The Effigies were an American punk band from
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, United States. The band played its first show in 1980 and was active initially for approximately a decade, undergoing multiple personnel changes with frontman John Kezdy the only constant, before disbanding in 1990.
The band released 5 albums and several
EPs, most on the record label they founded in 1981,
Ruthless Records, which was distributed by
Enigma
Enigma may refer to:
*Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling
Biology
*ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain
Computing and technology
* Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup
* Enigma machine, a family ...
. Later albums were on the Fever Records
[ and Roadkill Records][ labels. They toured the U.S. and Canada and played notable venues, including ]CBGB
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...
, Maxwell's
Maxwell's, last known as Maxwell's Tavern, was a bar/restaurant and music club in Hoboken, New Jersey. Over several decades the venue attracted a wide variety of acts looking for a change from the New York City concert spaces across the river. Ma ...
, First Avenue (nightclub)
First Avenue & 7th St Entry are two historic music venues housed in the same landmark building in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. The nightclub sits on the corner of First Avenue North and 7th Street North, from which the venues get their names. ...
, Mabuhay Gardens
The Mabuhay Gardens, also known as The Fab Mab or The Mab, was a former San Francisco nightclub, located at 443 Broadway Street, in North Beach on the Broadway strip area best known for its striptease clubs. It closed in 1987.
History
The Ma ...
, Paycheck's (Detroit), Exit (Chicago) and The Rathskeller
The Rathskeller (known as The Rat) was a live music venue in Boston that was open from 1974 to 1997. It was considered the "granddaddy" of Boston rock venues.
During its heyday, the Rat hosted such acts as the Cars, the Pixies, Metallica, Dea ...
, among others. They also received a significant amount of national airplay on college radio at a time when it was the only medium for alternative music.
History
The Effigies' website states that they were one of the first punk bands in Chicago. This might be a complicated claim for a band not formed until 1980, but true in the sense that the Midwest resisted punk and was late to discover or appreciate it to any degree. In the years immediately after The Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...
and The Sex Pistols
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
first released records (1977), Chicago remained dominated by 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 ...
, disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
and blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
; punk bands were anathema to the Midwest rock establishment and had few places to play and fans had few places to hear live bands. Despite revisionistic claims in its later advertised station history, even Chicago's "progressive" radio station, WXRT, was never very supportive of punk or even new wave, outside a few efforts of a couple of DJs relegated to late night slots. What most punk fans recall as the first "scene" in Chicago did not rise until the very early 1980s, when clubs lik
Oz
an
started to provide venues for live punk. In a 1999 retrospective about the 1985 music year, Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
music writer Jim Derogatis
James Peter DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964) is an American music critic and co-host of '' Sound Opinions''. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'', '' Spin'', '' Guitar World'' and ''Modern Drummer'', and for ...
termed the heyday of The Effigies "the second generation of Midwestern punks,"[ but this is correct only in describing the burgeoning young 1985 Midwest punk scene as it overtook the smaller, older scene which had cloistered itself in punk discos lik]
La Mere Vipere
and for all its excesses was musically passive, generating no bands and creating no music. By 1985,The Effigies, Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun was one of the first, one of the longest running, and one of the most recognized Chicago punk bands. They are considered by many to be the most important band in the history of Chicago punk rock and credited with creating “the Chi ...
, Strike Under
Strike Under was an influential Chicago punk rock band of the early 1980s. It was started by Steve Bjorklund (vocals, guitar) after the demise of The Rabbits. The principal musicians, besides Bjorklund, were his brother Chris (guitar), Pierre Kez ...
and Big Black had been around for half a decade. There were no active punk bands in Chicago before them.
Attempts to characterize The Effigies as post-punk, hardcore
Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to:
Arts and media Film
* ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film
* ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott
* ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
and, to the extent it is distinguishable, Chicago hardcore, reveal the difficulty in pigeonholing the band's sound which is more expansive than the punk subgenres both musically and thematically. Even the catch-all "post-hardcore" becomes an inapt anachronism in light of the fact that the band's seminal releases pre-date the arrival of hardcore by several years. Indie rock pundit Steve Albini
Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...
writes that "The Effigies were absolutely essential to the development of a healthy punk scene in Chicago. Between them and Naked Raygun, in the early 80s they basically kept the scene going until it developed momentum beyond them."[ "The Effigies were a moving force during a crucial and exhilarating time."][
The history of The Effigies develops in three discernible periods, each marked by a different lead guitarist. The Effigies' original lineup consisted of John Kezdy (vocals), Earl "Oil" Letiecq (guitar), Paul Zamost (bass) and Steve Economou (drums). By 1984 Letiecq’s distractions had estranged him from the group, and in the words of Zamost, “we had problems with our guitar player. We had to switch guitar players....”][ ]Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitaris ...
