The Chargers Street Gang

A manic five-piece punk onslaught from Cleveland, OH, whose music merges the gritty drive of early Midwestern punk icons such as the Dead Boys and the Pagans with the over-the top showmanship of the MC5 and the visionary noise of Pere Ubu, the Chargers Street Gang first formed as the Chargers. Their first record under their augmented name, an EP called Fun Housing, hit the streets in 2000. (The record was doubtless named in tribute to the Stooges' second album; early on, the group made occasional appearances playing Stooges covers under the name the Asheton Brothers.) The group's first album, Festival Seating, Vol. 1, was a collection of singles, compilation tracks, and unreleased songs. The group signed with Get Hip Records in 2001, and released their first proper studio album, Holy the Bop Apocalypse, in the late fall of that year.