Naked Raygun
Encyclopedia
Naked Raygun is a Chicago
-based punk rock
group. Initially active from 1980 to about 1992, Naked Raygun had several short-lived reunions afterwards and a full-time reformation in 2006.
From the beginning, their music had a strong sense of melody
and songwriting, with Pezzati's lyrics often exploring working class
issues. Naked Raygun began in the hardcore punk
style, later branching out into post-hardcore
territory. By their early 1990s incarnation, Naked Raygun's melodic tendencies became more pronounced, with strong power pop
leanings in the vein of Buzzcocks
, Stiff Little Fingers
, and The Jam
.
, Marko Pezzati and later Jeff Pezzati
. Singer Jeff Pezzati was the sole constant member through multiple personnel changes. Members over time include drummers Bobby Strange, Jim Colao, and Eric Spicer; bassists Marko Pezzati, Pierre Kezdy, and Camilo Gonzalez; guitarists Santiago Durango, John Haggerty
, and Bill Stephens; and keyboardist John Lundin.
Durango and Jeff Pezzati were also members of Big Black
during the early 1980s.
with his younger brother Joe (formerly of Bloodsport and The Effigies
) and Steve Saylors and Larry Damore of the Bhopal Stiffs
(Pierre Kezdy would later replace Steve Saylors).
Jeff Pezzati is also the lead singer of The Bomb, which is a different and later band than the San Francisco group, known as "Bomb".
In 1999, the independent record label Quarterstick Records
re-issued the bands back catalog on CD.
On August 16, 2006 it was announced that Naked Raygun would reunite for Riot Fest 2006, an annual punk rock festival held in Chicago. Other high profile reunions for Riot Fest 2006 included the Blue Meanies and The Bollweevils
.
Naked Raygun also played a low-key, invitation-only show on October 19, 2006 at the Cobra Lounge in Chicago.
Following their reunion at Riot Fest 2006, Naked Raygun announced that the band was "back for good." The reunited lineup consists of its "Raygun...Naked Raygun" members: Pezzati, Stephens, Kezdy, and Spicer.
On July 14, 2009 it was announced that Naked Raygun would soon return to the studio for the first time since 1997 for a series of 7" singles to be released on Riot Fest Records. After the singles series the band plans to record an LP, the first since 1990's Raygun... Naked Raygun.
Video
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
group. Initially active from 1980 to about 1992, Naked Raygun had several short-lived reunions afterwards and a full-time reformation in 2006.
From the beginning, their music had a strong sense of melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
and songwriting, with Pezzati's lyrics often exploring working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
issues. Naked Raygun began in the hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
style, later branching out into post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
territory. By their early 1990s incarnation, Naked Raygun's melodic tendencies became more pronounced, with strong power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
leanings in the vein of Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
, Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977, at the height of the Troubles. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star , doing rock covers, until they discovered punk. They split up after six years and four albums, although they...
, and The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
.
Initial run
The band was formed in 1980 by Santiago DurangoSantiago Durango
Santiago Durango is an American guitarist remembered for his work with the 1980s punk rock groups Naked Raygun and Big Black. Mostly retired from music as of the early 2000s, he works as an attorney.- Biography :...
, Marko Pezzati and later Jeff Pezzati
Jeff Pezzati
Jeff Pezzati is the lead singer for a popular Chicago punk band, Naked Raygun. From 1983 to 1985, he was also the bass player for the internationally known band Big Black. In 1980, Jeff Pezzati was a member of a suburban cover band, Condor, when he was asked to audition for Naked Raygun by the...
. Singer Jeff Pezzati was the sole constant member through multiple personnel changes. Members over time include drummers Bobby Strange, Jim Colao, and Eric Spicer; bassists Marko Pezzati, Pierre Kezdy, and Camilo Gonzalez; guitarists Santiago Durango, John Haggerty
John Haggerty
John Haggerty is an influential Chicago guitarist. A key member of Naked Raygun during their heyday , Haggerty formed the band Pegboy, with brother Joe Haggerty on drums and Steve Saylors and Larry Damore of the Bhopal Stiffs, upon leaving Naked Raygun.The eldest son of a plumber father and a...
, and Bill Stephens; and keyboardist John Lundin.
Durango and Jeff Pezzati were also members of Big Black
Big Black
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun...
during the early 1980s.
Post Naked Raygun
In 1989, John Haggerty left Naked Raygun to form PegboyPegboy
Pegboy is an American punk band from Chicago, Illinois with a relatively large cult following. They were founded in 1990 by John Haggerty , along with his brother Joe Haggerty , Larry Damore , and Steve Saylors...
with his younger brother Joe (formerly of Bloodsport and The Effigies
The Effigies
The Effigies is an early post-hardcore group from Chicago. The band, first formed in 1980, was active for approximately a decade, undergoing multiple personnel changes, with frontman John Kezdy the only constant, before disbanding in 1990 . The band released 5 LPs and several EPs, most on...
) and Steve Saylors and Larry Damore of the Bhopal Stiffs
Bhopal Stiffs
Chicago hardcore outfit the Bhopal Stiffs was formed in 1985 by singers/guitarists Larry Damore and Vince Marine, bassist Steve Saylors, and drummer Dave Schleitwiler. The band name is a reference to an ecological disaster which took place in Bhopal, India in 1984...
