The Groucho Marxists

The New Brunswick NJ music scene has always been a bizarre amalgamation of disenfranchised punk rockers, ornery skinheads, weirdo goth folk, freaked-out college kids and directionless hippies. This is fertile musical ground when you can find a niche and defend it to the death. So goes the classic tale told by the members of THE GROUCHO MARXISTS.

All members of previous local musical endeavors, the story woven by the Marxists isn’t all that different than that of millions of musicians worldwide. You’ve heard the saga before: cool local band gaining momentum suddenly derailed by inner-band turmoil and a plethora of outside pressures. This is a story THE GROUCHO MARXISTS would like to forget and never hear again.

Chris Gobo Pierce had spent nearly ten years zig-zagging across the country with his numerous bands (DOC HOPPER, THE A.G.’s, SINKHOLE, DEADGUY) until he came to rest in New Brunswick back in 1996, where he found a comfortable community to plant his punk rock roots. He played with more than a few local combos like THE STUNTCOCKS, CASANOVACANE, THE SLOW WIRE, and eventually made a name for himself with his altruistic and occasionally elitist recording ethic at his own Technical Ecstasy Studio. Now all he needed was a few other musicians to fully realize his musical dream. Then it all came together shortly after it all fell apart.

Doc Hopper played their final shows in the fall of 2002, but since Pierce was the only musical engine in the band, he had a song backlog nearly as long as his discography. The obvious decision: time for a new vehicle for his hyper-active power pop. Enter the rest of the Marxists bozos…

Austin ands Brian were playing in Mach 7-era STUNTCOCKS and recording the ‘debut’ CD when they approached Pierce about doing another band. Since there were songs to be sung and beers to be drank, the 3-piece started in attacking the song catalog Pierce had amassed for the past years. All that were needed was a moniker and a bassist.

In November of 2003 the first batch of songs were recorded and the search for both a name and a low-end representative came to an end: thru a mutual friend they met Gary Zampini, the former bassist for THE SELTZERS. The chemistry was immediate and with the new line-up and definite name, world domination was imminent.

Since then the group has been impressing audiences along the East Coast with their brand of breakneck pop, reminiscent of The Descendents and Husker Du. With an EP in the can awaiting release and a full-length in the works, THE GROUCHO MARXISTS are making friends and impressing young and old. There’s always someone listening to you when you play it at 130 decibels…