Effigies was an American punk band from Chicago. The band played its first show in 1980 and was active initially for approximately a decade, undergoing multiple personnel changes with frontman John Kezdy (died 2023) the only constant, before disbanding in 1990. The band released five albums and several EPs, most on… Read moreShow less
Effigies was an American punk band from Chicago. The band played its first show in 1980 and was active initially for approximately a decade, undergoing multiple personnel changes with frontman John Kezdy (died 2023) the only constant, before disbanding in 1990. The band released five albums and several EPs, most on the record label they founded in 1981, Ruthless Records, which was distributed by Enigma. The band toured the U.S. and Canada and played notable venues, including CBGB, Maxwell's, First Avenue (nightclub), Mabuhay Gardens, Paycheck's (Detroit), Exit (Chicago) and The Rathskeller, among others. They received a significant amount of national airplay on college radio at a time when it was the only medium for alternative music
Considered one of the most important early punk rock groups in Chicago in the 1980s, where the music scene was very late to discover or appreciate punk to any degree. In the half-decade after the The Ramones and The Sex Pistols first released records, Chicago remained dominated by blues, heavy metal, and even disco; punk bands had few places to play, and punk music fans had few places to hear live bands. Chicago's "progressive" radio station, WXRT, was never very supportive of punk. What most punk fans recall as the first "scene" in Chicago did not occur until the 1980s, when Oz and O'Banion's provided venues for live punk; Chicago Sun-Times music writer Jim Derogatis correctly terms the heyday of Effigies "the second generation of Midwestern punks."
The band was generally considered hardcore or post-hardcore and, to the extent it is distinguishable, Chicago hardcore. Indie rock pundit Steve Albini writes that Effigies was "a moving force during a crucial and exhilarating time".
Effigies re-formed in 2004 and played at punk revival shows as well as at Midwest punk venues such as The Bottom Lounge in Chicago. In 2007 released their first recording in nearly 20 years, a full LP titled "Reside". The final lineup consisted of original members John Kezdy, Paul Zamost, and Steve Economou, and new guitarist Robert McNaughton, who had previously been in the bands Pop Media, We're Staying, and along with Zamost, The Indicators, The Lemmings, The Greys, 80 Proof Preacher and People Like Us.
