Scared Of Chaka

May I be honest? Back in the early 90’s I was kind of burnt out of pop punk. Everything was sounding way too similar and it all began to resemble one big grey lumpy mess. Then through the miracle of tape-trading, a good friend (and fellow ‘zine fanatic) sent me a rad compilation cassette that he made for me. Scared Of Chaka were the first band on that tape and their songs exploded from the speakers and threw me for a loop. Hyper fast drums and bass, infinitely cool riffs (haha–riffs!) and a hearty dishing out of good old fashioned snotty attitude. They were brash, fast, and really funny. But here’s the rub: these kids could really write amazingly great tunes. I dare any of you to take the two minute, 30 second brilliance of “Make It Happen” (from the band’s majestic Masonic Youth vinyl record) and stack it up to any modern pop song and see which one comes out as the reigning champ. Final outcome: no contest. I crafted this artwork with the band’s goofy side in mind; but with very fond memories of that first exposure to Scared Of Chaka’s carefully honed punk rock that still sounds as relevant and vibrant as that first house show that your fresh ass walked into way back in….whenever. -Jay Holmes