The Effigies

Sun May 25th 2025 | Doors 1:30pm | Tickets $15-20

“John would have wanted the record to come out. The music was what was important to him, and he would have wanted us to keep going.” — The Effigies drummer Steve Economou

The new album from The Effigies begins, unfortunately, with a moment of tragedy. Just as the long-running and influential Chicago punk band was finishing its fifth album Burned in late 2023, singer John Kezdy was killed in a biking accident.

Reaction from the music world was swift. “John Kezdy was a hero of mine,” Steve Albini wrote on social media immediately following Kezdy’s passing. “Effigies were the first great band from Chicago’s scene, his stern, declamatory style influenced a generation and he helped me in material ways. Not overstating to say that without John and the Effigies, I would never have made any records.”

While The Effigies were never the biggest band in the punk world, they were an important one. The group — which featured rotating guitarists but primarily consisted of Kezdy, bassist Paul Zamost, and drummer Steve Economou — formed in 1980 and released four full-length records and a few EPs over the course of their on-and-off history, all while touring with the likes of Black Flag, the Dead Kennedys, Naked Raygun (which featured John’s brother Pierre), and even pre-fame Green Day.

Most importantly, the band helped punk thrive in their hometown of Chicago in the early ‘80s, where the scene was smaller and more insular. “That early Chicago scene — there was a collective consciousness there,” says Economou. “It was Steve Albini, Naked Raygun, Strike Under. We all had our roles — sound, promotions, t-shirts. It was a collective scene from the beginning. We held it together until the next generation of bands hit and the crowds got bigger.” (During this time, the band also founded and released their music on Ruthless Records, an influential punk label that also featured albums by Naked Raygun, Big Black, and Urge Overkill, among others.)

A smaller local scene may have kept The Effigies from reaching the heights of some of their peers. But the band’s unwillingness to fit into a predetermined genre or musical category also played a role. “There was no scene for us,” admits Economou. “But what was great was how diverse the Chicago scene was. We were all very different from each other.” In a 2015 interview, Kezdy — eschewing the term “hardcore” — noted that “we tried to write real songs but they had the punk energy. I don’t mind if people call us a punk band because that’s what we’ve always been. I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but the lineage of The Effigies has always been more along the lines of the Sex Pistols, the Stranglers, the Ruts and that kind of stuff.”

That said, you’ll notice a consistency from The Effigies through every release, including the new album. Burned, the band’s first record since 2007’s Reside, was produced and recorded by Andy Gerber (a longtime friend of the band who also plays guitars on parts of the album) and mixed by J. Robbins. It’s aggressive but melodic, with Kezdy’s wry, political, and often personal commentary at the forefront.

“It’s John’s best work,” says Zamost. “And I think it’s consistent with our other music because the music’s always been written around me and Steve, the rhythm section. It defined our sound.”

Along with a new record comes a 40th anniversary re-release of the band’s classic album For Ever Grounded, which has been remixed and remastered. “We’d record the early records very quickly, sneaking into studios and pretty much laying ‘em down over a weekend,” says Economou.

Tickets
Advance $15
Day of Show $20