About Me
the legendary punk rawk/ska juggernaut known as GOV'T CHEE$E began it's conquest for Flooridian domination in the year of 1992, in the humble hamlet of Fort Pierce, FL. It coalesced when two young bucks by the name of Mike Colby and Gomer Newman concurred to continue their musical exploitations (on guitar and drums, respectively) after the untimely demise of their bands Infinite Minds (with Josh Jenkins, aka CareBear on bass) and Pookie The Atomic Fudgebear (with Gomer's brother Chris on bass). They needed other band members tho, so they assigned positions to a couple of their skateboarding buddies. Cris Corredor, you be the bass player, and Mike Hill (aka Unkle OneTime, aka Unkle KreepCam), you be the lead singer. Cool, now we have a band, we just need a name. Enter the high school cafeteria experience, where young Colby, Corredor and Newman had to steal chicken sandwiches to feed their hungry teenage appetites. Upon one such mission of thievery, the lads got back to their table to find out that the chicken sammiches they had stolen were indeed cheeseburgers in chicken sammich labeled paper. Cris remarked "now we gotta eat this old government cheese" and the band was born. They began by doing covers of their favorite bands of the time: Minor Threat, Minutemen, Black Flag, Pegboy, Operation Ivy, Descendents, etc. This kept them interested for a week or two, then they started writing the epic punk rawk ska anthems they were known for. Such staples as "This Here Song", "Stinky", "Cottage Cheese", "Quarter Pounder with Cheese", "Relax", "Sappy Girl Song" were composed and hammered into perfection during this time, and history was forever re-written as a slew of shows got slayed. Who can forget the epic tomfoolery of the Festival Theaters shows? The Moonbutter events? Johnapalooza? Yes, these were our good times, soon to be shattered upon the inconvience of life when it was no longer a viable option for Gomer to be a full time member of the band. Left with no other option, the CHEE$E had to triumph on. The skies opened up, and out of the void fell a 14-year-old Vero skater kid named Justin Focco, who was already getting hip to the game with a very early incarnation of the world famed Vero band DISCOUNT. The CHEE$E got ahold of his ass, however, and turned him into a powerhouse of punk/ska fury. More and more songs were written, and more and more shows played, mostly with every notable ska band that came on tour thorough Florida. The Toasters, Skankin' Pickle, the TantraMonsters, Murphy's Law, The Pietasters, Mephiskapheles, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Mustard Plug, Less Than Jake, Spitvalves, Magadog, Bingomut, The Holstiens, Skif Dank and many others all shared the stage with GOV'T CHEE$E, and felt really embarrassed at how amazing the CHEE$E really was. This all went on for many years, then the boys had to part ways with Cris, who for some reason was bound to be the dissenter from the beginning. Carrying on briefly with Mike Hill now on bass and vocal duties, and a horn section, the CHEE$E continued to write even more amazing songs with horn arrangements that no one ever got to hear. It was 1995, and it was over....
BUT WAIT, the dude who owned Thee BROTHEL (indoor skate/bike ramp park that had numerous AWESOME shows) decided to pay for the CHEE$E to record a whole album, and a reunion was in order. No prob, just get good ole Todd Rockhill to play bass, and just GIT R DUN. More shows ensued, with notables such as GUS and the Skaladays, and an album was recorded over a smoky weekend in orlando at SPOT studios with Flim Flam Todd. It was rad, but it was not to be longwinded. No, the winds of change blew in a NEW equation: THE GOV'T CHEE$E FUNK ALLSTARS. This project consisted of the power triumverate of Hill Colby and Focco, on bass, keyboards and drums respectively, augmented with the prescence of Whitey on guitar, Timmy T on percussion, and the enigmatic CLIFTON ROBINSON on vocal duties. It was, yet again, AMAZING, and a fresh blend of funk, jazz, and soul/r&b to keep people moving. This incarnation performed at Zelmos, Vampire Cafe, and a few street corners here and there, then finally came to rest sometime in 97. from 1997 until 2005, the CHEE$E has been in a period of dead incubation. Here and now, at the end of the momentous year of 05, GOV'T CHEE$E has risen from the ashes once again to bless the stage with nothing but pure PUNK RAWK history lessons.
All respect due to YO MAMA'S PUSSY
