Chuck Biscuits (born Charles Montgomery on April 17, 1965) is a Canadian drummer best known for his work in several punk rock bands.
Biscuits was a member of
D.O.A. from 1978 to 1982, playing on the band's first two albums before briefly joining
Black Flag and later
Circle Jerks
Circle Jerks (stylized as Ciʀcle JƎʀᴋs) are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The group was founded by former Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson. To date, Cir ...
. He later joined
Danzig in 1987, playing on the band's first four albums as well as their first EP before leaving in 1994. Most recently, he played in
Social Distortion
Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing vo ...
from 1996 to 1999.
Career
Biscuits has named his main influences as
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel ...
,
Rat Scabies
Christopher John Millar (born 30 July 1955), known by his stage name Rat Scabies, is a musician best known as the drummer for English punk rock band the Damned.
Career
Millar was born in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. He played drums with Tor ...
of the Damned,
Topper Headon
Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon (born 30 May 1955) is an English drummer, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Known for his instrumental contributions to the drumming world, Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...
of the Clash,
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol.
Moon grew ...
and
Stewart Copeland
Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a Scottish-American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with th ...
.
Biscuits is the brother of Ken "Dimwit" Montgomery, a fixture on the
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...
music scene—at different times, both brothers played drums for
D.O.A. Biscuits joined
Black Flag in 1982 and toured with them for five months. His only studio recordings for the band were the
1982 demos
''The Complete 1982 Demos'' is an unreleased set of demo tracks intended for a follow-up album to Black Flag's debut album '' Damaged'' (1981). The tracks recorded show the band moving in a riff-driven, heavy metal-inflected direction, away fr ...
for the ''
My War'' album, which have been widely bootlegged.
After Black Flag, he played with the short-lived Floorlords. When that band broke up, Biscuits planned to quit the music business and took courses in art and electrical engineering. He briefly filled in on drums for a few shows for the
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, f ...
during their ''
Freaky Styley tour'' in 1986. A year later, producer
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records.
Rubin helped popu ...
invited Biscuits to become the drummer for Danzig.
Biscuits had been vocalist/songwriter
Glenn Danzig's first choice as drummer for his band.
Biscuits joined Danzig in 1987 and appeared on the band's first four albums and one EP. In 1990 he recorded drums for one track on Glenn Danzig's final album with the band
Samhain
Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...
. In 1994 he became the first member of the original Danzig line-up to leave the band, citing a contract dispute as the reason for his departure.
Biscuits participated in a special concert held on December 28, 1994 to honour the lifetime achievements of his brother Ken, who had died earlier in the year of a drug overdose.
On October 27, 2009, a blogger named James Greene Jr. who claimed to have been in recent contact with Biscuits posted a report on his blog announcing that the drummer had died on October 24 of
throat cancer
Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...
. This report quickly circulated to multiple media sources,
[R.I.P. Chuck Biscuits (1965 – 2009)](_blank)
www.inlog.org. but was soon questioned by Biscuits' friends and family as a hoax. That evening, Biscuit's sister-in-law e-mailed Greene to confirm that the musician was still alive. Biscuits himself never released a statement concerning the death hoax, and Greene would later argue that Biscuits was entirely responsible for the false report.
[Chuck Biscuits "Could Not Care Less" You Thought He Was Dead](_blank)
www.crawdaddyarchive.com.
Equipment
Biscuits used
Pro-Mark
Promark is a Houston, Texas-based American drum stick company. Since 2011, it is part of strings company D'Addario. Promark is a widely known stick company generally played in drum set, drum and bugle corps and concert bands.
History
Promark ...
DC-10
[Von, Eerie. ''Misery Obscura: The Photography Of Eerie Von (1981-2009)''. Milwaukie, OR: Dark Horse Books, 2009: p. 140] marching sticks to drum. His drumkit at the beginning of Danzig was a black
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Resonator, though he switched to a chrome covered 1970s era
Ludwig
Ludwig may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Ludwig (surname), including a list of people
* Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and co ...
Classic maple kit for ''Danzig II'', and continued with that kit to record and tour for ''Danzig III'' and ''Danzig IV''. Biscuits was usually seen using
Zildjian cymbals. His regular ride cymbal sound during his work with Danzig was a Zildjian 22" Earth Ride.
Biscuits also favored
Paiste
Paiste (English pronunciation: , ) is a Swiss musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. is an Estonian word that means "shine".
Apart from cymbals and gon ...
Rude cymbals. He used medium and rock ride cymbals as crashes. Biscuits' mainstay snare with Danzig was a
Sonor steel model, though he also used a Ludwig piccolo snare.
With D.O.A. and Black Flag, Biscuits used an older blonde maple Slingerland kit and was also photographed using various colored Ludwig drums. For Social Distortion, Biscuits used a Boom Theory kit, including a Bridgedeck snare built by Al Adinolfi.
Discography
D.O.A. (1978–1982)
* ''Disco Sucks''
* ''The Prisoner''
* ''Triumph of the Ignoroids''
* ''World War III''
* ''Vancouver Complication''
* ''
Something Better Change''
* ''
Hardcore '81''
* ''
Let Them Eat Jellybeans''
* ''Positively D.O.A. (No God, No Country, No Lies)''
* ''Rat Music for Rat People Vol. 1''
* ''Bloodied But Unbowed''
* ''
War on 45
''War on 45'' is an eight-song 12" EP released by the hardcore band D.O.A. in 1982. It was re-released in 2005 on CD with an additional eleven songs, but without the composition "Let's Fuck," for a total of eighteen tracks. The original cover has ...
''
(partial)
* ''1978'' (2019 2-LP single CD compilation featuring rare Biscuits performances)
Black Flag (1982)
* 1982: ''
The Complete 1982 Demos Plus More'' (
bootleg album)
* 2010: ''
Live at the On Broadway 1982'' (live album)
Circle Jerks (1983–1984)
* ''
Repo Man'' soundtrack
* ''The Best of Flipside Video''
Floorlords (1986)
* ''Black Ice Ride 2-Nite''
Glenn Danzig and the Power and Fury Orchestra
* 1987: ''
Less than Zero'' soundtrack
Danzig (1987–1994)
* 1988: ''
Danzig''
* 1990: ''
Danzig II: Lucifuge''
* 1992: ''
Danzig III: How the Gods Kill''
* 1993: ''
Thrall-Demonsweatlive''
* 1994: ''
Danzig 4''
* 2001: ''
Live on the Black Hand Side''
* 2007: ''
The Lost Tracks of Danzig''
Run-D.M.C.
* 1988: ''
Tougher Than Leather
''Tougher Than Leather'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on May 17, 1988, by Profile Records. The album was produced by the group members themselves, Davy D. and Rick Rubin.
While the new record did ...
'' (drum tracks only)
Samhain
* 1990: ''
Final Descent''
Social Distortion (1996–1999)
* 1998: ''
Live at the Roxy''
References
External links
Biography from Misfits Central
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biscuits, Chuck
1965 births
Living people
American punk rock drummers
American male drummers
Black Flag (band) members
Place of birth missing (living people)
Hardcore punk musicians
Social Distortion members
Fear (band) members
Circle Jerks members
Danzig (band) members
Horror punk musicians
Samhain (band) members
20th-century American drummers
D.O.A. (band) members