!!!

!!! (/(ɪ)k.(ɪ)k.(ɪ)k/ ch(i)k-ch(i)k-ch(i)k), also known as Chk Chk Chk, is an American rock band from Sacramento, California,[1] formed in 1996 by lead singer Nic Offer. Members of !!! came from other local bands such as the Yah Mos, Black Liquorice and Pope Smashers. They are currently based in New York City. The band's ninth album, Let It Be Blue, was released in May 2022.[1]

!!!
!!! performing at the Flow Festival in 2007
!!! performing at the Flow Festival in 2007
Background information
Also known asChk Chk Chk
OriginSacramento, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active1996–present
Labels
Spinoffs
Spinoff of
  • Black Liquorice
  • Pope Smashers
Members
  • Nic Offer
  • Mario Andreoni
  • Dan Gorman
  • Rafael Cohen
  • Meah Pace
  • Chris Egan
Past members
Websitechkchkchk.net

Background and history

!!! was formed in the fall of 1996 by the merger of members of the groups Black Liquorice and Pope Smashers, while on tour. After a successful joint tour, the two bands decided to mix the disco-funk with more aggressive sounds and integrate the hardcore singer Nic Offer from the Yah Mos. The band's name was inspired by the subtitles of the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy, in which the clicking sounds of the San people's Juǀʼhoan 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,[2] and the URL of their official website and the title of their Myspace page suggest it is the preferred pronunciation. Offer cites Depeche Mode and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) as influences.[3]

The band's full-length debut 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.

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]

They released their third album, Myth Takes in 2007.[2][5]

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

!!! is composed of Mario Andreoni (guitar), Dan Gorman (horns/percussion/keys), Nic Offer (vocals), Rafael Cohen (bass/various electronic devices), Chris Egan (drums) and Meah Pace (vocals).

Vocalist and drummer John Pugh officially left the band in July 2007 to concentrate on his new band Free Blood.[6] Vocalist Shannon Funchess stood in for Pugh during much of their 2007 tour.[7] 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).[8]

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[9]
US Elec.
[10]
FRA
[11]
JPN
[12]
UK
[13]
!!!
Louden Up Now 4169135
Myth Takes
  • Released: March 5, 2007
  • Label: Warp
195313436135
Strange Weather, Isn't It?
  • Released: August 24, 2010
  • Label: Warp
1311254
Thr!!!er
  • Released: April 29, 2013
  • Label: Warp[14]
1811762121
As If
  • Released: October 16, 2015
  • Label: Warp
1880
Shake the Shudder
  • Released: May 19, 2017
  • Label: Warp
153
Wallop
  • Released: August 30, 2019[15]
  • Label: Warp
166
Let It Be Blue
  • Released: May 6, 2022[16]
  • Label: Warp
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

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)
  • Yadnus (2007)
  • Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass E.P. (November 2010)
  • MEGAMiiiX Vol.1: Shake Shake Shake (2018)
  • Certified Heavy Kats (July 31, 2020)[17]

Singles

!!!'s Nic Offer, supporting The Red Hot Chili Peppers in Reading, England (2006).
List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[13]
"The Dis-Ease/The Funky Branca" 1998 Non-album single
"Me and Giuliani Down by the School Yard (A True Story)" 2003 84 Louden Up Now
"Pardon My Freedom" 2004
"Hello? Is This Thing On?" 74
"Me and Giuliani Down by the School Yard (A Remix)"
"Take Ecstasy With Me/Get Down" 2005 213 Non-album single
"Heart of Hearts" 2007 Myth Takes
"Must Be the Moon"
"AM/FM" 2010 Strange Weather, Isn't It?
"Slyd" 2013 THR!!!ER
"One Girl / One Boy"
"And Anyway It's Christmas"[18][19] Non-album single
"All U Writers" 2015 As If
"Freedom '15" / "Sick Ass Moon"
"Bam City" / "Ooo"
"I Feel So Free" (Lost Souls of Saturn Remix) 2016 Non-album single
"The One 2" 2017 Shake the Shudder
"Dancing Is the Best Revenge"
"Serbia Drums" 2019 Wallop
"I'm Sick of This/So We Can F*ck" 2020 Non-album single
"Do the Dial Tone" Certified Heavy Kats
"Walk It Off"

Other projects

  • !!! (1997, tour cassette)

Footnotes

  1. Coscarelli 2007
  2. Seabrook 2007
  3. Locker, Melissa (May 9, 2013). "Turntable Interview: !!!". Stereogum. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  4. Anon 2005
  5. Diver 2006
  6. Maher & Solarski 2007
  7. Lopez 2010
  8. Chinen 2007
  9. "!!! (Chk Chk Chk) Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  10. "!!! (Chk Chk Chk) Chart History: Top Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  11. Anon 2014
  12. Anon 2017
  13. Anon 2017a
  14. Minsker 2013
  15. "Wallop by !!!". Apple Music. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  16. "Let It Be Blue by !!!". Apple Music. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  17. "!!! (Chk Chk Chk) Announce Certified Heavy Kats EP, Share New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. July 8, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  18. lostsides (April 2, 2014). "Chk Chk Chk (!!!) – And Anyway It's Christmas (2013)". Christmas Underground. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  19. Hilleary, Mike. "Listen: !!! - "And Anyway It's Christmas"". www.undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved March 16, 2023.

References

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