The Ergs!

The Ergs! were an American punk rock band formed in 2000 in South Amboy, New Jersey, by three high school friends: drummer/lead vocalist Mikey Erg (Mike Yannich), guitarist/vocalist Jeff Erg (Jeff Schroeck), and bassist Joey Erg (Joe Keller). Through touring and recording, the Ergs! became recognized on a national and international level, touring and playing with such noted acts as The Bouncing Souls, Lifetime, Less Than Jake, The Loved Ones, The Gaslight Anthem, Dillinger Four, None More Black, The Explosion, Municipal Waste, Lemuria, and more. They have appeared at a number of festivals including Riot Fest, Insubordination Fest, and The Fest, the latter of which the band played four consecutive years, including as a headlining act in 2008. The Ergs! played their farewell show on November 15, 2008.

History

Early history

The Ergs! formed in 2000 by Old Bridge High School students whose previous band the Flatliners (unrelated to other bands with this moniker) had broken up. The band members shared a common passion for all forms of music and culture and had no desire to be pigeonholed. In a 2007 interview with Steve Bove of the Asbury Park Press, Jim andersen Erg cited John Coltrane's seminal jazz record Giant Steps with instilling in the band aspirations "to maybe making music that was more than just punk."^[1] Even early songs poked fun at generic songwriting, such as "Xerox Your Genitals, Not the Ramones," which encourage punk bands to strive for their own sound because there would only ever be one Ramones.

The band quickly recorded a pair of CD-Rs, f'n and Digital Endpoints, selling them at live shows throughout New Jersey. The band went on its first tour outside New Jersey as the support of Dirt Bike Annie, a noted pop-punk band for whom Mikey Erg also played drums.

New York's Whoa Oh Records took an early interest in the band and issued their first 7", entitled 3 Guys, 12 Eyes, which was soon followed by a self-released CD-EP, "The Ben Kweller EP," whose artwork (and lyrics) only referred to indie darling Kweller, but not satirically as has been^[2] sometimes perceived. The Ergs set out on a brief tour in the spring/early summer of 2003 in support of The Ben Kweller EP with their friends and Whoa Oh labelmates, Charlie Brown Gets A Valentine (touring to promote their album "Dismissed"), called the "Who Grabbed My Ass? Tour". It began at the now closed Uncle Joe's in Jersey City, NJ, looped out west as far as Columbia, MO and ended with a show in an apartment in Philadelphia that featured Dirt Bike Annie.

Dorkrockcorkrod

After a few tours around the United States, the band entered Technical Ecstasy Studios with Chris Pierce to record their first full length. Dorkrockcorkrod was originally released on CD by Whoa Oh on June 15, 2004^[3] (and on vinyl in 2005 by Don Giovanni Records). While playing more and more shows at home to increasingly large and rabid audiences, the band began to draw attention on a national level, including that of hip-hop artist and Adult Swim contributor mc chris. This led to the band writing an original song, "All Kids Out Of the Pool" to be used in an Adult Swim promo spot. In the summer of 2005, mc chris chose The Ergs! and North Carolina's SNMNMNM as the openers for his 2 and a half month Revenge of the Nerd Tour.

With fans now awaiting the follow-up to dorkrockcorkrod, the band returned to Technical Ecstasy with Chris Pierce and emerged with the 7-track album Jersey's Best Prancers. The title and artwork parodied that of Lifetime. BuzzFeed included the album at number 24 on their "36 Pop Punk Albums You Need To Hear Before You F——ing Die" list.^[4]

Upstairs/Downstairs

On the strength of dorkrockcorkrod, Jersey's Best Prancers, and a various singles, the Ergs! took their New Brunswick cohorts, Hunchback, on their Discover America Tour in the summer of 2006.

At the midpoint of the tour in Seattle, WA, the band, with Hunchback in tow, entered the studio of Conrad Uno, a seasoned record producer whose past credits include the Grammy-nominated debut of The Presidents of the United States of America, as well as Mudhoney and The Young Fresh Fellows.

Taking its title from an infamous nervous breakdown suffered by Can vocalist Malcolm Mooney, the resulting LP Upstairs/Downstairs was released by Portland, Oregon's Dirtnap Records. Styles which had previously been alluded to were introduced full-bore on the record.

The album's closing title track was an almost 20 minute expression of romantic remorse and mental instability that erupts into an abrasive noise collage.

Reception of the record among fans of the band's earliest pop punk work was at first confused,^[5] but the record found an audience quickly. Janelle Jones of Alternative Press reviewed the record, hailing it as "the punk album to beat this year."^[6] Stewart Mason of Allmusic rated it three and a half stars out of five, calling it "notably less willfully silly than what has come before." Mason praised one of the tracks "Books About Miles Davis" as "a particular gem."^[7] As the band embarked on another full-US tour, this time with Buffalo indie rock trio Lemuria.

