This article is about the band. For the band's eponymous album, see !!! (album)

!!! ( chk-chk-chk) is an American dance-punk band that formed in Sacramento, California, United States, in 1996 by lead singer Nic Offer. Members of !!! came from other local bands such as The Yah Mos, Black Liquorice and Popesmashers. They are currently based in New York City. The band's seventh album, Shake the Shudder, was released in May 2017.[1]

Background and history [ edit ]

!!! is an American band formed in the summer of 1995 by the merger of part of the group Black Liquorice and Popesmashers. After a successful joint tour, the two teams 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 Bushmen's 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,[2] and the URL of their official website and the title of their Myspace page suggest it is the preferred pronunciation.

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.[3]

They released their third album, Myth Takes in 2007.[2][4]

!!! 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) 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).[5]

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

Discography [ edit ]

Albums [ edit ]

EPs [ edit ]

GSL26/LAB SERIES VOL. 2 (Split with Out Hud, 1999, Gold Standard Labs)

(Split with Out Hud, 1999, Gold Standard Labs) Live Live Live (November 2004, Beat Records, Japan only)

(November 2004, Beat Records, Japan only) Take Ecstasy with Me/Get Up (June 7, 2005, Touch and Go Records)

(June 7, 2005, Touch and Go Records) Yadnus (2007)

(2007) Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass E.P. (November 2010)

Singles [ edit ]

List of singles, with selected chart positions Title Year Peak chart positions Album UK

[10] "The Dis-Ease/The Funky Branca" 1998 — Single-only release "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 Single-only release "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" — "All U Writers" 2015 — As If "Freedom '15" / "Sick Ass Moon" — "Bam City" / "Ooo" — "The One 2" 2017 — Shake the Shudder "Dancing is the Best Revenge" —

Other projects [ edit ]

!!! (1997, tour cassette)

References [ edit ]

Anon (August 24, 2017). "!!!(チック・チック・チック)のランキング" [Ranking of tick, tick, tick]. Oricon News (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 24, 2017 .

Anon (Aug 24, 2017a). "Chart Log UK: Numerals". Zobbel. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017 .

Lopez, Michael (September 6, 2010). "!!! at The Clubhouse Last Night". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on August 23, 2018 .