members
Thomas Jackson Potter
Vocals, Guitar
Chris "Chizz" Buttler
Double Bass
Mark Millionaire
Drums
Lindsay Crappor
Guitar
Choke Chains is the blurred vision of a blackout-drunk alien abductee translated into sound — howling guitars, filthy fuzzed-out bass, and the drums of chaos.
howling guitars, filthy fuzzed-out bass, and the drums of chaos.
Emerging from Grand Rapids, Michigan, this band isn’t interested in nostalgia or slick reinvention. Instead, they deliver a brutally hilarious and ferociously unpolished brand of punk rock, driven by hooks as sharp as their wit and as dark as their humor.
Formed around Thomas Jackson Potter (Bantam Rooster, Dirtbombs) and joined by a cast of fellow Midwestern misfits — Lindsay Crappor (No Bails), Chinese Millionaire Mark, and Chris “Chizz” Buttler (Jackpot, Blank Schatz) — Choke Chains represents the battle-hardened heart of Midwestern punk. These aren’t wet-behind-the-ears hipsters playing spot-the-influence; these are weather-beaten lifers with nothing to prove and even less to lose. Born from the same rustbelt chaos that gave rise to The Stooges, MC5, and countless unnamed basement legends, Choke Chains channel the weird, wild spirit of Michigan’s punk history. They don’t push boundaries — they shove buttons. Their sound is an unfiltered blast of noise and attitude, laced with jet-black humor and the kind of righteous anger that only comes from years of watching the world burn.
This is not a band that asks for attention — they demand it. Choke Chains don’t take themselves too seriously, but they take their noise very seriously. They are the sound of rebellion, decay, and survival, a foul-smelling breath of fresh air in a sanitized world.
If you're looking for the clean-cut or the commercially viable, look elsewhere. If you're looking for something real, raw, and loud enough to wake the dead, Choke Chains is already halfway through your front door.
This is not a band that asks for attention — they demand it.
Discography
Choke Chains
Slovenly Records
TRACKLIST
1. Safe Word
2. Moisture Technician
3. Cosmic Shadow
4. Drag Queen Cartoon
5. Cracked Dracula
6. Let's Try Suicide
7. Trinity Sue
8. Uptight
9. Random Number Generator
10. She Collects Calendars
11. Rock Paper Rapist
12. Choke Chain
Cairo Scholars Single
Hound Gawd! Records
Here’s the next punk buzz bomb from a battle-scarred crew straight outta Grand Rapids, Michigan. This 7“ is gonna rock & roll yer asses into a goddamned frenzy.
The line-up is the same as the debut album, featuring Thomas Jackson Potter of Bantam Rooster and an original member of Dirtbombs, Lindsay Crappor of No Bails on guitar, skinsman Chinese Millionaire Mark and Chris «Chizz» Buttler of Jackpot on bass.
This unit brings a type of aggression you don't hear in garage records very often these days. Big difference compared to the debut album is that this time the spitting vocals are upfront in the mix, sitting on top of the raw distortion of the guitars on «Cairo Scholars». The dark bass lines are mixed to some hypnotic rhythm with crashing cymbals that pound out the low end relentlessly. Just like a hurricane blowing right through your speakers. The flip side is «Billy The Monster», a creepy «Deviants» cover version that leaves you dropping dead somewhere down some dark side street. From start to finish, they're going full throttle - and will make you beg for more chaos!
TRACKLIST
1. Cairo Scholars
2. Billy The Monster
Android Sex Worker
Hound Gawd! Records
Full throttle, stridently miscreant rock and roll from Michigan. Choke Chains is the blurred visions of a black out drunk alien abductee set to the sounds of noisy ass elastic guitars, filthy fuzzed out bass and the drums of chaos.
With Thomas Jackson Potter of ‘90s Crypt Records legends Bantam Rooster and an original member of Dirtbombs leading matters, it’s another helacious mess of mad post-punk distorto mayhem. The Millionaire (ex-Chinese Millionaires) on drums, Lindsey Crappor (ex-No Bails) on 2nd guitar and bass handled by Chris «Chizz» Butler while Potter screams for vengeance from an underground bunker.
«Android Sex Worker» is dark and weird and raucous and catchy, at once evoking punk, goth, psych, noise, and, yeah, garage. The bass is menacing, the drums are tight, the guitar hangs back only to descend into churning chaos during the track’s denouement, and the vocals chomp and tear while sustaining a too-cool-for-this-shit attitude. This unit brings a type of aggression you don't hear in garage records very often these days. Big difference compared to the debut album is that this time the spitting vocals are upfront in the mix, sitting on top of the raw distortion of the guitars.
If you are into Detroit Rock like The Stooges, MC5 or Electric Eels these tunes will kick you in the ass.
TRACKLIST
1. Big Data Skeptic
2. Mayan Starship
3. I Will Break You
4. Cairo Scholars
5. Rat Ladder
6. Android Sex Worker
7. Lie From Hell
8. Galactic Overlord
9. Sunday Goin To Meetin Whore
10. One Brain Dead
11. Put Your Hands
