In the time that Sludgeworth waited to make a new LP, there have been five presidents, the birth of three generations and the turn of a whole millennium. But 35 years after the Chicago punk veterans released their debut “What’s This?” in 1991 and abruptly dissolved, they’re ready for the “Second Time Around” with an appropriately named new album out June 19 on Chicago label Red Scare Industries.
“I hadn’t talked to any of the guys for a long time,” said singer Dan Schafer aka Dan Vapid, who was just as surprised as everyone else by the turn of events. In the interim, he’s kept busy with The Riverdales, The Methadones, Screeching Weasel and his own solo material.
But the idea of reviving Sludgeworth started to pick up steam in 2022 when Red Scare Industries approached him about reissuing the band’s posthumous 1995 compilation “Losers of the Year.” That was followed by a reunion show at Cobra Lounge in 2023 that sold out in five minutes and a larger set at Riot Fest the same year that also drew interest. Still, that was supposed to be it.
“Then there was this idea of having a new song. And I was like, I don’t know. I wasn’t into it at first,” Schafer said. “But when I heard what the guys had done, words popped in my head and I started singing along to what they sent me, and I knew that was it. We were back in the fold.”
Sludgeworth first took shape in 1989, formed by Schafer and drummer Brian McQuaid during a pause for their other band, Screeching Weasel, and after the two recruited guitarists Adam White and Dave McLean and bassist Mike Hooten for the full lineup.
Two years later, the band released “What’s This?” which caused a ruckus in Chicago’s ripening punk scene. At the time, bands like Naked Raygun, Big Black and The Effigies had laid a viable pathway while a scene in the suburbs, including Schafer’s backyard of Des Plaines, was starting to bubble up. Soon, Sludgeworth was playing shows with nascent acts like The Offspring and Green Day at the old Elmhurst punk haunt McGregor’s and cooking up a pop-punk sound before that term was even widely known.
“I’ve always loved the energy and the attitude of punk rock. But there’s something that’s embedded in me about the hook, the pop hook. And it’s still with me to this day,” Schafer said. But back then, he didn’t know what he was combining would pioneer the genre.
There may have been no future for Chicago punk acts like Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms and Fall Out Boy without Sludgeworth’s influence. Not to mention newer acts like Feral Tact that continue to take cues. That band features Max McQuaid (son of Sludgeworth drummer Brian McQuaid), who also contributes to Sludgeworth’s new album.
Rise Against bassist Joe Principe has hailed Sludgeworth as one of the most underrated Chicago punk bands. He was at one of those early McGregor’s shows in 1991 and told the Sun-Times in a statement, “I walked into that venue completely blind, but I left absolutely blown away. … From that night on, I caught them every chance I got.”
The Lawrence Arms’ Brendan Kelly said, “The thing about Sludgeworth was there was an earnest vulnerability to the music, and in the Chicago punk scene at the time, that really stood out.”
Still, creative differences around the band’s sound quickly killed Sludgeworth by 1993 as Schafer wanted to continue exploring the pop-punk alchemy and other members didn’t.
“At the heart of it, I felt like I was growing apart a little bit from the rest of them, and I think there was also a feeling of being directionless,” said Schafer. “Sometimes people in bands just can’t get on the same page anymore. And at the time, I found it kind of difficult.” But, he admits, that’s the beauty of many years passing. “It’s just like, who cares anymore?”
That pacification can be heard all over “Second Time Around,” an album that’s about living in the moment. It’s obvious in songs like the c’est la vie anthem“Can’t Change Yesterday” and the fast-paced friend ballad,“Hold Steady,” which let go of the past and put the band back in its element, armed with a fresh perspective and, yes, a similar sound.
“It’s funny, I hadn’t seen the guys in so long, but the chemistry fell right back. A lot of the dumb humor did, too,” said Schafer. He now lives in southern Illinois, near St. Louis, but often makes the journey to Chicago to work with the other band members, which includes new bassist Simon Lamb.
Schafer would be remiss to not credit homegrown brands like Red Scare Industries and Riot Fest for giving Sludgeworth another shot and for extending the lifespans of Chicago’s many legacy punk acts by providing a stage and an audience. (Riot Fest also invited the band back for a one-off reunion set in 2007.) “It gave us a seat at the table. We’re an old band at this point. It’s been a long time. But Mike [Petryshyn, Riot Fest creator] really loves Chicago, he loves Chicago bands and he’s helped spark a lot of enthusiasm,” he said.
As for where Sludgeworth goes after the album launch and a short run of concert dates (including a return to Cobra Lounge Aug. 29 and 30), Schafer says only time will tell. But he’s hoping it’s for the long haul this time. “If that enthusiasm keeps going, it keeps us going. I’m more than happy to give the supply if there’s the demand,” he says. “I hope we can ride it for a while. Because so far, it’s been really fun to do this all over again.”