Choking Victim was an American

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band formed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, which lasted from 1992 to 1998. They played a mix of

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier pu ...

and

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a wal ...

(sometimes known as

ska-core Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 Tone (music genre), 2 to ...

). Following the breakup of the band, which occurred the same day as the recording of their only studio album '' No Gods, No Managers'', members went on to form

Leftöver Crack Leftöver Crack is an American punk rock band formed in 1998, following the breakup of Choking Victim. The band is currently signed to Tankcrimes for CD releases, and Alternative Tentacles for vinyl releases. Leftöver Crack spans several di ...

and INDK, among others.

Background

The band became well-known at the

C-Squat C-Squat is a former squat house located at 155 Avenue C (between 9th and 10th Streets) in the Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that has been home to musicians, artists, and activists, among others. After a fire, it was ...

in the Lower East Side of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

for their innovative music and politically charged lyrics. They also became infamous for their

Satanic Satanic may refer to: * Satan * Satanism * ''Satanic'' (2006 film), a 2006 American horror film * ''Satanic'' (2016 film), a 2016 American horror film * Operation Satanic, when the DGSE bombed the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour See also * ...

imagery and references to the vagrant lifestyle, including smoking both

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' call ...

and

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in variou ...

shoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...

, and

squatting Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

. The band prides itself on its

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and makes frequent references to

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

. On the album ''No Gods, No Managers'', they use excerpts from the lectures of political scientist

Michael Parenti Michael John Parenti (born September 30, 1933) is an American political scientist, academic historian and cultural critic who writes on scholarly and popular subjects. He has taught at universities as well as run for political office. Parenti i ...

Breakup

Choking Victim broke up after the first day of recording for their first full-length LP, '' No Gods, No Managers'', but the recordings from that one day were enough to make a full album. After they broke up,

Stza Scott Sturgeon, also known as Stza Crack or simply Stza ( ; born March 4, 1976), is an American musician and artist who has fronted several ska-punk bands in the New York City area, the best known being Choking Victim and Leftöver Crack. The s ...

formed the band

, and Skwert and Ezra formed INDK. Ezra joined Leftover Crack in 2001. Skwert is currently the front man for the NJ based ska punk band Public Serpents. Sascha has spent the last several years organically farming in upstate NY, and is a founding member of

Icarus Project The Icarus Project (2002-2020) was a network of peer-support groups and media projects with the stated aim of changing the language and culture of what gets called mental health and mental illness. The name is derived from Icarus, a hero in Greek ...

, a radical mental health network.

Reunions

On November 11, 2000, Choking Victim reunited to play a show in Tompkins Square Park with the lineup from their album, substituting former bassist Alec for Shayne. Later, in late 2005, Choking Victim reunited a second time, performing four shows. On June 11, 2006, they played a show at the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally ...

Tompkins Square Park Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and o ...

, which featured various political speakers, including members of the Mislead Youth Project. At the end of July 2006, they toured the Dominican Republic, before

embarked on their European Tour. In the Summer of 2012, lead singer Stza enlisted the help of Irish Ska/Punk band Chewing on Tinfoil and formed "The Choking Victim Show". This band, playing the songs of Choking Victim, toured throughout the UK, Ireland and France. Choking Victim has continued to play sporadic concerts worldwide between 2014 and 2017. Prior to 2017 these were one-off events, but, in 2017, they undertook their first tour in over a decade.

Legacy

In addition to

and INDK, Choking Victim also spawned Public Serpents,

Morning Glory Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genus, genera, ...

and the Crack Rock Steady 7. Choking Victim have reformed for a few dates in the UK and Europe as The Choking Victim Show with Stza, Sascha, Alec and Ezra.

Members

* Scott "Stza" Sturgeon – vocals, guitar (1992–1999, 2000, 2005–2006, 2016–) * Sascha "Scatter" DuBrul – bass (1992–1994, 2005–2006) *John Dolan – drums (1992–1993, 2005–2006) * Skwert – drums (1993–1999, 2000, 2016–) *

Alec Baillie Alec Baillie (died November 10, 2020) was an American bassist. He played in the bands Choking Victim, Agent 99, and Leftöver Crack. Biography Baillie grew up in Manhattan and attended the same high school as his future bandmate Scott "Stza" ...

– bass (1995–1996, 1996, 2000, 2016–2020; died 2020) *Shayne Webb – bass (1996, 1996–1999) *

Ezra Kire Ezra Kire (born Ezra Cannon, December 30, 1975) is an American musician with the punk band Morning Glory, and is an ex-member of punk bands Leftöver Crack, Choking Victim and InDK. He currently resides in New York City. Early life Ezra Kire ...

– guitar (1998–1999, 2000)

Timeline

Discography

EPs

*''Crack Rock Steady EP'' (1994) 2x1000 pressed *'' Squatta's Paradise'' (1996) 2x1000 pressed *''Victim Comes Alive'' (1998) 1000 pressed

Albums

*'' No Gods, No Managers'' (1999)

Demos

*''Crack Rock Steady Demo'' (2000)

Compilation albums

*''Crack Rock Steady EP/Squatta's Paradise Split CD'' (2000) *''Songs In The Key Of Lice – A Tribute To Choking Victim'' (2002) (Various Artists) *''A Tribute To Choking Victim'' (2008) (Various Artists) *''Load Yer Pipes: A Folk-Punk Tribute To Choking Victim'' (2015) (Various Artists)

Live albums

*''Christmas With The Victim'' (2005) *''Live 9/11 2005'' (2005)

Compilation appearances

*''Wicked City Soundtrack'' – 1998, Velvel Records ("Fuck America") *''Give 'Em The Boot'' – 1997, Hellcat Records ("Infested") *''Give 'Em The Boot II'' – 1999, Hellcat Records ("Crack Rock Steady") *''Ska Sucks'' – 1998, Liberation Records ("Suicide (a better way)") *''Smash Ignorance Up'' – 1998, Possible Problem Records ("Money") *''Skanarchy III'' – 1997, Elevator Records ("Born to Die") *''Picklemania NYC'' – 1995, Riot Records ("500 Channels") *''Finding a Voice: A Benefit For Humans'' – 1999 Repetitively Futile Records ("Sweet Dreams")

References

External links

Old CV Fansite
{{Authority control 1992 establishments in New York City Hellcat Records artists Hardcore punk groups from New York (state) Third-wave ska groups American ska musical groups American crust and d-beat groups Musical groups established in 1992