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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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Chooglin': Keep on keepin' on
Wednesday 15 November @ 13:37:04 |
 
BY ANDREA MYERS
“It is what it is,” says guitarist Jesse Tomlinson, when asked to define the sound of Chooglin’. “Some people will call it punk, some people call it rock and roll, some people call it ‘70s rock or garage, but it’s whatever we fucking play. Who cares.” Tomlinson smiles mischievously and glances toward his two bandmates, lead singer and guitarist Brian Vanderwerf and drummer Shawn Walker. The guys are sitting around the living room of their Uptown apartment, drinking cans of Pabst, playing their own record at my request and trying to come up with a good way to avoid answering my question.
“It’s just fun,” Vanderwerf concludes, shrugging his shoulders and looking slightly uncomfortable at the sound of his own voice streaming out of the stereo. “It’s like, he drums a certain way, he plays guitar a certain way, and I sing the way I do. It’s just us.”
Truthfully, I also struggled when trying to fit Chooglin’s album into any one category, with the exception of the all-encompassing, ever-changing genre of plain old rock. With the disc spinning in the background during our interview, it made for a great accompaniment to a conversation that focused mostly on their goals of having a good time, throwing back a few beers and trying not to try too hard when it comes to being in a band together. As the tracks changed the music ranged from straight-ahead, rollicking noise rock to bouncy, danceable beats that bordered on ska. The ’70s rock comparisons are also justified, as their music has a timeless feel that could just as easily be heard on an aging hippie’s record player as it could on a young punk’s iPod. The band’s description of themselves on their MySpace page (which asks members to choose from a variety of genres in order to classify their music) reads “Other.” That seems about right.
 It’s been quite the year for Chooglin’. Their first show, opening for the Detroit Cobras at the Triple Rock Social Club one year ago this month, received attention from the local press and spotlighted a band that was just getting ready to play out. “We weren’t even sure that we were going to keep the name Chooglin’,” Vanderwerf explains. The band name was taken from a Creedence Clearwater Revival tune of the same name, which happened to be playing in Vanderwerf’s car while he was on the phone with the booking agent of the club and being pressured for a name. When the press attention started flowing in, “it sort of sealed the deal,” he explains, “with all the talk about Chooglin’ and what it means. I like it now. People like saying it.”
Shortly after their first show and review, the band showed up on the roster for the yearly Best New Bands showcase hosted by First Avenue and Radio K. With no album to their name and only a few shows under their belt, the buzz for Chooglin’ continued as they received nods from Picked to Click (where they placed fourth) and even landed in this year’s edition of Best American Nonrequired Reading on the list “Best New American Band Names,” alongside a handful of other local notables like the God Damn Doo Wop Band and The Deaf. All eyes have been turned toward Chooglin’, and it’s high time they release their first CD.
The album was recorded in a period of a few days in March of this year, and since then the band has already started writing a batch of new tunes and toying around with the idea of a follow-up album. With so much of their energy focused on the road ahead, the party celebrating the release of their first album this weekend will in every way be a release for the band. I asked what they were looking forward to the most about this weekend and their show at the 7th Street Entry, and Tomlinson quickly replied, “The fact that it’s done and over with ... It’ll be nice to move on. It seems like the last year we’ve been playing a lot of the same songs, kind of waiting for the CD to come out, and I don’t know that we’ll stop playing them but we’ll start working on new shit. Now it’s done, it’s over with, we can really concentrate on new stuff.” Walker agrees. “It’s time for another one,” he says. “We’ve got almost enough songs for another album.”
Pretty ambitious words for a group of guys who scoff at the idea of a regular practice schedule and joke about getting too drunk to make it through their set. “Honestly, I thought the first couple shows were about our tightest,” says Tomlinson, which is met with agreement from his bandmates. “We were very focused at first,” explains Vanderwerf. “If we play last, then we party it out, and the show gets sloppy. A little too much debauchery sometimes. But whatever.”
That’s the thing about bands like Chooglin’, who have somehow mastered the balance of living the rock and roll lifestyle without falling apart—their lax attitude and emphasis on fun are what make their live shows so chaotic and exciting. And now, with a solid album of great rock tunes behind them, they’re set to keep on chooglin’ down the road to what appears to be a promising future for this great new band. ||
Chooglin’ play the CD Release Show for their self-titled debut on Fri., Nov. 17 at The Entry with Awesome Snakes, Total Fucking Blood and Shaun Walker’s Gay Witch Abortion. 8 p.m. $6. 21+. 701 First Ave. N, Mpls. 612-338-8388. For more info on Chooglin’, check out their official website at chooglin.net.
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