Chuck Dukowski

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Chuck Dukowski
Black Flag 2011-12-18 04.jpg
Chuck Dukowski performing with the band FLAG in 2013
Background information
Birth nameGary Arthur McDaniel
Born (1954-02-01) February 1, 1954 (age 70)
Origin San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres Hardcore punk, punk rock
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Bass, guitar, vocals
Years active1973–present

Gary Arthur McDaniel (born February 1, 1954), better known by his stage name Chuck Dukowski, is an American punk rock musician. He is most well-known for being the bass player and an occasional songwriter for Black Flag. [1]

Contents

Career

Early years

Dukowski was born on February 1, 1954, [2] and raised in a self-described middle-class family in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, where his father worked for the industrial company TRW. [3] Dukowski's mother was German, and her family lineage had many musicians and composers. [2]

Dukowski attended San Pedro High School and later Chadwick School, where he played football. After graduation, he went to college to study psychobiology. [3]

Würm

Dukowski's first band was Würm, which started in 1973. [4] By 1977, the band had moved to Hermosa Beach and lived in a communal house called "the Würmhole" but Würm broke up later that year. [4]

Black Flag

Keith Morris and Greg Ginn were regulars at Würmhole parties. [4] in 1977, Dukowski joined their Morris and Ginn's band, Panic, before they played their first show. Panic changed their name to Black Flag after discovering another band using the name "Panic". [5] Dukowski left the band in 1983 before the recording of My War , [6] and afterward served as Black Flag's manager. He was responsible for booking nationwide and worldwide tours until 1986. Dukowski wrote or co-wrote some of Black Flag's most popular songs, including "My War," "The Bars," "I Love You," and "Modern Man". [4] [7] Dukowski started SST Records with Ginn in 1978 and was a co-owner until 1989. [4] During Black Flag's appearance in The Decline of Western Civilization , he is credited as Gary McDaniel.

Later projects

After Black Flag, Dukowski reformed Würm, [8] which continued until guitarist Ed Danky died. [4] Other bands Dukowski formed include SST "supergroup" October Faction, [9] and SWA, formed in 1985 with Merrill Ward of Overkill. [9]

Dukowski has a new band with his wife, artist and musician Lora Norton, and son Milo called The Chuck Dukowski Sextet. [10] They released their debut album, Eat My Life , on Dukowski's own Nice & Friendly Records in 2006. In 2013 Chuck launched Flag with former Black Flag members Keith Morris, Bill Stevenson, Dez Cadena, and Descendents/All guitarist Stephen Egerton to perform the music of Black Flag.

He appeared in the documentaries The Decline of Western Civilization , Open Your Mouth And Say... Mr. Chi Pig, We Jam Econo , Urban Struggle: The Battle of the Cuckoo's Nest, and We Were Feared (Clockwork Orange County).

FLAG

FLAG
Genres
Years active2013–present
Spinoff of Black Flag, Descendents
Members

In 2013, Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Dez Cadena, Bill Stevenson, and Descendents member Stephen Egerton created FLAG as an offshoot of Black Flag. As of 2013, they are only touring. No plans for an album have been announced. [11]

Stage name

"Chuck Dukowski" is a stage name, originating from a Zippo lighter with "Chuck the Duke" inscribed on it that he found while searching for change. Feeling that the name "Chuck the Duke" sounded macho, he wanted to add a Polish sounding last name, as Poles were frequently picked on. He turned "Chuck the Duke" into "Chuck Dukowski". [12] Dukowski was credited under his real name on original pressings of Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown EP, as well as in the documentary film The Decline of Western Civilization and its companion soundtrack album. [13] He is credited as "Charles Dukowski" on Black Flag's Damaged LP.

Discography

Black Flag

SWA

Chuck Dukowski Sextet

Other

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SWA was an American band originally started as a concept defined by Chuck Dukowski, former bassist of Black Flag, while he was still a member of that band. The name was created by assigning an alphabetical value to numbers on a gaming die, then rolling the die three times. Dukowski would later claim that the name was offered up by Joe Carducci and was accepted by the rest of the band, despite Dukowski's own discomfort with it. SWA has had the dubious distinction of being considered the "worst" band to ever record for SST Records by many label aficionados and, in one fanzine article, Steve Albini claimed that among the worst things a person could do was "listen to SWA" and "be SWA". However, others have come to the band's defense. The band existed from the mid 1980s until 1992 and released five albums on SST Records, all of which are currently out of print.

<i>October Faction</i> (album) 1985 live album by October Faction

October Faction is an album by October Faction, the improvisational all-star punk rock band featuring Black Flag members Greg Ginn and Chuck Dukowski and Saccharine Trust guitarist Joe Baiza.

Würm was a sludge metal band started in 1973 by bass player Chuck Dukowski, who would later join Black Flag. They released one LP on Greg Ginn's SST Records and some tracks on compilations. They were active from 1973 to 1977 and from 1982 to 1983.

The Nig-Heist was a punk-comedy-shock rock band led by Steve "Mugger" Corbin, a roadie and live sound engineer for Black Flag and employee of SST Records. The Nig-Heist featured a revolving-door roster of members of the bands who were on tour with Black Flag at the moment. The band used to open for Black Flag on tour and recorded a 7", an LP and had tracks on compilations. They were notorious for their risqué stage antics, including band members playing naked, Mugger wearing a long-haired wig and insulting the crowd. Their songs were overtly vulgar and explicit in a funny way. Their motto was: "The band that cums in your mouth, not in your hands".

Overkill L.A. or SST Overkill is a hardcore punk/speed metal band started in 1980 in Los Angeles and which recorded two records on SST Records and some tracks on compilations. The band started as Overkill but they were rechristened Overkill L.A. by SST Records when they re-released their albums in the '90s and SST Overkill when they reunited in 2005.

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Biography: Black Flag". AllMusic . Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Chick, Stevie (2011). Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag . PM Press. pp.  37-39. ISBN   978-1-60486-418-2.
  3. 1 2 Video on YouTube
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lang, Dave (May 2007). "Chuck Dukowski Interview". Perfect Sound Forever. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  5. ↑ Grad, David (September–October 1997). "Oral history of Black Flag". Punk Planet (20). Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  6. ↑ Azerrad, Michael (2001). Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981–1991 . Little, Brown and Company. p. 41. ISBN   0-316-78753-1.
  7. ↑ Gitter, Mike (February 19, 2013). "FLAG vs. Black Flag: a Chat With Chuck Dukowski and Dez Cadena". Noisecreep . Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  8. ↑ O'Neill, Brian (November 20, 2018). ""Exhumed" From the Earth: Chuck Dukowski and the Reissue of Würm's Full-Length". Invisible Oranges . Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  9. 1 2 Prindle, Mark (April 9, 2016). "Chuck Dukowski Interview". Rebel Noise. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  10. ↑ Grimley, John (July 26, 2012). "Interview: Former Black Flag Bassist Chuck Dukowski Discusses New CD6 Album, 'Haunted'". Guitar World . Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  11. ↑ Greg Prato (January 28, 2013). "Black Flag Reunite for Album, Live Dates | Music News". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  12. ↑ "de beste bron van informatie over jay babcock. Deze website is te koop!". jaybabcock.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Various – The Decline of Western Civilization (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. September 28, 1993. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
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