!!!

!!!
!!! performing at the Flow Festival in Helsinki, Finland (2007).
Background information
Origin	Sacramento, California, United States
Genres	Dance-punk Indie rock Post-punk revival
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Warp Touch and Go Gold Standard
Associated acts	Out Hud, Maserati, Turing Machine, The Juan Maclean, LCD Soundsystem
Website	chkchkchk.net
Members
Nic Offer Allan Wilson Mario Andreoni Tyler Pope Dan Gorman Sean McGahan Shannon Funchess Paul Quattrone
Past members
John Pugh Mikel Gius Jason Racine Justin Van Der Volgen Jerry Fuchs

!!! (generally pronounced "chk chk chk"^[1]) is a dance-punk band that formed in Sacramento, California, in 1996. Members of !!! came from other local bands such as The Yah Mos, Black Liquorice and Popesmashers. The band, who are commonly associated with the dance-punk movement, are currently based in New York City, Sacramento, and Portland, Oregon.

Background and history

!!!'s Nic Offer, supporting The Red Hot Chili Peppers in Reading, England (2006).

After a tour together, members of Sacramento bands Black Liquorice and Popesmashers formed !!!. The band's name was inspired by the subtitles of the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy, in which the clicking sounds of the Bushmens' Khoisan language were represented as "!". However, as the bandmembers themselves say, !!! is pronounced by repeating thrice any monosyllabic sound. Chk Chk Chk is the most common pronunciation, but they could just as easily be called Pow Pow Pow, Bam Bam Bam, Uh Uh Uh, etc.^[1] The URL of their official website and the title of their MySpace page, however, suggests that "Chk Chk Chk" is the preferred pronunciation.^[2]

The band's debut full-length record came out in 2000 as a self-titled album on the label Gold Standard Laboratories. This was followed in 2003 by the single "Me and Giuliani Down By the School Yard", a lengthy track combining house beats with sinewy basslines, psychedelic guitars, and simple lyrics which quote the title song of the musical Footloose.^[3]

A second full-length, Louden Up Now, was released on Touch and Go in America and on Warp Records in Europe in June 2004. In June 2005, !!! released a new EP covering "Take Ecstasy With Me" by The Magnetic Fields, and "Get Up" by Nate Dogg. The following December, the original drummer for the band, Mikel Gius, was struck and killed by a car while riding his bike.^[4] !!! released their third album, Myth Takes in 2007.^[5][6]

!!! is composed of Mario Andreoni (guitar), Dan Gorman (horns/percussion/keys), Nic Offer (vocals), Tyler Pope (bass/various electronic devices), and Allan Wilson (horns/percussion/keys). Touring members include Shannon Funchess (vocals), Sean McGahan (various electronic devices/sound manipulation) and Paul Quattrone (drums). The band also shared membership with the similar, defunct group Out Hud (including Tyler Pope, who has played with LCD Soundsystem and written music for Cake).^{[citation needed]}

Vocalist and drummer John Pugh officially left the band in July 2007 to concentrate on his new band Free Blood.^[7] Shannon Funchess stood in for Pugh during much of their 2007 tour.^[8]

John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers saw the band in a gig in Los Angeles and invited them to support the Red Hot Chili Peppers during their 2006 tour of the UK.^{[citation needed]}

On November 8, 2009, the band's former drummer Jerry Fuchs - who was also a member of Maserati, Turing Machine and The Juan MacLean - died after falling down an elevator shaft.^[9]

Discography

!!! performing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on May 2, 2004.

Albums

• !!! – (November, 2001, Gold Standard Labs)
• Louden Up Now – (June 7, 2004, Touch and Go/Warp) #4 (U.S. Electronic Albums), #14 (U.S. Independent Albums), #20 (U.S. Heatseekers)
• Myth Takes – (March 5, 2007, Warp) #3 (U.S. Electronic Albums), #4 (CMJ Radio 200), #8 (U.S. Heatseekers), #25 (U.S. Independent Albums), #195 (Billboard 200)
• Strange Weather, Isn't It? (August 24, 2010, Warp)

EPs

• GSL26/LAB SERIES VOL. 2 – (Split with Out Hud, 1999, Gold Standard Labs)
• Live Live Live – (November 2004, Beat Records, Japan only)
• Take Ecstasy with Me/Get Up – (June 7, 2005, Touch and Go Records)
• Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass E.P. – (November 2010)

Singles

• "The Dis-Ease/The Funky Branca" – (1998, 7")
• "Me and Giuliani Down by the School Yard (A True Story)" – (2003, CD, 12")
• "Pardon My Freedom" – (2004, 12")
• "Hello? Is This Thing On?" – (2004, CD, 12")
• "Me and Giuliani Down by the School Yard (A Remix)" – (2004, single-sided 12")
• "Heart of Hearts" – (2007, 12" picture disc and download)
• "Must Be the Moon" – (2007, 12" picture disc and download)
• "AM/FM" – (2010, 12" picture disc and download)

Other projects

• !!! (1997, tour cassette)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Seabrook, Andrea (May 17, 2007). "The Musicians of !!!: Making Their Own 'Myths' " (Audio: Flash or MP3). All Things Considered NPR. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
2. ^ "!!! (Chk Chk Chk) on Myspace Music" MySpace.com, 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-26. Archived 12 August 2007 at WebCite
3. ^ Michele Finardi (May 30, 2010). "!!!: A luglio a Torino". LoudVision. http://www.loudvision.it/musica-news--a-luglio-a-torino--2289.html. Retrieved December 30, 2010. 
4. ^ Orangevale bicyclist killed. Sacramento Bee. December 19, 2005, Page B2. Newsbank. Retrieved 2010-08-25. Archived 26 August 2010 at WebCite
5. ^ Diver, Mike (November 16th, 2006). "It's no rumour, it's a Myth. Takes eight to make it !!!". News Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2010-08-26. Archived 12 August 2007 at WebCite
6. ^ Howe, Brian. (March 2, 2007). "Album Review - !!! Myth Takes (Warp; 2007)". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2010-08-26. Archived 26 August 2010 at WebCite
7. ^ Maher, Dave; Solarski, Matthew (July 11, 2007). "John Pugh Leaves !!!, Fires Up Free Blood". Pitchforkmedia.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20080513010104re_/www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/46289-john-pugh-leaves-fires-up-free-blood. Retrieved 2010-08-25. 
8. ^ Phillips, Amy (August 6, 2007). Lollapalooza Report: Sunday [Amy Phillips]. Pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 2010-08-26. Archived 1 November 2007 at WebCite
9. ^ Drummer dies in elevator shaft fall. WABC News AP. November 8, 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-25. Archived 26 August 2010 at WebCite

External links

• Official website
• !!! on Myspace
• !!! discography at MusicBrainz
• Interview for Aural States, Oct 2007
• !!! on NPR's "All Things Considered"
• Interview with Nic Offer, August 2010

Video

• PUNKCAST#423 live @ NYU, NYC – Mar 25 2004. (RealPlayer)