The Head Caution

The Head Caution formed when Bad Chemicals were invited to play a gig but only Kyle and Dave (live bassist) were available. So Kyle just read some poems and Dave accompanied on bass, It went over well and so they decided to make it a thing. It’s a spoken word art-punk thing.

Bad Chemicals

Very little is known about Bad Chemicals other than that they formed in West Hollywood sometime in mid-to-late-1980. Just as they were making a name for themselves in LA’s burgeoning hardcore punk scene, their rise was cut short under apparently dubious circumstances. Whether intentional or not, they became largely forgotten. Lost in the shuffle of bands of that time and place.

Flash forward to Chicago 40 years later. Treehouse Records was undergoing renovations in 2021 and, during the process, co-owner Barrett Guzaldo discovered some tapes behind an old shelving unit. The label simply read “Bad Chemicals -1981.” Curious about this mysterious recording, Guzaldo dug up the files of the building’s previous inhabitants. What he found was that Bad Chemicals had sent the tapes from LA to Chicago to be mastered. However, the band had shirked on payment and so the tapes sat on the shelf they eventually fell behind.

Attempts to track down the band were futile, as none of them had used their real names on any of the documentation. It seemed that Jerry Rash (vocals), Luke Warning (drums), Reggie Reckless (guitar), and Double Dare (bass) had, for all intents and purposes, ceased to be. Whether they had died or simply put that period of their lives behind them has yet to be confirmed or refuted. The songs themselves were never registered for copyright and the West Hollywood address given to the old studio is currently a vacant lot. 

The tragic bit is that the five-track EP, consisting of four originals and a balls-to-the-walls Hank Williams cover, is really fucking good. The songs’ themes of police corruption, class divide, and mental burnout have only grown in their relevance. Impressed by the short album, the guys at Treehouse Records shared their discovery with any and all willing ears.

Guzaldo, himself a guitarist, played the recordings for Chicago musicians Kyle Decker (vocals), Kevin Decker (bass), and Anthony Esposito (drums), and the group decided to pick up where the original Bad Chemicals left off by remastering the album, with the help of Alex DeYoung of DeYoung Mastering, and performing the songs under the same name. So far, no one has stopped them…

Speculation about the band’s sudden end became the premise for Kyle Decker’s upcoming novel This Rancid Mill (PM Press April 2023).

“Original” line-up

Jerry Rash - Vocals
Reggie Reckless - Guitar
Double Dare - Bass
Luke Warning- Drums

Food for Worms

Food for Worms was a multi-national punk band based in South Korea. Forming in the summer of 2014, the band consisted of two Americans, two Irishmen, and one Korean. Their style is heavily influenced by early 80's hardcore, and they were well known for their intense energy during live shows. 

They released one five-track demo, one full-length 9 track album, and a posthumous 3 track EP.

Kyle Decker- Lead vocals
Michael Travers - Guitar, vocals
Stephen  May- Guitar
Yushin Kim - Bass, vocals
Paul Johnson- Drums