Cheetah Chrome

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Cheetah Chrome
Cheetah Chrome 01.jpg
Cheetah Chrome, 2011
Background information
Birth nameEugene Richard O'Connor
Born (1955-02-18) February 18, 1955 (age 68)
Origin Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Genres Punk rock, garage rock
Website http://www.cheetahchrome.net/newtabsrs.html

Eugene Richard O'Connor (born February 18, 1955), better known by his stage name Cheetah Chrome, is an American musician who achieved fame as a guitarist for Rocket from the Tombs and the punk rock band Dead Boys. [1]

Contents

Career

Rocket From the Tombs

Chrome joined protopunk band Rocket from the Tombs in September 1974, having previously been in a band with member Peter Laughner. [2] [3] The band broke up in mid 1975, having never recorded any material.

In 2003, after the release of The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs, he reformed Rocket from the Tombs with David Thomas, Craig Bell, with Steve Mehlman (Pere Ubu) on drums and Richard Lloyd (Television) replacing the late Peter Laughner. [4] [5] The reincarnation of the group toured in 2003 and 2006. In summer 2003 it entered the studio to record some of the band's old material for the first time. The recordings were released as Rocket Redux (SmogVeil). Chrome did a US West coast tour in April 2004 (backed by Sweet Justice) as well as a 10 date Midwest/East coast tour as guitarist in Texas Terri's band in July. At the end of July he headlined "Festimal" in Cedeira, Spain. In 2005, the members of RFTT flew to Germany to headline one night (the Buzzcocks headlined the other) of the International Punk Kongress in Kassel; then, in 2006, they reconvened in Cleveland to write material for a new record. This material became the single "I Sell Soul/Romeo and Juliet", released in 2010, and the full-length album Barfly, released in 2011.

Chrome left the band again in December 2011.

Dead Boys

After the initial breakup of RFTT, Chrome, alongside other members Stiv Bators and Johnny Madansky would form a new group, Dead Boys. They took the name after the RFTT song "Down In Flames". The band released two albums before breaking up in 1979.

They had several brief reunions that Chrome was a part of, in 1987 and 2004. They reunited in 2017 to tour and promote the 40th anniversary of Young Loud and Snotty . [6] [7]

Other musical projects

After Dead Boys broke up, Cheetah Chrome played around New York City (mostly at Max's Kansas City) doing shows with the Stilettos, as well as his own band Cheetah Chrome and the Casualties. He recorded a single for ORK Records, "Still Wanna Die/Take Me Home", recorded by Atlantic Records co-founder Herb Abramson. Shortly thereafter, he played on Ronnie Spector's debut solo album Siren. In 1980, he played guitar for Nico at New York's Squat Theatre as well as Max's Kansas City. He appeared on several recordings during the 1980s, most notably his own "Cheetah Chrome and the Ghetto Dogs" (Get Hip), Jeff Dahl's "I Kill Me" (Sympathy for the Record Industry), and Todd Tamanend Clark's "Into the Vision" (TMI). He also rejoined Dead Boys for the ill-fated reunions of the late 1980s- and toured with GG Allin in 1988. [8]

In the 1990s, Chrome moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and recorded a live album Alive in Detroit (DUI) at Lili's in Hamtramck, Michigan. In 2002, he played guitar on several tracks for False Alarm's Fuck 'Em All We've All Ready (Now) Won! . Additionally, he played with The Replacements' Bob Stinson in the band Shotgun Rationale.

In 2007, Chrome played periodic solo shows, including headlining the Road To Ruins festival in Rome, Italy (backed by Unnatural Axe). Chrome also was chosen to advertise Gibson's new range of Les Paul BFG. [9]

In May 2008, on the way home from the "Joey Ramone Birthday Bash", Chrome had a chance meeting at LaGuardia Airport with the members of Joan Jett's band the Blackhearts, including drummer Thommy Price, with whom he had played on Ronnie Spector's Siren. This led to several NYC area shows with the Blackhearts as his band, including a live performance on WFMU in NJ.

