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Slapstick | |
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| Origin | Elgin,Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Punk rock,Ska punk |
| Years active | 1993–1996, periodic reunion performances thereafter |
| Labels | Asian Man Records |
| Members | Brendan Kelly Dan Andriano Dan Hanaway Matt Stamps Rob Kellenberger Peter Anna Karl Henkelmann |
Slapstick is an American punk-ska fusion band fromElgin, Illinois that was primarily active from 1993 to 1996. Started by a group of friends, they took inspiration fromOperation Ivy and the guttural punk vocals ofCrimpshrine. Though the band had made the decision to break up a couple of weeks beforehand, their original final show was October 5, 1996 at the Metro withLess Than Jake andSkankin' Pickle. Since disbanding, Slapstick has periodically reunited to perform shows for various reasons, including benefits and anniversaries. The band is known for being the root of the "Slapstick Family Tree", a group of musical projects which spawned from members of Slapstick, includingAlkaline Trio,The Lawrence Arms,The Broadways,Tuesday, Duvall,Colossal,The Honor System andThe Falcon.[1][2]
They have 2 full-length releases: the albumLookit! was released onMike Park's now-defunct Dill Records,[1][3] and later on his next and still-active labelAsian Man Records; and aself-titled compilation (also referred to as25 Songs[1] orDiscography[4]) was released on Asian Man, featuring the songs fromLookit!, a few unreleased songs, and 6 new songs that were intended to be released on a 10" record had the band not split.[5]
Prior to the release of these albums, the band had released two 7" vinyl EPs:Superhero, which came in various colours of vinyl and with two different covers; andCrooked, which featured 4 songs later released onLookit! (and by extension the eponymous compilation).Superhero was originally self-released, and later repressed and released alongsideCrooked onDyslexic Records. A few songs were released exclusively on now out-of-print compilations, and thus remain unavailable. The band also released a split with Tommyrot, and a few demo tapes containing otherwise unreleased songs. Thus, the self-titled 'discography' is not technically a complete collection.
Slapstick broke up because we couldn't write songs together anymore.Dan (Hanaway) or I would bring a song in and Matt, Danny and Rob wouldn't like it.Conversely, those three would bring in songs and Dan and I wouldn't likethem. The creative process stagnated. it has a lot to do with the factthat none of us really ever liked ska a lot. It was a phase for all ofus and once we got through the phase, writing ska became hard to do (notto mention silly). We had different ideas about what direction Slapstickshould go, and there was no other resolution. We are all still greatfriends though.
-Brendan Kelly[6]
The members of Slapstick went on to form a number of notable groups. Andriano, Stamps and Kellenberger formedTuesday. Likewise, Kelly and Hanaway formedThe Broadways with Rob DePaola andTricky Dick guitaristChris McCaughan. When Tuesday broke up in 1999, Andriano further focused his efforts on theAlkaline Trio, who he had joined in late 1997. The Broadways broke up in late 1998, after which Kelly and McCaughan started the still-activeThe Lawrence Arms, and a little later Hanaway and DePaola formedThe Honor System. In 2004, Kelly and Andriano collaborated once again in the ChicagosupergroupThe Falcon. Kellenberger later formedColossal, and briefly played with theSmoking Popes. Trombonist Pete Anna played inLess Than Jake from 1998-2001.[2][additional citation(s) needed]
After years of refusing, and occasionally mocking, fans' requests to play songs from their old bands, The Lawrence Arms performed Slapstick's "Broken Down" and songs by The Broadways at the Asian Man Records 11th anniversary show. They also performed these songs on their 2007 tour, in which their own side-projects,Sundowner and The Falcon, served as support acts; this was probably to somewhat round out the 'family tree' aspect of these shows.
On November 23, 1997, Slapstick reunited for two final shows at theFireside Bowl in Chicago. They werebenefit shows, both selling out. In June 2006 Asian Man Records released a DVD of the second show. It also features optional video commentary by Brendan Kelly and Rob Kellenberger.[1]
On June 15, 2011, all the original members of Slapstick reunited at Slim's in San Francisco, for theAsian Man Records 15th Anniversary Festival. After two other reunited Asian Man Records bands –The Chinkees andMU330 – opened, Slapstick played an hour-long set, constantly poking fun at how old they were, how little they like to play ska, and how they were "uh, Slapstick, I guess". Many fans requested Lawrence Arms songs from Kelly, who said this was like his wife asking him to put his pants back on. Late in the set, a drunkenMatt Skiba of fellow Chicago punk rock bandAlkaline Trio joined Slapstick on stage, slurring, gushing, giving hugs to all the band members, and even engaging in drunken humour at risk of misinterpretation.[2][additional citation(s) needed]
In May 2012, frontmanBrendan Kelly announced on his personal site that Slapstick would again be reuniting, this time to perform atRiot Fest Chicago later that year.[7]
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