The Low Budgets was an American

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 ...

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. They were a project of

Dead Milkmen The Dead Milkmen is an American punk rock band formed in 1983 in Philadelphia. Their original lineup consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Rodney Linderman ("Rodney Anonymous"), guitarist and vocalist Joe Genaro ("Joe Jack Talcum"), bassist ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

ist Joe Genaro (known as Joe Jack Talcum), and current

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

Dan Stevens Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is a British actor and writer. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV acclaimed period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2012). He also starred as D ...

. Vocalist and guitarist Chris Seegel and

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Steve Levandoski completed the band's lineup. The Low Budgets released three albums and toured throughout North America and Europe.

History

The Low Budgets formed in 2000 after the demise of Seegel and Genaro's former group, The Town Managers. For the new project, Genaro moved from guitar to

electronic organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed ...

, while Stevens (formerly of Farquar Muckenfuss) and Levandoski formed the rhythm section. Utilizing the vintage organ, the group sought to integrate their garage rock influences into the punk rock sound of their previous bands. The band released its debut 7-inch vinyl EP in 2001 on Nancy Boy Records. A second 7-inch EP and two albums followed on the Philadelphia-based Schuylkill Records label. They toured extensively during this time, with Stevens occasionally being replaced by touring bassists while occupied with familial obligations. In 2007, the group released their third album, ''Leave Us a Loan'', on

Chunksaah Records Chunksaah Records is an Asbury Park, New Jersey, formerly New Brunswick, New Jersey-based independent record label founded in 1993 by The Bouncing Souls. The label started as a means for the band to release their own recordings, but ended up ...

, a record label run by members of the punk rock band

The Bouncing Souls The Bouncing Souls are an American punk band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 1989. By the time of their acknowledgment by the national punk rock scene, they had reignited a "pogo" element to New Jersey punk rock by playing fast light-he ...

. This album was produced by former Town Managers member and frequent collaborator Brian Michael. Schuylkill Records also released a

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics that extend at lea ...

vinyl version of the record. The Low Budgets went on hiatus and ultimately disbanded after Seegel emigrated to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Genaro and Stevens played in the reformed Dead Milkmen thereafter. Seegel formed the new group Lamebrains in Berlin, while Genaro also continued his solo career. Levandoski remained active in other Philadelphia-based groups, including Beast Infection. Outside of music, Seegel continued work in film and video, and Levandoski in journalism. The group played two reunion shows in December 2015, with Brian Michael replacing Levandoski on drums.

Members

* Chris Seegel (Chris Peelout) – vocals, guitar (2000–2008, 2015) * Joe Genaro (Joe Jack Talcum) – organ, vocals (2000–2008, 2015) *

(Dandrew This) – bass, vocals (2000–2008, 2015) * Steve Levandoski (Steve Please) – drums (2000–2008) * Brian Michael – drums (2015)

Discography

Albums

* ''Go For Broke'' (2003, CD/LP - Schuylkill Records/Akhenation Music) * ''Aim Low, Get High'' (2005, CD/LP - Schuylkill Records) * ''Leave Us a Loan'' (2007, CD -

, LP - Schuylkill Records)

EPs

* ''Go Bargain Hunting With the Low Budgets'' (2001, 7-inch - Nancy Boy Records) * ''Buy One Song, Get One Free'' (2002, 7-inch - Schuylkill Records)

References

External links

LowBudgets.comSchuylkill Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Low Budgets, The Punk rock groups from Pennsylvania Musical groups from Philadelphia Musical groups established in 2000