In the Fall of 2009, Chrome got together with old friend Sylvain Sylvain to record an EP on the suggestion of SmogVeil Records head Frank Mauceri. They recruited Thommy Price and Enzo Pennizotto from the Blackhearts as a rhythm section, naming themselves the Batusis after the dance from the hit 60s TV show "Batman". They performed two shows at SXSW 2010; Price and Penizzotto were unable to do live shows with the Batusis, due to their schedule with Joan Jett, and were replaced by Chuck Garric of Alice Cooper's band on bass, and Les Warner, formerly of The Cult, on drums. The four song ("Big Cat Stomp/What You Lack in Brains/Bury You Alive/ Blues Theme") EP was released in May 2010. A UK tour had to be cancelled due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland, but they toured the US extensively through December 2010 with Warner on drums and another former Blackheart, Sean Koos, on bass.

At the end of a week-long RFTT tour in December 2011, Chrome announced to the band that he had decided to stop touring extensively after 2012. While he planned to honor any shows they booked in 2012, they chose to get another guitar player for the upcoming European tour in May 2012.

In February 2012, Chrome became creative director of A&R/director of special projects for Plowboy Records, an alternative/legacy label being launched by Shannon Pollard, grandson of country legend Eddy Arnold, and music historian/author Don Cusic. This was officially announced on May 15, 2012. Chrome is currently producing a tribute record to Arnold by various artists at RCA Studio B in Nashville, as well as preparing a new full-length release by the Batusis.

Autobiography

In 2009, after repeated suggestions that he write a book from a friend who worked at Voyageur Press in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Chrome relented and submitted a sample chapter to them in spring 2009. He signed a book deal with Voyageur and began writing his autobiography. In September 2010, Cheetah Chrome: A Dead Boy's Tale from the Front Lines of Punk Rock was published. [10]

In December 2010, shortly after the book's release, Cleveland Scene published an extensive writeup of the book. It neatly summarized the main themes: Chrome's upbringing in rougher parts of Cleveland, his riotous behavior (fueled by drink and drugs), his love of many different rock bands (notably The Stooges and Velvet Underground), battles with bandmates and the music business, depictions of the 1970s music scene in Cleveland and New York City, descent into addiction, and ultimately emerging as a survivor. [11]

Chrome participated in the February/ West Coast and April/ Midwest-East Coast "Cleveland Confidential Book Tour" with fellow Cleveland musicians and authors Mike Hudson of The Pagans and Bob Pfeiffer of Human Switchboard. Stops included the Experience Music Project in Seattle, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Exile on Bowery @ Bowery Electric in NYC and the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live in Los Angeles.

In 2013, an American-made motion picture titled CBGB was released. Actor Rupert Grint portrayed Chrome, while Justin Bartha portrayed Stiv Bators. Chrome himself makes a cameo appearance in the film as well. [12]

Related Research Articles

Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv Bators, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Zero, bassist Jeff Magnum, lead guitarist Cheetah Chrome, and drummer Johnny Blitz in 1975, with the later two having splintered from the band Rocket From The Tombs. The original Dead Boys released two studio albums, Young Loud and Snotty, and We Have Come for Your Children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stiv Bators</span> American singer and guitarist (1949–1990)

Steven John Bator, known professionally as Stiv Bator and later as Stiv Bators, was an American punk rock vocalist and guitarist from Girard, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church.

Rocket from the Tombs is an American rock band originally active from mid-1974 to mid-1975 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was reconstituted several times with various line-ups starting in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric Eels (band)</span> American protopunk band

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvain Sylvain</span> American guitarist (1951–2021)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pere Ubu</span> American rock band

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Laughner</span> American guitarist, songwriter and singer

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<i>Young, Loud and Snotty</i> 1977 studio album by Dead Boys

Young, Loud and Snotty is the first studio album by the American punk band Dead Boys. It was recorded and released in 1977 on Sire Records, produced by Genya Ravan. The album is the only Dead Boys album to chart, peaking at 189 on the Billboard 200 in November 1977.

