hate My School," and "Self Destruct," though today they're careful to point out that not all their repertoire was true to life. "'MoPac Rapist' is not true," says McGowan. "That guy lived two blocks away from me; that's where that came from," adds Nowhere. "'God Damn American Eagle' is the strings on the bass, not a political song." The Chumps' sole LP,
Good Times, which
Super Secret Records and
Mortville re-release this month augmented with their two 7-inches and a video, came out in 1999 and is still acknowledged as an Austin classic. Locals the
Ends ("Sleazy") and
Yuppie Pricks ("Fuck You, I'm Rich") kept the Chumps' name alive by covering their songs, but the band downplays any lasting influence they've had. "I talked to
Buxf [
Dicks guitarist
Parrott] about this a month ago, and he said he didn't think people would remember them a year later," Nowhere says. "It seems to be going the same way for us. It was just a real fun time, mixed with a lot of insanity."
