Chokebore

Innovators of the then-emerging ‘sadcore’ movement in indie rock in the 1990s, Chokebore are responsible for at least two indie rock masterpieces. The eclectic rock group consisted of guitarist John Kroll, drummer Christian Omar Madrigal Izzo, vocalist Troy Von Balthazar and bassist A Frank G. They formed in Honolulu in the early ’90s and moved to L.A. in 1992 in hopes of getting better gigs. Shortly after the move, they were signed to Amphetamine Reptile Records in 1993, based on a demo tape the band had submitted.

Chokebore released their debut single Nobody/Throats and their first full-length Motionless later that year. Their changing tempos and moody outbursts were unlike many other Amrep bands at the time, but their more furious and quicker paced moments aligned themselves just enough. They toured with Guzzard and Today Is The Day as well as with other more well-known likeminded bands, including the Butthole Surfers, Samiam, Girls Against Boys and Nirvana.

They earned a strong following in Europe, in support of 1995’s Anything Near Water and A Taste For Bitters, which were recorded and engineered in France. 1999’s Black Black, was a portrait of the band’s darker side; lonliness, depression, death and sadness recurring themes. This LP is widely accepted in the rock underground to be a true masterpiece. The album was released on AmRep’s European Boomba Records, but wasn’t released stateside for another year, finally finding a home on Unwound’s Punk In My Vitamins label.

The band released It’s a Miracle in 2002, which saw the band slightly less concerned with strict-cohesion of the aethetics and some songs were looser than on past releases (ie-“Ciao LA” is perhaps the most straightforward ‘rock’ track the band has ever put to tape). The live album A Part From Life was released in 2003 and the band went on an indefinite hiatus in 2005. The singer/guitar player Troy recorded a solo album and it was released in early 2006.