Strike Under was an influential

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

punk rock band of the early 1980s. It was started by

Steve Bjorklund Steve Bjorklund a/k/a Steve Björklund a/k/a Steffan Bjorklund was born ca. 1960 in Chicago, Illinois. He was an early figure in the first punk rock music scene in Chicago. He briefly attended Roycemore School in Evanston, Illinois. His first ...

(vocals, guitar) after the demise of The Rabbits. The principal musicians, besides Bjorklund, were his brother Chris (guitar), Pierre Kezdy (bass), and Bob Furem (drums).

Background

Strike Under was founded in 1979 or 1980. Although American punk is generally considered to have started four or five years earlier, punk and

new wave music New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. Late ...

arrived in Chicago far later than on either coast, so that Strike Under is correctly still considered an "early" Chicago punk band. They can also be seen as one of the first and most important bands of the "second wave" of Chicago punk, as it turned toward a more hardcore scene and sound, and as an archetype of Chicago hardcore. In 1981, Strike Under released a 5-song 12" EP record, ''Immediate Action'', notable as the first release by the new label Wax Trax Records (the record is commonly known as WAX 001, although the actual catalog number is Wax Trax 103015X). The

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...

resembled a book of matches (the band's name derives from the phrase commonly seen on cheap matchbooks). Songs included "Sunday Night Disorientation", "Context", "Closing In", "Elephant's Graveyard" (which later appeared on the Wax Trax ''Best of''

boxed set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

), and the title track. ''Immediate Action'' received mixed reviews; however, as one of the first actual recordings by a local punk outfit in the Windy City, it looms large in the memory of denizens of the early Chicago punk scene, and has been called an "integral document to the history of punk rock in Chicago". Strike Under, besides releasing its own record, played out at clubs such as O'Banion's, and also appeared on the 1981 ''Busted at Oz'' LP, which is usually viewed as an historic document of the second wave of Chicago punk, recorded at the club Oz before it closed down. Strike Under broke up in late 1981. Steve Bjorklund briefly formed another Chicago punk band, Terminal Beach, then ultimately relocated to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

to pursue playing and recording with various punk and industrial music bands, including Breaking Circus. The other three members formed Trial By Fire, which played throughout Chicago in 1982. After Trial By Fire broke up, Pierre Kezdy went on to play with

Naked Raygun Naked Raygun was one of the first, one of the longest running, and one of the most recognized Chicago punk bands. They are considered by many to be the most important band in the history of Chicago punk rock and credited with creating “the Chi ...

and

Pegboy Pegboy is an American punk band from Chicago, Illinois with a relatively large cult following. They were founded in 1990 by John Haggerty (ex-guitarist for Naked Raygun), along with his brother Joe Haggerty (drums, formerly of The Effigies), Lar ...

. Chris Bjorklund played first with Bloodsport and then with

The Effigies The Effigies were an American punk band from Chicago, Illinois, United States. The band played its first show in 1980 and was active initially for approximately a decade, undergoing multiple personnel changes with frontman John Kezdy the only cons ...

during the mid and late 1980s, the latter being another leading 1980s Chicago hardcore band who happened to be fronted by Pierre Kezdy's brother, John Kezdy. Strike Under was profiled in the 2007 documentary '' You Weren't There''. The film featured interviews with both Bjorklund brothers and Pierre Kezdy.

Discography

Releases

* ''Immediate Action'' 12" EP (

Wax Trax! Wax Trax! Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago. It began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado, opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, who sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago. In November of that ...

, 1981/2020) * ''09-05-08'' 7" single (Wax Trax!, 2020) - "One Eye", "Damaged Goods"

Compilation appearances

* "Elephant's Graveyard" on the ''Black Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years'' CD box set (Wax Trax!/

TVT TVT may refer to: Television * TVT (TV station), a Tasmanian television station * KTVT, a television station serving Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex * Television of Thailand, the national television broadcaster in Thailand * Togolese Television, ...

1994) * "Elephant's Graveyard" on the '' You Weren't There: A History Of Chicago Punk 1977-1983'' soundtrack LP (Factory 25 Records 2009) * "Fucking Uniforms" & "Anarchy Song" on the '' Busted At Oz'' compilation LP (Autumn Records 1981/Permanent Records 2011)

References

External links