Scared of Chaka is an American punk rock band based in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, that was formed in 1993 by guitarist/vocalist David Yanul Hernandez, bass guitarist Dameon Waggoner and drummer Jeff Jones. Jones was later replaced by Ron Skrasek. The band played a

Dickies Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co. is an apparel manufacturing company primarily known for its largest brand, Dickies. The company was founded in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1922 by C. N. Williamson and E. E. "Colonel" Dickie, who began a denim bib overall co ...

-inspired mix of garage and pop-punk, following in the footsteps of local Albuquerque act the Drags. The band released a number of full lengths, 7-inch EPs, and split records throughout its career for labels including 702 Records, Empty Records, Dirtnap Records and Hopeless spin off

Sub City Records Sub City Records is a record label which was created by Louis Posen and Hopeless Records to raise funding and awareness for non-profit organizations. Sub City has been active since 1999, and has now over 30 releases. The label has donated over $2 ...

. Following the 2001 release of ''Crossing with Switchblades'', the band dissolved. The band played a number of reunion shows in 2008, including Music Fest NW in Portland, Oregon, and FunFunFunFest in Austin, Texas. On September 20, 2008, they performed with

Dillinger Four Dillinger Four, sometimes abbreviated as D4, is an American punk rock band formed in 1994 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They have released four full-length studio albums. Since 1996, the band's lineup has been Patrick Costello on bass guitar and ...

as part of the inaugural year of Forward Music Fest in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

Legacy

Following the breakup of Scared of Chaka, Hernandez formed Broadcast Oblivion in 2002 with Coady Willis (of

Murder City Devils The Murder City Devils is an American garage rock band formed in 1996. History The band's original lineup, consisting of Spencer Moody, Dann Gallucci, Derek Fudesco, Coady Willis, and Nate Manny, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1996. Gabe Ker ...

, Dead Low Tide and Big Business) and Andrew Church (of The Droo Church and

Supersuckers The Supersuckers are an American rock band, formed in 1988, whose music ranges from alternative rock to country rock to cowpunk. AllMusic describes the band as "the bastard sons of Foghat, AC/DC, and ZZ Top after being weaned on punk rock, unafra ...

). Hernandez had previously performed in projects with James Mercer, who went on to form the popular

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

act

The Shins The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's cu ...

(Scared of Chaka also released a split 7-inch with the pre-Shins act Flake Music). The original line-up of The Shins featured Hernandez on bass guitar. After a year, however, he left the band to pursue a personal relationship in New York. In 2003, when Shins bass guitarist Neal Langford left the group, Hernandez re-joined the Shins as a bass guitarist. He currently lives in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. Skrasek lives in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, and Waggoner lives in Los Angeles. Scared of Chaka's music was influential in the U.S. garage / punk rock scene. Current bands which have continued similar musical threads, such as

the Riverboat Gamblers Riverboat Gamblers is an American punk rock band originally from Denton, Texas, formed in 1997, now residing in Austin, Texas. The band's current line-up comprises vocalist Mike Wiebe, guitarist/voc Fadi El-Assad, guitarist/voc Ian MacDougall, ...

, and The Robits from Milwaukee, WI have cited Scared of Chaka as an influenc

Discography

Main albums

* ''Hutch Brown Sayngwich'' (702, 1995) - LP * ''Scared of Chaka'' (702) - LP * ''Masonic Youth'' (Empty, 1996) - LP * ''How to Lose'' (702 / Empty, 1998) - EP * ''Tired of You'' (Hopeless / Sub City, 1999) - LP * ''Crossing with Switchblades'' (Hopeless / Sub City, 2001) - LP

Collections

* ''Seven Stories Tall: Singles '94-'99 (702) - LP

Singles/EPs and splits

* Scared of Chaka / The Gain - split 7-inch (702 Records) - EP * Scared of Chaka / Flake Music - split 7-inch (702 Records / Science Project) - EP * Scared of Chaka / Fatal Flyin' Guilloteens - split 7-inch (Dirtnap Records) * Scared Of Chaka / Real Swinger - split 7-inch (Ballroom Blitz Records) * Scared of Chaka / The Traitors - split 7-inch (Johanns Face Records) * "live at Jay's" (Bad Man Records, 2002) - 7-inch EP - ltd 200 - white marble vinyl * Scared of Chaka / Word Salad - split 7-inch (Science Project) * Scared of Chaka "Automatic" 7-inch (eMpTy)

External links

Scared of Chaka at Empty Records
{{Authority control American pop punk groups Musical groups from New Mexico Sub City Records artists