(Pierre Kezdy would later replace Steve Saylors).
Jeff Pezzati is also the lead singer of The Bomb, which is a different and later band than the San Francisco group, known as "Bomb".
Reunions
A two-show reunion in 1997 produced the live album Free Shit!.In 1999, the independent record label Quarterstick Records
Quarterstick Records
-Artists:*Bad Livers*Calexico*DK3*Dead Child*June of 44*Kepone*The Mekons*Mi Ami*Peter Móren *Mule*Naked Raygun*Tara Jane O'Neil*Pegboy*Phono-Comb*Rachel's*Rodan*Henry Rollins*Shipping News*Sholi*The Sonora Pine*Therapy?...
re-issued the bands back catalog on CD.
On August 16, 2006 it was announced that Naked Raygun would reunite for Riot Fest 2006, an annual punk rock festival held in Chicago. Other high profile reunions for Riot Fest 2006 included the Blue Meanies and The Bollweevils
The Bollweevils (band)
The Bollweevils are a punk band from Chicago which was active during the 1990s.The members consisted of Daryl Wilson on vocals, Bob Skwerski on bass, Ken Fitzner on guitar, and Brian Czarnik on drums later replaced by Brett Friesen...
.
Naked Raygun also played a low-key, invitation-only show on October 19, 2006 at the Cobra Lounge in Chicago.
Following their reunion at Riot Fest 2006, Naked Raygun announced that the band was "back for good." The reunited lineup consists of its "Raygun...Naked Raygun" members: Pezzati, Stephens, Kezdy, and Spicer.
On July 14, 2009 it was announced that Naked Raygun would soon return to the studio for the first time since 1997 for a series of 7" singles to be released on Riot Fest Records. After the singles series the band plans to record an LP, the first since 1990's Raygun... Naked Raygun.
Albums
- Basement ScreamsBasement ScreamsBasement Screams was a six song EP and the debut release by Chicago punk band Naked Raygun, released on Ruthless Records in 1983. Quarterstick Records reissued the EP in 1999, and added the street version of "I Lie" and the 222 S. Morgan St. sessions as bonus material. The 1982 Morgan St...
12" ::Ruthless RecordsRuthless Records (Chicago)Ruthless Records was the name of a Chicago punk record label. Founded in 1981 by the Effigies, it was not a real business, but a name used by Chicago and Minneapolis punk bands from 1981 to 1990: Big Black, the Effigies, End Result, Naked Raygun, Rifle Sport and Urge Overkill...
(1983), Quarterstick Records (1999 - CD only), Haunted Town Records (2007 - LP only) - Throb ThrobThrob ThrobThrob Throb is an album by Chicago punk band Naked Raygun, released on Homestead Records in 1985. It was the first of the band's releases to feature the musicianship of John Haggerty whose guitar playing distinguished the band's sound during the 1980s...
LP -with cover art by Macintosh comic bookComic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist Mike SaenzMike SaenzMike Saenz is a comic book artist and creator of the first digital comic book. He co-created the first comic book produced entirely on the computer, Shatter, as well as an early adult video game, MacPlaymate....
- ::Homestead Records (1985), Quarterstick Records (1999 - CD only), Haunted Town Records (2008 - LP only) - All Rise LP ::Homestead (1986), Quarterstick Records (1999 - CD only), Haunted Town Records (2008 - LP only)
- Jettison LP ::Caroline Records (1988), Quarterstick Records (1999 - CD only)
- Understand? LP ::Caroline Records (1989), Quarterstick Records (1999 - CD only)
- Raygun... Naked Raygun LP ::Caroline Records (1990), Quarterstick Records (1999 - CD only)
- Last of the Demohicans CD ::Dyslexic RecordsDyslexic RecordsDyslexic Records was an independent American music label based in Roselle, Illinois, United States, during the mid 1990s.-Releases :*Apocalypse Hoboken - Jerk Lessons *Naked Raygun, Last of the Demohicians*Poonjab, Morning Mood 7"...
, (1997) - Free Shit! live LP/CD ::(Haunted Town Records)
- What Poor Gods We Do Make CD ::Riot Fest Records (2007)
EPs
- Treason 12" ::3 songs, on pink vinyl limited to 2,500 numbered records (although unnumbered versions, stamped "Promo only" exist) ::Caroline Records (1989)
Singles
- Flammable Solid 7" ::Ruthless Records (1983)
- Vanilla Blue 7" on white/light blue marbled vinyl ::Sandpounder Records (1987)
- Home 7" on green vinyl ::Caroline Records (1990)
- Series 1 7" on red & on cream vinyl ::Riot Fest Records (2010)
- Series 2 7" on violet & on black vinyl ::Riot Fest Records(2010)
Video
- What Poor Gods We Do Make DVD ::Riot Fest Records (2007)
Compilation albums
- Busted At Oz LP (Autumn Records, 1981)
- Rat Music for Rat People, Vol. 3 (CD Presents, 1987)
- Somethings's Gone Wrong Again: The Buzzcocks Covers Compilation (CD, LP, Comp, C/Z Records, 1992)