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

Craig Gates is feeling the Chukker vibe

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

Craig Gates, bass and vocals, Model Citizen ... My first visit to the Chukker was spring of 1993-- I played bass in a godawful goth band called EGM from Montgomery (egm stands for "Elegant Garden of Masochism"-- yeah, I know). I remember my girlfriend at the time, who lived in New York state, called me on the Chukker phone to verify whether or not the rumors of me hooking up with an infamous Montgomery skag were true-- very Chukker, though I didn't know it at the time. I later learned that when people called looking for Chukker regulars, the bartenders had been instructed to lie and say they weren't there to avoid this sort of scene.

I don't remember much about the show except the sound was bad, which has been a hallmark of the room for as long as anyone can remember, though a few adept
soundmen have done admirable work with the old "Sound Cannon."

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

When I moved to Tuscaloosa in early 1998, the first band I saw was The Things, featuring Jeb Smith on drums, Elliott McPherson on guitar and vocals, and Rob
Johnson on bass. It was their last show and I was totally blown away at how Elliott had progressed as a musician and showman since I'd last seen him play. That night I played him and John Smith a cassette of some songs Jeb and I had been working on, and Elliott began to tell me about a three-guitar band he wanted to put together with some guy named Sweetdog on drums...

This was right around the same time Man Or Astroman? had one of their clone bands play a gig at the Chukker. I remember seeing Brian Teasley standing in the audience watching a band that was ostensibly MOAM?... surreal. Everyone says that the Chukker was already past its heyday at this point, but I recall there still being good crowds full of happy drunks and cute girls ...

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

Ronnie Dawson put on one of the most energetic, powerful shows I've seen at the Chukker (or anywhere else, for that matter). There are so many "worst" bands that have played at the Chukker that it's not even worth getting into, but I think the worst must have been that godawful goth band, egm. :)

Name as some of the best local bands you saw at the Chukker.

Tommy Sorrells with the original lineup of the Benders featuring Barry Hannah Jr. on lead guitar. Fucking fantastic.

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

The Nick, aka "The Chukker, Jr." 600 Studios is wrangling a liqour license out of the city, so that may well turn out to be the place that carries on the Chukker's legacy. I hear they're only going to carrying PBR, which is appropriately dive-y...

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

I can't even begin to recall.

How would you describe the Chukker under its current ownership?

I think Brooks and Will should be commended for their efforts to keep the place alive, but the Chukker is the kind of place that lends itself to entropy and decay-- I think being open for so many years with so many strange goings-on under the roof, the place is just weighted down with a self-destructive energy. The past year was definitely a harkening back to a time long ago in the Chukker's history where they strived to book great bands and pay them well. Their efforts to get the sound system up to par were, I think, unequalled in the history of the bar. They may have been a bit ambitious in some of their endeavors, but at least they tried. I do think they may have alienated some of the "Chukker regulars" with some of the decisions they made, but I think the "blame" for the Chukker's demise, if one can be assigned, lies more with the fact that people in Tuscaloosa have stopped giving a damn about seeking out original live music. Tuscaloosa has several unique resources for cultural enlightenment-- The Chukker, 600 Studios, Vinyl Solution, Guerilla Theatre, the Bama Theatre-- that are tragically underappreciated and therefore unable to blossom to their full potential.

When you hear the name Ludovic Goubet (previous owner during the 1990s), what comes to mind?

I owe Ludovic a debt of eternal gratitude for providing me with the quintessential Tuscaloosa experience: getting kicked out of the Chukker. He bodily removed me from my barstool by the scruff of the neck and bum-rushed me out the front door after many admirable attempts to ignore my reprehensible behavior, and the next night when I showed up at the front door with a tentative look of expectation, he sheepishly explained that he'd been "haffing abd focking night, mahn" and bought me a shot. Though Ludo was responsible for the Chukker's bad reputation among bands (I can recall some grafitti over the stage door reading "Make sure you don't get STIFFED"), he also brought some great artists around --Sun Ra, for example-- and exemplified the conflicted Chukker spirit for a time.

Six months after the Chukker closes, what do you expect to see on Tuscaloosa's music scene?

As far as places to see live music go, there is a younger crowd that never really had much of a connection with the Chukker, and they've been having house parties for several years now with great local and out-of-town bands. I suspect that will continue unabated. I really hope that 600 Studios is able to egt a liquor license-- I suspect that is the key to the spotty turnout they've had in the past.

A disturbing trend I've noticed in the Tuscaloosa scene over the past few years is that of talented musicians starting "joke" concept bands-- while I subscribe to Zappa's belief that there's a place for humor in music ( I mean, I played with The Dexateens, for God's sake), I've never been much of a fan of hipster irony, particularly in music.

During the time I've liced in Tuscaloosa, I've noticed several disparate groups of musicians that are basically unaware of or disinterested in each other-- I wish their was more camraderie between various camps. Particularly in a town of this size, it only makes sense to stand together against the squares. Regardless what form it takes, I'm sure the Tuscaloosa music scene will continue to bubble up through the cracks someway...

What will Tuscaloosa lose when the Chukker closes on Halloween?

I think Matt Patton said it best when he summed up the corner of 6th Street and 22nd Avenue as "the only little corner of Tuscaloosa where it's okay to be a black person or a drug addict or a rock n roller or a drunk or a fag" -- THAT is what we'll lose when the Chukker and the rest of this block go the way of the TI-99...

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

I'm going to get knee-walking drunk and play a set with my band in a gorilla suit. And try to take someone home. It's the least I can do to see the old girl off in a way that befits her illustrious, storied heritage.

Craig Gates is/was a member of these and other Tuscaloosa bands ...
Model Citizen, The Dexateens, Ghost Tour, Geek Love, APE, Third Place Finish, Torin Alter and the Lying Angels

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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