Years active 1996–present | Website chkchkchk.net | |
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Associated acts Similar LCD Soundsystem, Liars (band), Hockey (band) | ||
!!! is a dance-punk band that formed in Sacramento, California, in 1996 by lead singer Nic Offer. Its name is most commonly pronounced "Chk Chk Chk" (/tʃk.tʃk.tʃk/). Members of !!! came from other local bands such as The Yah Mos, Black Liquorice and Popesmashers. They are currently based in New York City, Sacramento, and Portland, Oregon. The band's sixth full-length album, As If, was released in October 2015.
Contents
!!! (Chk Chk Chk) - NRGQ (Live Music Video)
Background and history
!!! is an American band formed in the summer of 1995 by the merger of part of the group Black Liquorice and Popesmashers. After a successful joint tour, the two teams decided to mix the disco-funk with more aggressive sounds and integrate the hardcore singer Nic Offer from the Yah Mos. The band's name was inspired by the subtitles of the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy, in which the clicking sounds of the Bushmens' Khoisan language were represented as "!". However, as the bandmembers themselves say, !!! is pronounced by repeating thrice any monosyllabic sound. "Chk Chk Chk" is the most common pronunciation, and the URL of their official website and the title of their Myspace page suggest it is the preferred pronunciation.
The band's full-length debut record came out in 2000 as a self-titled album on the label Gold Standard Laboratories. This was followed in 2003 by the single "Me and Giuliani Down By the School Yard", a lengthy track combining house beats with sinewy basslines, psychedelic guitars, and simple lyrics which quote the title song of the musical Footloose.
A second full-length, Louden Up Now, was released on Touch and Go in America and on Warp Records in Europe in June 2004. In June 2005 !!! released a new EP covering "Take Ecstasy with Me" by The Magnetic Fields, and "Get Up" by Nate Dogg. The following December, the original drummer for the band, Mikel Gius, was struck and killed by a car while riding his bike.
They released their third album, Myth Takes in 2007.
!!! is composed of Mario Andreoni (guitar), Dan Gorman (horns/percussion/keys), Nic Offer (vocals), Tyler Pope (bass/various electronic devices), and Allan Wilson (horns/percussion/keys). Touring members include Shannon Funchess (vocals), Sean McGahan (various electronic devices/sound manipulation) and Paul Quattrone (drums). The band also shared membership with the similar, defunct group Out Hud (including Tyler Pope, who has played with LCD Soundsystem and written music for Cake).
In July 2007, John Pugh, serving as both vocalist and drummer, officially departed from the band to focus on his new project, Free Blood. During the band's 2007 tour, Shannon Funchess filled in for Pugh.