The Chicago Ska-Punk Family Tree: Slapstick to Lawrence Arms & Alkaline Trio

In the mid-1990s, third-wave ska and melodic hardcore collided in the working-class suburbs of Chicago. At the center of this basement-show explosion was Slapstick—a frantic, horn-driven sextet from Elgin, Illinois that played breakneck ska-core laced with raw, working-class urgency and ragged vocal harmonies.

Although Slapstick broke up in 1996 after only three years and a handful of releases on Asian Man Records, their dissolution became the single most fertile Big Bang in Midwest punk history. Bassist/vocalist Dan Andriano and trumpeter/guitarist Rob Doran formed the emo-indie quartet Tuesday before Andriano joined Matt Skiba in Alkaline Trio, transforming the band into dark pop-punk icons.

Meanwhile, Slapstick gravel-voiced bassist/trombonist Brendan Kelly and guitarist Dan Hanaway teamed with Chris McCaughan to form the fiercely political punk band The Broadways. When The Broadways split in 1998, Kelly and McCaughan joined forces with former Baxter drummer Neil Hennessy to launch Chicago's quintessential dual-vocal punk trio, The Lawrence Arms.