guitarist Lyle Preslar
Lyle Preslar is an American musician best known for being the guitar player and songwriter for the hardcore punk band Minor Threat. Before that, he was the vocalist for The Extorts, who later became State of Alert after he quit. Despite not perfo ...
made inquiries about joining the band.[ Robert O’Connor replaced Letiecq as lead guitarist and this second lineup released two LPs, ''Fly on a Wire'', and ''Ink''. These albums were engineered and co-produced with the band by ]Iain Burgess
Iain Burgess (24 November 1953 – 11 February 2010) was an English record producer and audio engineer. He helped define the sound of the Chicago post-punk music scene in the 1980s and early 1990s. Burgess worked with a number of key underground ...
, and were distinguished from the recordings of the first lineup by their sublimated aggression and comparatively muted rhythms. They also hinted at another growing division in the band.[ As Burgess put it, "they got a lot of heat for the change in musical direction to some degree on the latter two albums that I worked on, ''Ink'' and ''Fly on a Wire''. I think both of which have some really f*****g good songs on them, and some are, well, in my opinion, just not all that marvelous. I think John (Kezdy) would say the same thing. I’m sure he likes all the songs, but some of it we could have done better."][ It was at this stage the band began getting tagged with the ill-fitting ]post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
and post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...
labels.
Perceiving the band's punk ethos as an obstacle to "mass appeal," Zamost and O'Connor joined O'Connor's wife to form a new band called Machines in Motion during the summer of 1986 to pursue a more commercial sound.[ Economou fell in with them. This effectively dissolved The Effigies in the middle of a national tour supporting their third LP, ''Ink''. Prosaic and muddled, Machines in Motion were poorly received and broke up acrimoniously after only a few performances.][ The O'Connors dropped back into obscurity and Zamost began a long string of short-lived bands.
In 1987 Kezdy reunited with Letiecq and added Chris Bjorklund (]Strike Under
Strike Under was an influential Chicago punk rock band of the early 1980s. It was started by Steve Bjorklund (vocals, guitar) after the demise of The Rabbits. The principal musicians, besides Bjorklund, were his brother Chris (guitar), Pierre Kez ...
, Bloodsport
A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities characte ...
Trial by Fire
(bass) and Joe Haggerty (drums). In 1988, Letiecq departed again to form the band Jack Scratch with Dave Bergeron, formerly of Bloodsport. Bjorklund moved to guitar and Tom Woods became the Effigies' bassist. Coincidentally, Bjorklund, Haggerty, and Woods had comprised the rest of Bloodsport.[ In 1990, the Effigies called it quits and Kezdy pursued a career as an attorney.][ ][ The original line up reunited for a one-off show in 1992. They came together again in late 1995 and early 1996 to play a few Chicago shows to celebrate the reissue of their ''Remains Nonviewable'' compilation CD on ]Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. ...
.
After seventeen years of unremarkable musical projects,[ Economou and Zamost sought a rapprochement with Kezdy. The Effigies re-formed in 2004 and in 2007 released their first recording in nearly 20 years, a full LP titled ''Reside'', which was a return to their earlier form.][ The album was produced by Andy Gerber, who once played with Zamost and Economou in the band Laughing Man. The most recent lineup consisted of original members John Kezdy, Paul Zamost, and Steve Economou, and new guitarist Robert McNaughton, who had previously been in the bands Pop Media, We're Staying, and along with Zamost, The Indicators, The Lemmings, The Greys, 80 Proof Preacher and People Like Us. McNaughton composed music for the film Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.][ Since 2010 Economou has also been collaborating with Steve Bjorklund and keyboardist LizB in the band High Value Target.][
]
Miscellaneous
The cover of the band's record "Haunted Town" constitutes the first use of the Chicago flag
The flag of Chicago consists of two light blue horizontal bars, or stripes, on a field of white, each bar one-sixth the height of the full flag, and placed slightly less than one-sixth of the way from the top and bottom. Four bright red stars, ...
as a countercultural geo-signifier. Consequently, the flag was adopted as a motif within the nascent Chicago punk scene and later became fashionable outside the milieu of music.
