Dan Vapid and the Cheats are a

pop punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

band from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

that features former members of

Screeching Weasel Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band consisting of Ben Weasel (vocals), Mike Kennerty (guitar), Mike Hunchback (guitar), Zach "Poutine" Brandner (bass) and Pierre Marche (drums) founded in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Pierson (music ...

The Riverdales The Riverdales were an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, United States, made up of Screeching Weasel members. Bassist Dan Vapid (Dan Schafer) and guitarist Ben Weasel (Ben Foster) are heavily influenced by the Ramones' sound and b ...

The Methadones The Methadones are a Punk rock band formed in 1993 by guitarist/vocalist Dan Vapid in Chicago, Illinois. The Methadones initially lasted only a few shows before Vapid put them to the side to focus on his main band Screeching Weasel. By 1999 Dan ...

, Noise By Numbers,

The Vindictives The Vindictives are an American, Chicago-based punk rock group, founded by singer and songwriter Joey Vindictive in 1991, releasing 12 EPs and albums by July 1996. History They began their career in 1991, cutting their first 7-inch record later ...

Sludgeworth Sludgeworth is an American punk rock band from Chicago consisting of Dan Schafer (vocals), Adam White (guitar), Dave McClean (guitar), Mike Hootenstrat (bass), and Brian Vermin (drums). The band was formed in 1989 as a side project from Scree ...

and The Bomb.

History

Following the demise of Screeching Weasel after the

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

debacle, Schafer formed a new band called Dan Vapid and the Cheats featuring bassist Simon Lamb (Screeching Weasel, Riverdales), guitarist Mike Byrne (Methadones, Vindictives) and drummer

Mike Soucy Michael "Mike" Soucy (born September 8, 1971) was born in Boston, MA and grew up in Woonsocket, RI. Soucy joined The Methadones in 2002 and played with them until their official hiatus in 2011. He is currently the drummer for Airstream Futures ...

(Methadones, The Bomb). The band was originally intended to be a one-off project that would play songs from throughout Vapid's career at a concert to be held over the Memorial Day weekend of 2011, the same weekend that Screeching Weasel was meant to play if they had not disbanded. However, following the concert Vapid decided to keep the band as an ongoing entity. They recorded their debut album in October 2011, with Justin Perkins producing, at the Mystery Room. Mike Byrne left the band before their appearance at

Riot Fest Riot Fest is an annual three-day punk rock music festival held at Douglass Park in Chicago, Illinois. It is known for booking reunions, guest performances, and full album performances. Riot Fest is one of the largest independently-owned music fe ...

in September, 2012 when the band performed as a trio. In January, 2013 a new line-up was introduced with Simon Lamb moving over to guitar and Rick Uncapher (Noise By Numbers, Textbook, Woolworthy) joining on bass. The band's second album, entitled ''Two'' was released in July 2013. Rick Uncapher and Mike Soucy were replaced by Dillon Dunnagan and Gabe Usery by the time the band released its third album ''Three'' in March 2019. The band released its forth album ''Escape Velocity'' in November 2021.

Band members

Dan Vapid Dan Schafer (born January 18, 1970), better known by his stage name Dan Vapid, is a punk rock musician from Chicago, Illinois, United States. He is best known for his participation in Screeching Weasel, The Riverdales, The Methadones, and various ...

: Lead Vocals/guitar *

Simon Lamb Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

: Guitar/Vocals (formerly bass/vocals) *Dillon Dunnagan: (bass/vocals) *Gabe Usery: (drums/vocals) Former Members: * Mike Byrne: guitar * Rick Uncapher: Bass *

: Drums

Discography

Singles

*Dan Vapid and The Cheats / Jetty Boys (split 7-inch, 2012 - Merman Records) *Dan Vapid and The Cheats / Masked Intruder (The Wedding 7-inch, 2013 - Solidarity Recordings)

Albums

*''Dan Vapid and the Cheats'' (Torture Chamber, 2012) *''Two'' (Torture Chamber, 2013) *''Three'' (Eccentric Pop, 2019) *''Escape Velocity'' (Eccentric Pop, 2021) *''Welcome To Dystopia'' (Eccentric Pop, 2022)

Reception

*"they bobbed their way through about a thousand concise, hook-loaded power-chord jams" (Kevin Warwick,

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

, 2012) *"Vapid's affinity for writing solid, catchy tunes is at the forefront of this record. Even though there are a lot of comparisons to previous bands, there is a unique sound here that has a little something that those other bands didn't have. The songs have a kind of timeless quality, which I think is a testament to Vapid's ability to craft really great songs." (Punknews.org) *"Regardless of what particular style of punk or pop Vapid is playing throughout the record, one thing is clear: he is enjoying himself. It is the most confident-sounding record Vapid has ever released. With The Cheats, Vapid has come into his own." (Moria Dailey, ChicagoMusic.org, 2012)

References

External links

Dan Vapid and the Cheats
at

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

*
Dan Vapid interview
with Joey Ritter, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dan Vapid and the Cheats Punk rock groups from Illinois Musical groups from Chicago Musical groups established in 2011 2011 establishments in Illinois