During this tour, the band was contacted by New Brunswick punk rock veterans The Bouncing Souls who wanted the Ergs! to be a part of a tour with the Souls and Lifetime celebrating the generations of punk rock in New Brunswick and New Jersey at large.^[8]

More recording followed, with the band releasing numerous 7" vinyl EPs and singles, as well as more touring, both on their own and supporting larger acts such as Philadelphia's The Loved Ones and fellow NJ residents The Gaslight Anthem.^[9]

Hindsight Is 20/20

Following the success of Upstairs/Downstairs, Dirtnap Records offered to issue a compilation record of the Ergs' now sizable catalog of singles, b-sides, and compilation appearances. The CD, entitled Hindsight Is 20/20 My Friend (after a line spoken by Chevy Chase in the movie Dirty Work) was released in the summer of 2008, just as the Ergs! and Hunchback took to the road again for the Jackalry Across America Tour.^[10] Despite the tour's success, by its end Hunchback had chosen to break up, and the Ergs! would follow suit in a matter of weeks, announcing that they would complete their remaining tour plans and play a final show in November at the Asbury Lanes.^[11][12][13]

In October 2008, the Ergs began their final bout of touring with dates supporting Less Than Jake alongside Landmines and Bomb the Music Industry!, followed by a Canadian and American tour which included 2 shows at Chicago's Riot Fest. This tour closed with a spot supporting Dillinger Four at the Brooklyn, NY record release show for D4's long-awaited 4th LP, Civil War.^[14]

The Ergs! bid farewell to their largest collection of fans from around the US and the globe at No Idea Records' The Fest 7 in Gainesville, Florida, where they were the only band on the headlining stage at the Fest to play two consecutive sets. During the first set, the band played songs from throughout their career, and during the second, played dorkrockcorkrod in its entirety.

On November 13, 2008, the Ergs! played an unannounced set at a Lemuria show at the Parlor, a New Brunswick basement. On Friday, November 14 they played Upstairs at the Khyber in Philadelphia. On Saturday, November 15, 2008, The Ergs! played 2 shows at the Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, NJ. The band played long, retrospective sets at each show, and at the late show closed with an extended version Upstairs/Downstairs that eventually incorporated all the night's band members and much of the audience demolishing instruments.

Post-breakup activity

After their split the former members of The Ergs! went on to form such groups as Psyched To Die, Night Birds, Black Wine and Ergquist. Many of these groups were collaborations with former members of Hunchback. On a few occasions, however, recordings have been released and live performances have taken place under the Ergs! banner.

Several 7" records and compilation appearances were released posthumously. Though each release was planned prior to the breakup, some recording sessions and in some cases writing for these records took place after the final show. A second volume of the collection record Hindsight is 20/20, My Friend is planned to compile this largely posthumous activity.

The band honored a commitment to a friend of the band to play a set of their own songs as well as requested covers at his wedding, which was not open to the public.

On December 5, 2010, The Ergs! and Hunchback played a pair of one-off reunion shows at Asbury Lanes. The motivation for the bands' decision to reunite was to raise money to offset medical bills for Hunchback bassist J Hunchback's mother, Jackie Nixon. The reunion shows coincided with many other fundraising efforts that weekend, including raffles, limited edition poster sales, auctions, and donated door money from other shows, including a show in Jersey City at which Mikey Erg performed solo, and Mikey Erg & (Ergs! roadie) Jay Insult's birthday party (also at Asbury Lanes), which featured a performance by The Hamiltons, a Canadian punk rock band with whom The Ergs! normally share an intense rivalry. On the day of the reunion shows, each band played an afternoon and an evening set, which were largely identical, although the Ergs! made the spontaneous decision to play the early and much-maligned song "Pool Pass" at the evening show. No new material was written or played, however the Ergs! performed a cover of "Tommy Gun" by The Clash, a song they had never played in full before, but had constantly referenced by teasing the opening drumroll and guitar riff to punctuate their live sets for years.

On December 31, 2011, The Ergs! performed a set of live band punk rock karaoke at the Asbury Lanes New Year's Eve party. Between 9 pm and midnight, the band played as the backing band for audience members who signed up to sing from a repertoire of over 100 songs, mostly of the punk/hardcore/new wave idiom. While the band were billed by name, as per assurances in advance of the performance, no original Ergs! songs were performed, and at no point did any of the three band members perform lead vocals. The band had previously performed as the Asbury Lanes' house karaoke band during their active tenure.

In April 2016 it was announced that The Ergs! would be reuniting at The Fest's 15th anniversary.

On May 6, 2016 Chris Gethard announced via Twitter that The Ergs! would reunite prior to Fest on The Chris Gethard Show at the May 12, 2016 taping.^[15]

The Ergs! played their final reunion shows on October 28 and October 29, 2016 in Gainesville, Florida.

Discography

Demos

EPs, Singles, and Splits with Other Artists

Full Length Records

Collection Records

External links

• Official Website
• The Ergs! on myspace
• The Ergs! biography at allmusic
• The Ergs! at punknews.org
• Dirtnap Records Official Website
• Don Giovanni Records Official Website
• Whoa Oh Records Official Website

References

1. ↑ http://blogs.app.com/rhythmroom/2008/10/23/peace-ergs/
2. ↑ http://wfmu.org/special.php/NW
3. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/dorkrockcorkrod-mr0000311595
4. ↑ Sherman, Maria; Broderick, Ryan (July 2, 2013). "36 Pop Punk Albums You Need To Hear Before You F----ing Die". BuzzFeed. Retrieved July 29, 2015. 
5. ↑ http://www.punknews.org/review/6354
6. ↑ http://www.alternativepress.com/reviews/789.htm
7. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/upstairs-downstairs-mw0000481392
8. ↑ http://www.punknews.org/article/24015
9. ↑ http://www.punknews.org/article/26996
10. ↑ http://www.punknews.org/article/29088
11. ↑ http://www.punknews.org/article/30341
12. ↑ http://www.alternativepress.com/news/4653.htm
13. ↑ http://www.punknews.org/article/30638
14. ↑ http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/archives/2008/10/new_venue_for_d.html
15. ↑ https://twitter.com/ChrisGethard
16. ↑ Biese, Alex (September 11, 2013). "Don Giovanni Records celebrates 10 years with a tour featuring Screaming Females, Waxahatchee and Tenement". MyCentralJersey.com. 
17. ↑ http://www.dorkrockcorkrod.com