Oblivion (stylized as ObLiViOn) was a punk rock group from the Chicago area. The band was composed of Pete Kourim on bass guitar and lead vocals, Scott Ozark on guitar and back-up vocals, and Brian Czarnik on drums.

History

The group started as a heavy metal cover band in 1988, but their style solidified to have more of a punk focus by the early 1990s. During the late 90s, Oblivion had a strong following in the Chicago/Midwest punk scene. Their musical stylings borrowed equal parts from

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

, and

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

. They released a number of 7"s and full-length albums primarily on

Johann's Face Records Johann's Face Records (a.k.a. JFR) is a Chicago-based record label which was started by Marc Ruvolo and Gar Brandt in 1989. Ruvolo had been working at Roadkill Records and was looking to start a label with his friend, Brandt. The label has releas ...

, although they also released music on Dr. Strange, Underdog, and others. Songs often commented on social interactions, stories about troubled girls, and relationship issues seen from a cryptic moody perspective. The group sometimes made social commentary but mostly in an indirect and self-debasing way. After more than a decade of playing together, the group disbanded. They played a farewell show in March 2000.

Post-breakup

* After the group disbanded, Brian moved to Florida and worked on a big cat (tigers/lions) sanctuary. Scott played with the Nobs, while Pete continued to play in Mexican Cheerleader, a band that started while Oblivion still existed.

Reunion show

Oblivion played a reunion show on December 29, 2006 at the Abbey Pub in Chicago. They performed with Apocalypse Hoboken. This was the first show the band played in over five years.

Discography

*S/T (cassette, 1st Demo) self-release 1989 *Neighborhood (cassette, 2nd Demo) self-release 1990 *Think Tightope Boobjob (cassette, 3rd Demo) self-release 1992 (self distributed at Lollapalooza) *Product (EP, 7") Johanns Face Records 1993 *Full Blown Grover (ep, 7") Johanns Face Records 1994 *Stop Thief (LP, 12"/CD) Johanns Face Records 1994 *Shoot Me a Waco (LP, 12"/CD) Johanns Face Records 1995 *Suckers From The Start (CD) Sinister Label 1998 *Sweatpants U.S.A. (CD) Suburban Home 1999

Splits

*split with No Empathy (split, 7") Underdog Records 1995 *split with Humble Beginnings (split, 7") Medio-Core 1997 *split with Apocalypse Hoboken (split, 7") Harmless Records 1997 *split with Gods Reflex (split, 7")

1997 *split with Man Dingo (split CD) Dr Strange Records 1999

Compilation appearances

* ''A Very Punk Christmas'' (2x7")

Rocco Records Rocco or Rocko is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: First name * Rocco Baldelli (born 1981), American Major League Baseball player and manager of the Minnesota Twins * Rocco Botte (born 1983), American actor an ...

Further Beyond ''Further Beyond'' is a 2016 film by Desperate Optimists (Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor) that has been described as "part essay, documentary and quirky drama" and a 'masterpiece of intricate if indirect construction.' The film is very loosely ...

1993 * ''Dumpsterland No. 7'' (zine + 7") Dumpsterland Zine 1994 * ''A Taste Of Chicago'' (CD)

Strikeout Wreck-Chords In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three Strike (baseball), strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is Out (baseball), out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both ...

1995 * ''Achtung Chicago! Drei'' (LP 12"/CD) Underdog Records1995 * ''Punk: It's All About The Orchis Factor'' (CD)

Suburban Home Records Suburban Home Records and Distribution is a record label based in Denver, Colorado, United States. The label was founded in 1995 by Virgil Dickerson, and is known for focusing on vinyl releases and bands in the pop-punk and alt-country genres. Its ...

1996 * ''ABC's Of Punk'' (LP 12"/CD)

Whirled Records Whirled is a virtual world website and video game created by Three Rings Design. Its Open Beta stage was announced at the Game Developers Conference in 2007. It makes use of Adobe Flash as an applet embedded into the website while also having p ...

1997 * ''Marc's A Dick And Gar's A Drunk'' (LP 12"/CD)

1997 * ''The Check's In The Mail: The Rise And Fall Of The Rocco Empire'' (CD)

1998 * ''Girls Kick Ass!'' (CD)

Punk Rock Onion Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

1999 * ''Capitol Radio'' (CD)

Torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...

1999 * ''Playing 4 Square, Vol. 1'' (CD)

2000 * ''Magnetic Curses'' (CD)

Thick Records Thick Records is a Chicago-based independent record label which actively operated from 1994 to 2007. It now exists as a catalog only label for its previous releases. History Thick was formed in 1994 by Detroit native Zak Einstein, who started the ...

2000

Related bands

* Amish Vomit - Pete Kourim, with two others who would join

The Vindictives The Vindictives are an American, Chicago-based punk rock group, founded by singer and songwriter Joey Vindictive in 1991, releasing 12 EPs and albums by July 1996. History They began their career in 1991, cutting their first 7-inch record later ...

, where the origins of the song "Stolen" came from. *

The Bollweevils The Bollweevils is a punk band from Chicago. The members consist of Daryl Wilson on vocals, Sensitive Pete on bass, Ken Fitzner ("Ken Weevil") on guitar, and Pete Mumford on drums. Former members include founding bass player, Bob Skwerski, Brian ...

- Brian Czarnik *

Mexican Cheerleader Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

- Pete Kourim * The Nobs - Scott Ozark

Sources

Johanns Face Records
(Archived from the Internet Archive)
Knotmag.com Interview circa 2000Mexican Cheerleader
on MySpace {{DEFAULTSORT:Oblivion Musical groups established in 1988 Pop punk groups from Illinois