By ERIC SCHELKOPF
The Effigies are recognized as one of Chicago’s pioneering punk bands. Esteemed musician and audio engineer Steve Albini said that The Effigies were "absolutely essential to the development of a healthy punk scene in Chicago."
The band continues to be on the cutting edge, as demonstrated on their new album, "Fire. Aim. Ready." The album was released on Oct. 23 on Chicago independent label Pravda Records.
This is the band's first release featuring new lead vocalist Geoff Sabin, who took over following the tragic death of founding lead singer John Kezdy in 2023.
I had the chance to talk to founding drummer Steve Economou about the new album.
Q – You were back in Chicago on Oct. 3 for a show at the Park West with the Buzzcocks. I’m sure that was a great show.
It was a fun time. We opened for X back in the '80s at the Park West. And that was the last time we had been in that club.
I had forgotten how nice it is. There was a really great vibe in the room.
Do you consider the Buzzcocks an influence?
We loved them as a band. Magazine was another band we really liked and of course The Clash and the Sex Pistols.
Q – Of course, “Fire. Aim. Ready." is the band’s first album featuring new lead singer Geoff Sabin, who took over after John tragically died in a bicycle accident in 2023.
That's correct. Him and I used to listen to music a lot.
He was really serious about rock 'n roll. It was really important to him.
We formed the band in 1979 and our first show was in 1980. We met the other two guys, bassist Paul Zamost and guitarist Earl Letiecq, in the club scene in Chicago.
Just as we got the "Burned" record done, John died in a biking accident. And that was devastating for everyone.
Just being in the room, mixing everything down and constantly hearing his voice and not having him there was so bizarre. It was kind of crushing, like a gut punch.
We dedicated the "Burned" record in his memory.
Q – I know that Geoff has a history with the band, including assisting on the recording of band’s 2007 LP “Reside” and also coming up with the cover art for the "Burned" album. What do you think he has brought to the band as the new lead singer?
Just a whole different voice. That's the incredible thing.
Lyrically, he is very good. He's a very intelligent guy.
He just kind of brings a new vitality to the band. And we really gel well together.
Q – The title of the album is “Fire. Aim. Ready” rather than “Ready. Aim. Fire.” Is there a meaning behind the title?
This is kind of like a political record. It's about where we are in this country and where we are in this world, all the evil things that are happening and all the corruption.
People are being pulled out of their cars and out of work and out of their houses without due process, with no habeas corpus. It's surreal and it's scary.
Q – What goals did you have for the album and do you think you accomplished them?
We don't really plan out a record. It really starts with the rhythm section for us, Paul and I, and then we build on top of that.
What we do is we get the feel of the song first. So the song is created and then the lyrics. Geoff is writing the lyrics and the lyrics go back and fit the song.
These songs kind of come about naturally for us. We're very happy with this record.
Q – The last song on the album is a cover of the song “Skin Deep” by The Stranglers. In recording the song, did you want to pay homage to the band?
We liked them because they had a little dark humor. They're different from other punk bands.
And they've experimented a lot too. They've created some great records.
They're one of our favorite bands. So we wanted to pay homage to them, for sure.
Q – Has The Effigies ever played with The Stranglers? I know they still are touring, so would that be a dream come true if that happened?
We've never played with them, but I've seen them several times. Paul has seen them many times.
We'd love to. That would be great.
Q – Well-known recording engineer Steve Albini said that The Effigies "were absolutely essential to the development of a healthy punk scene in Chicago.” What kind of impact do you think The Effigies has had on the scene and continue to have on the Chicago music scene?
Punk in Chicago started kind of late. Compared to the two coasts, it was maybe three years behind.
And then the scene started growing. By the mid-'80s to early '90s, the Chicago scene exploded pretty much.
We were a core of maybe four or five other bands that kept everything going. I think the important thing really for us is just to show that even though we're older or whatever, that we still go out and make our statement.
We're proud of our city and we're proud of our community. We just want to be a part of that whole thing.
Chicago's got a lot of original music at this point, which is great. We're just happy to be part of it and part of its history.
Q – You were talking about bands that are punk but yet there are a lot of melodies in their songs. The band's new song "Hallucinations" is very melodic.
Yes, it is. We try to write songs with some hooks in them and some melodies.
We're all very surprised now when we go on tour and see all these people dancing. We love the fact that people want to dance. So if we can make people dance, I think we're successful.
We've hit it on the head.
Q – The band originally formed in 1980. I know there has been a few breakups over the years, but you have been with the band since the beginning.
What makes you want to still be part of the band?
It's just something that I have to do. Without music, I don't think I'd be sane.
I think music is a greater comforter for me, personally. Music I think is one of the highest forms of art because emotionally, it affects people the most.
Music in general is very powerful. It's kind of saved me, in a way.
