Photo courtesy of Naked Raygun and David Kindler
Back in 1980, Chicago was in the midst of developing what would later be referred to as its very own punk/hardcore foundation. Firmly planting the roots a few years prior, a slew of youths came together to form bands like Tutu & The Pirates, Silver Abuse, Mentally ILL, and many more. A revolving door of friends, budding musicians, and experimentalists were creating clamor that was oftentimes amusing, but a very honest expression of their angst at the time.
Of this specific era, there was no band that represented the bold, aggressive, and catchy punk pulse of Chicago better than Naked Raygun. Responsible for releasing a handful of beloved punk-rock classics between the band’s active years of 1980 to 1992, Naked Raygun disbanded, reforming again in 2006.
“Naked Raygun’s impact on me growing up was pretty significant as a musician and a kid looking for an identity,” reflects bass player Fritz Doreza. “As a young bassist, I basically learned how to play bass from listening to The Ramones and Naked Raygun … [so] at first, playing with Naked Raygun was kinda surreal.”
Doreza has provided touring bass duties for the band since 2013, merging as a member of Naked Raygun after longtime bassist Pierre Kezdy lost his battle with cancer in 2020.
“When it came time to learn and play the vast catalog of songs, everyone was very patient and supportive, especially Pierre,” recalls Doreza. “Pierre showed me how the bass lines actually went, opposed to what I’ve been hearing in my head for the last 35 years. He told me funny stories and dumb jokes to make me feel comfortable at rehearsals because he knew I was nervous and put a lot of pressure on myself.”
After over 30 years since the release of their last studio album, 2021 saw Naked Raygun come full circle in many respects, partnering with the legendary Wax Trax! Records to release their latest full-length, Over The Overlords.
Regrouping to write songs for Over The Overlords, sole constant member and vocalist Jeff Pezzati mentions, “For me, it was a matter of writing songs worthy of being recorded by the band. I made sure that the songs that I contributed were good songs.”
He continues, “The influences that impacted the writing of the songs were mostly pent-up feelings and emotions about what is going on in our world now that is fucked up or bastardized. ‘What is this fuckery?’ became sort of a mantra.”
Even with the long hiatus, Naked Raygun maintained their unique aptitude for songwriting on Over The Overlords. There’s the direct strike of “Go The Spoils,” which Pezzati says “makes the vague statement that you’re losing ‘it’ and you know it, and you can’t do anything about it, maybe because you’re out of date and old.”
Then there are more upbeat, catchier tracks like “Superheroes” and “Living in the Good Times,” which “prophetically bitches about simply wanting to live in those times that will be remembered as being good,” says Pezzati. “You may not know it at the time, but these may be the good times right now.”
Pezzati adds, “Shooting the video at Cobra Lounge [Chicago] is a nod to our friends at Cobra, which includes the late owner, Sean McKeough.”
As usual, Naked Raygun allowed for exploratory songs on the new record.
“Well, Pierre wrote ‘Soul Hole Baby,’ and he wrote ‘Black and Grey,’” reflects Pezzati. “I observed Pierre getting great joy from writing and completing these songs, and reveling in the way that they are very different.”
Pezzati concludes, “It means a lot to be on the Wax Trax! label. Wax Trax! was instrumental to my ‘education’ of the punk rock and alternative music that was available at the time. Jim Nash and Dannie never failed to say, ‘Hey listen to this,’ when I walked into their store. And, about 85 percent of the time, it was worth not only a listen but a purchase.”
Over The Overlords is also the final recording to feature Pierre Kezdy’s work with Naked Raygun.