Bhopal Stiffs

The Bhopal Stiffs existed between 1985 and 1989 in Chicago. They played melodic mid-tempo punk rock, in the vein of what is today identified as the classic "Chicago sound". This catagorization is mostly due to the fact that two members of the Bhopal Stiffs, vocalist/guitarist Larry Damore and bassist Steve Saylors went on to form Pegboy with John Haggerty of Naked Raygun, and Joe Haggerty of The Effigies. Later Bhopal Stiffs material bears a strong resemblence to early Pegboy material. The Bhopal Stiffs releases included a 10-song demo tape recorded and released in 1987. Two of these songs were later issued on a 7" that same year on Dazit Records. Their next, and probably most well-known release, was the 6-song E.P.A. 12" EP released in 1988 by Roadkill Records (Screeching Weasel, Sludgeworth). Their final release was the song "Too Much Pain" on the There's A Fungus Among Us 7" compilation from What The Fuck? Records in 1989, a label run by Martin Sorrondeguy, future vocalist of Los Crudos and founder of Lengua Armada Records. The original lineup, and in fact the lineup for most of the Stiffs existence, was Dave Schleitwiler on drums, Steve Saylors on bass, Larry Damore on guitar and vocals, and Vince Marine on vocals and guitar. By the time the E.P.A. 12" was recorded, Vince had left the band, with Larry taking on sole vocal duties, and Ron Lowe joining on guitar. Even though this is the sound most people familiar with the Stiffs know best, this line-up really only represents the last six months or so of the bands existence. Prior to this, Vince actually sang the vast majority of the songs, and the guitar sound was quite different. During the band's time, they were quite popular, a "staple of the scene", and played often, particularly in the later years. They made regular appearances all around the Chicago area, and were practically the house band at The Exit, a steady 21+ punk bar/venue. They never toured. A complete discography CD, including unreleased and live material, is available from Harmless Records at www.harmlessrecords.com. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.