Verbal Abuse is one Sick Pleasure

Slamming and diving to Verbal Abuse (All Cat Rose photos)

By Andy and Cat

Nicki Sicki and his crew of rambunctious East Bay California punks in Verbal Abuse are still shredding peoples' ears and threatening to damage their brains.

 We got a nice taste of the action when they trucked their way into Seattle last Sunday at El Corazon. Canada's equally rowdy Dayglo Abortions canceled, but we weren't to be denied some gutter rock with VA along with The Insurgence, Dreadful Children and The Triple Sixes on this 4th of July three-day weekend.



VA's Ed "Shred" & Geza

Twas a small crowd, but a hungry one ... and the VA boys mixed it up with the locals on tunes from their "Just an American Band" LP and more, including a rock-solid cover of Motorhead's "Speed Freak." Sicki and bassist Dave "Koko" Chavez, both from Sick Pleasure, busted out that old band's "Three Seconds of Pleasure" in addition to a new track, "Blacktop." 

Our pal, longtime East Bay punk Erin Mountain, who currently plays bass in Society Dog, shared some VA memories:
"The chorus to 'Worth a Try' hit home for me when I first heard it: 'We're all hanging out, pretending that we're cool. Talking about changing the world, but we're just breaking rules. But there is no other place that I would rather go, than skate around and get some beers and sneak into the show.' 

   "That was all I did other than school or whatever crap job I had, so it hit home. Then seeing them play, or running into them at random spots like o9 (9th Ave. skate ramp in Oakland) or other gigs, was killer. And they were always cool about it. It's cool to still see Dave or Nicki around. Dave is still playing bass and he's one of the best."



VA's Dave "Koko" Chavez

Sicki: A crowd-pleasing frontman

Jibo Barrow fires up The Insurgence