In memory of
Ramona "Punka Rocka no good!" Clark
1946-2008
"Great fucking songs!!!"
--Joe Queer, Dec 10, 2008
"big fat bitch got pissy tits...... hmmmmm you sound like a bunch of assholes!!!!!!!!! I think we'll skip your friendship request...... thanks!"
--ragin'daisy, Jan 10, 2009
Louisville Drunk Punk Scumfucks!
Drunken Bastards, the greatest Louisville punk rock band you've never heard of. Why, you ask? Well, from 1995 until 2001, we only played out once, never got to record anything in the studio, and never released anything. How Punk Rock is that?! We're so goddamn Punk Rock that we never even bothered to do anything...yet! Just wait you fucks! Just wait!
History of a band that barely was:
Since the beginning in 1995 until the end in 2001, we had pretty much a revolving door of bassists, vocalists, and even a couple second guitarists over our 6 year existence. And we had an almost perfect record of getting kicked out of every practice space we played in, (with the exception of the last one, and thats because we broke up first), due to loud music and general drunkeness. And we always ended up going into a forced hiatus every few months after losing a practice place, and usually having to replace the vocalist and bassist after every hiatus. Oh yeah, and we had a rule that we would always practice drunk, (or at least drinking)! Fuck you, you're band's not that Punk!
The idea for the Drunken Bastards formed from the ashes of a shitty Grindcore band that Jerf and Darl were in, (Jerf was singing/growling in, no less). Jerf decided he didn't want to do cookie monster vocals anymore and wanted to play drums, and because Darl wrote catchier punk riffs than Grindcore riffs. So in late 1995, The Drunken Bastards' first incarnation started practicing. It was all downhill from there.
The lineup history, as best I can remember it:
1995: The original lineup (which lasted only a few months) was Jerf on drums, Darl on guitar, Drew Watkins on bass, and Eric Walker on vocals. We practiced a few times in a rental storage space alongside local punk band Charisma Society (which Darl and Drew were also members of). This would be the beginning of the Drunken Bastards' long history of sharing band members with Charisma Society. We lost storage shed rehearsal space because of the loud music, and lost Eric and Drew as well.
1996 - 1997: Reformed with Matt Ramone on bass and Leroy Spectre on vocals, (both also with Charisma Society. And let it be noted that Spectre had the distinction of being the only sober member of the band ever). We started practicing again for a few months in an old school that had been converted into band reheasal studios. Then get kicked out of there because of a party we had where a friend of the band got drunk and destroyed some shit in the building. We pactice every now and then at various people's houses, but lost Spectre somewhere duing this time.
1998 - 1999: Fargon joined on vocals. We practiced at a few different people's houses, but end up getting kicked out of all of them for loud music and drunken behavior. During this time we played our one and only show ever: July 1998 at Llamapalooza, (which was a local Punk band festival put on in New Albany, Indiana). We weren't even on the bill for the show, we all just happened to be there that day and played on borrowed equipment. Sometime in 1999, we lost both Matt and Fargon.
1999 - 2001: Fitz and Graeme Springer's band Perilous Derelicts split up and both join Darl and Jerf in what would be the last version of Drunken Bastards, (this is the lineup you hear on all songs on here). We started practicing at Graeme's apartment until he lost his lease. We went on hiatus for a few months and reformed in late 2000 with the same lineup and started practing at Mom's Music in Jeffersonville, IN, (they hated our music, but loved our money). Several rehearsal recordings were made and things were going very well for once. A set of 13 songs was ready, plans were made to start playing out and get some studio recordings done, and eventually tour. We even had King from Hellstomper lined up to do guest vocals on a cover of the David Allan Coe tune "Three Biggest Lies" that we were planning on recording, and we had a good shot of getting on the bill at the 2001 Confederacy of Scum Supershow in South Carolina. Then everything pretty much fell apart really quickly around April of 2001. A couple of band members were struggling with drug and drinking problems (hard to imaging that happening in a band called Drunken Bastards), which lead to one member eventually going to prison, while another ended up in AA, (although he's off the wagon now). Another had a new family to support. After the last lineup fell apart, there was some talk of reforming the band with different members, but nothing ever materalized, (until 2008, that is). There was also an attempt to put out a fake live cd in late 2001 on Drew Watkins' label C.R.I. (Capitalism Records Incorporated) using rehearsal recordings from 2000. Vocal overdubs were done and crowd noise was edited in, but the project fell apart before any mixing could be started and the songs were never released until this MySpace page.
Then began the 8 year hiatus of the band. During that hiatus:
Darl got married, had a couple kids, became a chef, and in late 2004, Darl moved to New Orleans only to be hit by Hurricane Katrina a few months later. He and his family lost all of their possessions and spent a week in the Superdome after the hurricane, (you'll have to ask him, he's got some great stories). He then moved to Ft. Worth, TX for a short time where he became a truck driver, and then moved to Seattle for a few years. He has since divorced and in late 2008 moved back to Louisville, setting the stage for the long talked about Drunken Bastards reunion. He has not played in a band since the band split in 2001.
Jerf got married, had a kid, and has played in several other local bands, including Damn Ramblers, Rocket To Des Moines, Edges of October, and several others who never quite made it out of the basement.
Current living and personal situations have the Drunken Bastards on hold for the moment. But with the new addition of Chris Layton on bass and several people lined up to try out for vocalist, things should be happening before too much longer. We are committed to seeing it through this time, no fucking around anymore! Look for recordings to be done, shows to be played, tours to take place all within the next few years. Drunken Bastards WILL be back and better than ever! That's both a promise and a threat!
The lyrics to all of the tracks on this site were written between 1998 and 2000 and are subject to change once the band reforms. For the record, Drunken Bastards are anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-homophobic, anti-fascist, and anti-you...we hate everybody equally!
