Punks said they were too twangy. Country purists called them too loud. And the precious Rockabillies just plain hated them--a fury only egged on by the song "Saturday Fonzie". They were sloppy, they were drunk, they dressed funny, and--on the rare night when they had their shit together--they were the wildest cowpunks in town.
Born in 1995 to an unlikely trio--pop-minded Gretsch-slinger Maura Flaherty, rodeo sweetheart Ms. Andy Peregrin, and rock'n'roll fuck-up Leon Chase--the group hammered together a wacko mix of country singing, punk rock rhythms, and just plain silly songwriting. Maura gave the band its notorious name, and penned the theme song to go with it. Joined by bass impresario Theo Logian and a stream of lost drummers tragic enough to make Spinal Tap weep, Beltfight! spent two glorious, wasted years in the lost clubs of San Francisco (R.I.P. Chameleon, Komotion, Trocadero, etc.), making their special noise for any cowboy-headed freak that cared to listen.
Over time, the group succumbed to the usual VH-1 cliches--dead drummers, incestuous affairs, and of course artistic differences--and became a dizzying lesson in how not to have a band. Beltfight! broke up in the summer of 1997, leaving behind only one recording: a four-song demo cassette hastily mixed by some stoned-out guy in a room at Rocker Studios. These tracks remain as a raw, rugged testament to the fun-loving lunacy that was Beltfight!