<i>We Have Come for Your Children</i> 1978 studio album by Dead Boys

We Have Come for Your Children is the second and final studio album by the American punk rock band Dead Boys. It was recorded and released in 1978, on Sire Records. The recording of the album was problematic for the group and sessions were halted when the band became convinced that producer Felix Pappalardi did not understand their music. The band subsequently tried but were unable to get James Williamson of The Stooges to salvage the sessions; they broke up a short time later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonic Reducer</span> 1977 single by Dead Boys

"Sonic Reducer" is a punk rock song written by Cheetah Chrome and David Thomas during their tenure in Rocket from the Tombs, which made its recorded debut on the Dead Boys 1977 album Young, Loud and Snotty with a change of lyrics that were rewritten by Stiv Bators.

John Madansky, known as Johnny Blitz, is a punk rock drummer from Cleveland, Ohio, best known as being a member of the bands Dead Boys and Rocket From The Tombs. With the Dead Boys he helped pioneer the punk rock sound, look and attitude of the mid to late 1970s.

"Ain't It Fun" is a song written by Peter Laughner and Gene O'Connor and performed by their protopunk band Rocket from the Tombs. The song was first released by O'Connor's later group, Dead Boys, on their 1978 second studio album We Have Come for Your Children. Laughner died a year before.

<i>Night of the Living Dead Boys</i> 1981 live album by Dead Boys

Night of the Living Dead Boys is a 1981 live album by the American punk rock band Dead Boys. It was recorded in March 1979 at CBGB. Since Stiv Bators purposely did not sing into the microphone at this show, the vocals were overdubbed later, causing mixed opinions on this album.

"Poison Heart" is a song by the punk rock band Ramones. Written by Dee Dee Ramone, who had retired as their longtime bassist in 1989 but still wrote songs for the band, "Poison Heart" was included on the 1992 album Mondo Bizarro and was also released as a single. The song was given to the band by Dee Dee in exchange for bailing him out of jail and has a slower tempo than typical Ramones songs.

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References

  1. Deming, Mark. "Cheetah Chrome: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  2. Gross, Jason (September 1996). "Ain't It Fun Rocket From The Tombs". Perfect Sound Forever. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  3. Flood, Alex (April 21, 2015). "Cult heroes: Rocket from the Tombs, the most self-destructive group ever to smash a six-string". The Guardian. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  4. Wascovich, Matthew (2003). "Rocker From the Tombs - an Interview With Cheetah Chrome". 3 AM Magazine.
  5. Kot, Greg (June 8, 2003). "Rocket From the Tombs a blast from past, present". Chicago Tribune.
  6. "Punk Legends DEAD BOYS Celebrate 40 Years Of 'Young Loud And Snotty' With Album And Tour". Blabbermouth. July 26, 2017.
  7. Epting, Chris (November 1, 2017). "Dead Boys legacy very much alive thanks to Cheetah Chrome". Huffington Post.
  8. Stegall, Tim. "Havin' Milk 'N' Cookies With GG Allin". Flipside.
  9. "Oh Henry! Gibson's Les Paul BFG". premierguitar.com. October 10, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  10. Ludwig, Jamie (May 16, 2014). "From Dead Boy to Plowboy: Cheetah Chrome Says It Like It Is". Vice.
  11. Pantsios, Anastasia (December 8, 2010). "A Dead Boy Lives". Cleveland Scene.
  12. Norman, Michael (August 20, 2013). "Cheetah Chrome, guitarist with Cleveland punk legends the Dead Boys and Rocket from the Tombs, to release 'Solo' EP to coincide with 'CBGB' movie". www.cleveland.com. Retrieved December 7, 2015.