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(posted 10/19/03)
Questions for Tuscaloosa musicians … answers from ... Elliott McPherson, the Dexateens
These musicians have answered our local music questionairre about the closing of the Chukker.
If you'd like to submit your comments, click here.

Elliott McPherson shares the mic, but destroys the stage during this show in winter of 2002.

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

Elliott McPherson, guitar and vocals, the Dexateens ... The first time I went into the Chukker was over the fence and in through the back door. I was 18 and it was a wonderland to me.

The first time i played there I was 19 with the phoebes. What a rush. Wow!

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

The Penetrators were on stage wearing those gold lame' jackets and they looked and sounded great. I remember the crowd looking great too. I didn't see a single person in kahkis and polos, and I knew that I had found a place I could be me.

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

The best bands I've ever seen at the chukker... it's a toss up between Guided by Voices, the Quadrajets, the Neckbones and the Hellacopters. there were so many great shows and so many bad shows.

The worst band I've ever seen at the Chukker was Ludos' carribean project that he played sax in. Man those were the days. No really I love that guy. He was so fun to argue with.

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

The Penetrators are a great band ... period. You know, they are one of those bands that could actually sound great in there. That place was such an echo chamber. If it wasn't a garage or surf band forget it. The sound would bounce off of those walls for hours. But the Penetrators were always pros and always purists about what they were doing.

What were the last couple of Dexateens shows like?

The second to last Dexateens show at the Chukker I think little Craig was still in the band then. All I remember is that Eva and I had just found out she was pregnant with our son and we were so excited. It's strange that I can remember so few details of that night. That was one of the only shows that I had nothing to drink at. I think I just watched her the whole time we played.

I think the last show we did there went pretty bad. At the end of our set, I left the bar out of the stage door, went around the corner and puked on the side walk. When I was about to come back in the bar, I realized they were playing an encore with out me. Bastards.

Most shows we did there were completely over the top and way out of hand. Sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a way that would cause the band to fall apart in disastrous form. We've had some really shitty nights there. but when you were going on at 3 in the morning and the band as well as the crowd is delirious with booze, it still made for a fun night. When all else failed, we would destroy the drum set, turn the amps all the way up to make a bunch a feedback, throw the mic stands at the crowd, and stomp off the stage like brats. Those were the good old days.

I've probably played the Chukker at least fifty times while Ludo owned that place. I bet I could take all that money ive ever made there combined into one lump sum and I would barely have enough dough to make cab fare out to Buhl.

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

GIVE RISE TO 600 STUDIOS.

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

The strangest thing I've ever seen in that place was that time that I saw a midget woman riding that big white dog with back spots down the hall on the way to the bathrooms. Or was it that time I saw Jasmine the drag queen, not in drag.

How would you describe the Chukker under its final ownership? When you hear the name Ludovic Goubet (former owner), what comes to mind?

That place is darker than it ever was. It has lost the warm tones that used to be in there. I mean that literally as well as spiritually. I think its only fitting to tear that place down. Not to say Ludo did a good job or that the present owners did a bad job. I guess everything has its place and time and the Chukker's time was over along time ago.

What will Tuscaloosa lose when the Chukker closes on Halloween?

Tuscaloosa will lose a place where people can go see original music and art. There will be another place of that sort. I hope.

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

On the night that the Chukker closes down I'm going to try and buy, or steal maybe, that bell that hangs above the bar. I don't know, I want a some sort of relic to put in my bar to commemorate the spirit of the chukker. Once I open my bar that is ...

Elliott McPherson is/was a member of these and other Tuscaloosa bands ...
The Dexateens, The Phoebes

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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