In late 2010, The Effigies were slated to play a Riot Fest
Riot Fest is an annual three-day punk rock music festival based in Chicago, Illinois, at Douglass Park. It is known for booking reunions, guest performances, and full album performances. Riot Fest remains one of the largest independently owned m ...
show commemorating the re-release of the 1981 ''Busted at Oz'' compilation.[ The show was to be at a Chicago venue called the Metro and featured a number of reunited groups that had appeared on the original compilation. Due to the band's long-standing objection to the Metro as a venue – alluded to in a 1993 interview with bassist Zamost][ – the show was moved to a smaller club, the Double Door. Initially agreeing to fill out the original lineup for what promised to be a compelling show, guitarist Letiecq pulled out within weeks of the show and just prior to the event posted a note on the Riot Fest website declaiming against the endeavor and vowing for unstated reasons never to perform with the original members again. Without their guitarist, the remaining band members withdrew from the show rather than appear as an unrehearsed and falsely billed original line-up.
John Kezdy is the older brother of ]Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun was one of the first, one of the longest running, and one of the most recognized Chicago punk bands. They are considered by many to be the most important band in the history of Chicago punk rock and credited with creating “the Chi ...
bassist Pierre Kezdy
Pierre Kezdy (January 4, 1962 – October 9, 2020) was an American bass player, known for playing with various Chicago punk bands, including Naked Raygun, Pegboy, Strike Under, Arsenal, and Trial By Fire. He was also the younger brother of ...
.
The Effigies can be seen in '' You Weren’t There'', a 2007 film about the Chicago punk scene from 1977 through 1984.[
Kezdy was shot on July 4, 2022, during the ]Highland Park parade shooting
On July 4, 2022, a mass shooting occurred during an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, United States. The shooting occurred at 10:14a.m. CDT ( UTC−05:00), roughly 15 minutes after the parade had started. Seven people were ki ...
. The shooter wa
indicted
for Kezdy's attempted murder among numerous other charges.
The Effigies are mentioned several times in the television series Shining Girls.
Members
*John Kezdy - Vocals (1980–1990, 2004–present)
*Robert McNaughton - Guitar (2004–present)
*Paul Zamost - Bass (1980–1986, 2004–present)
*Steve Economou - Drums (1980–1986, 2004–present)
*Earl Letiecq - Guitar (1980–1984, 1987–1988)
*Robert O'Connor - Guitar (1985–1986)
*Chris Bjorklund - Bass (1987–1988), Guitar (1988–1990)
* Joe Haggerty - Drums (1987–1990)
*Tom Woods - Bass (1988–1990)
Discography
Albums
*''For Ever Grounded'' LP (Ruthless Records/Enigma Records
Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s.
History
Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/dis ...
1984)
*''Fly on a Wire'' LP (Fever Records/Enigma Records
Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s.
History
Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/dis ...
1985)
*''Ink'' LP (Fever Records/Enigma Records
Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s.
History
Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/dis ...
1986)
*''Reside'' CD ( Criminal IQ Records 2007)
Singles and EPs
*''Haunted Town'' 12" EP (Autumn Records 1981/reissued with "Security" as a bonus track by Ruthless Records 1984)
*"Bodybag" b/w "Security" 7" ( Ruthless Records 1982)
*''We're Da Machine'' 12" EP (Ruthless Records/Enigma Records
Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s.
History
Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/dis ...
1983)
*"VMLive Presents The Effigies Live 12/16/95" 7" EP (VML Records 1996)
* “…on the move, or in danger (stop) This will have been my life (stop)” EP ( Criminal IQ Records, 2009)(digital release only)
Compilations
*''Remains Nonviewable'' LP - compilation of the first 3 EPs and parts of ''For Ever Grounded'' (Roadkill Records 1989/reissued on CD by Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. ...
1995)
Compilation appearances
*''Busted at Oz'' (Autumn Records 1981/Permanent Records 2011) - "Quota" and "Guns or Ballots"
* ''Chapter...3!'' cassette (The Joy Of Propaganda) (1981) - "Rot Way", "Zero", "Crazy Lust", "Abort The System"
*''The Middle Of America Compilation'' (H.I.D. Productions) (1984) - "Security (Remix)"
*''The Enigma Variations'' (Enigma
Enigma may refer to:
*Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling
Biology
*ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain
Computing and technology
* Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup
* Enigma machine, a family ...
) (1985) - "Blue Funk"
* ''Music View Show #9 & #10'' (New Program) (1987) - "Quota (live)"
*''American Revolution Volume 1-Rare Hardcore Punk From The United States 1978-1984'' CDr (Killer Boot Records) (2000) - "Body Bag"
*''Remembering Reagan'' Cassette (Bolzcore) (2005) - "Quota", "Techno's Gone"
* ''Live From Sound Options Volume One'' (SRO Productions) (2008) - "Mob Clash"
References
External links
The Effigies official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Effigies, The
American post-hardcore musical groups
Musical groups from Chicago
Musical groups established in 1980
Ruthless Records (Chicago) artists
Enigma Records artists