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(posted 10/17/03)
Questions for Tuscaloosa musicians … answers from Geoff Calhoun, Blip & Spread Eagle
These musicians have answered our local music questionairre about the closing of the Chukker.
If you'd like to submit your comments, click here.

Blip was one of the numerous local bands that played the Chukker.
Here's the cover of their 2003 album "Everything is Fine"

Druid City Online ... What was your first experience with the Chukker as a patron? … as a musician?

Geoff Calhoun, guitar and vocals, Blip and Spread Eagle ... As a musician: As minors we all watched all the decent original music coming to town come through the Chukker and longed to see what it was all about. So we took a tape of “Stone Weasel” down there and started looking for other local acts to get on a bill with. I think our first show there was with DC MOON or the Phoebes. I remember my first impression was how different the venue and the clientelle were compared to the Ivory Tusk and the frat driven bars. The mural on the wall… the courtyard out back… and my kind of people playing my kind of music.

Who is the first band you saw at the Chukker and what do you remember about that night?

Dunno. You spend enough time in the Chukker the nights tend to run together.

Who is the best and worst band you’ve seen at the Chukker and what do you remember?

Man or Astroman?, Dick Dale, Guided by Voices, Superdrag, Crooked Fingers and Pain are standouts in my mind as far as the best. I couldn’t tell you the name of the worst but suffice it to say that I saw (and performed with) more than my fair share of half baked metal projects and low fi indie clumsiness on that stage. The chukker was always working with the campus radio station, so those of us who REALLY gave a damn about having some kind of scene were always trying to help push artists towards the Chukker. A lot of bands like the Features, Iodine, UltraBabyFat and UFOFU came through town solely b/c WVUA and the Chukker were able to work together.

Name as some of the best local bands you saw at the Chukker. Include any information you can remember about those bands.

Model Citizen. Matt Patton deserves a goddamn medal.
Pain. Energy, execution and enthusiasm. One of the few bands to ever make it on a national circuit based out of Ttown and for good reason.
The Phoebes/the Dexateens. They could’ve and shouldve been signed to a label like Lookout! Records … (editor's note...Dexateens album due out this winter.)
Chinese Dentist- I think the Dentist is one of the most genuine group of guys I’ve ever had the pleasure of being around. There were no delusions of grandeur (wish I could say the same for some other local acts.) There was no posturing- and each of them brought a little something extra to the mix that makes for a truly well balanced sound.
American Way. Not around anymore but I remember thinking how much potential they had as song writers.
The Shame Idols. Tim Boykin. Nuff said.

Where will you go to see music once the Chukker is closed?

I live in Birmingham now, so I don’t have to rely solely on the Chukker. I’ve always considered the Nick a sister bar to the Chukker and that’s where I end up more often than not these days. I do like 600 studios, though they need a bigger PA in the worst way.

What were the best 3 shows you saw or were a part of at the Chukker since it reopened?

Guided by Voices & Superdrag, Crooked Fingers, and Halloween (Model Citizen and Spread Eagle) last year.

What’s the strangest sight or experience you can recall from the Chukker?

SEXDRUGSANDROCKNROLL. One could soak up any or all of the aforementioned on any given night. By the time shit started to get really fucked up I was usually too far gone to remember it or had already bailed to go home and try to sleep the Chukker off for an early morning the next day.

How would you describe the Chukker under its current ownership?

As both an artist and a patron, I would say that Brooks and his partners did an admirable job making it the bar everyone hoped it could be. There was a huge difference in the backstage area, the stage, the equipment, the beer and the caliber of artists they brought through. They brought back some of the staff that I liked and added some friendlier faces behind the bar and at the door. It’s a tragedy the way its ending.

When you hear the name Ludovic Goubet (previous owner), what comes to mind?

The guy was a terrific friend to jazz players but an intolerable prick to younger musicians, especially rock musicians. Once he sold the place the Chukker took on a new, more vibrant feel for me.

What will Tuscaloosa lose when the Chukker closes on Halloween?

Tuscaloosa loses more than a landmark. Counter culture had a gathering point. A temple. A place where you could find a sympathetic ear (even if that ear was drowning in Pabst Blue Ribbon.) I still tell people about experiences I had at the Tusk and shake my head- “you’ll never get to know what the Tusk was all about.” Now I have to add the Chukker to that list.

What do you plan on doing on the Chukker’s final night?

I hate that people have to chose between the last Chukker show and the last Spread Eagle show at the Nick. I will be on stage at the Nick Halloween night, unfortunately.

Vive le Chukker.

The Chukker closed forever Halloween weekend 2003. Music for the Last Stand of the Chukker was provided by the Woggles, Club Wig, Model Citizen, Sweat Bee, DC Moon and his Atomic Supermen, and The Last Gunslinger. Click here to read more about the history of the Chukker.

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