PARDON MY FREEDOM !!! (chk chk chk)

by terri sapp

Photographs by Leah Yetter

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

click photos for photo gallery

I can still remember the first time I heard the band called !!! (chk chk chk).  Particularly I remember the song, “Pardon My Freedom” from the album Louden Up Now, which caught my every sense’s attention.  It has been love and admiration from then on.  I always find it fascinating when bands and artists name themselves with symbols, or in this case punctuation.  Immediately it becomes clear to me that these are the shows I will want to experience.  If you are wondering how to pronounce the name of this particular band, I am to understand that you should just make three short staccato sounds of your choice, most commonly (chk chk chk), also acceptable is (pow pow pow), (uh uh uh), or (bam bam bam).  No matter what you call them, or what combination of guys/gals they have collaborating, !!! (chk chk chk) makes up one of my absolute new favorite live shows to see, and one of the most inventive acts around.  Current !!! (chk chk chk) members include Nic Offer (vocals), Paul Quattrone (drums), Shannon Funchess (vocals), Allan Wilson (horns, percussion, keys), Mario Andreoni (guitar), Tyler Pope (bass, electronics), and Dan Gorman (horns, percussion, keys).

First, let me say that I intended to have this awesome coverage to the public WAY before now, but alas, !!! (chk chk chk) was Concert Sutra’s last outing before I was forced to submit to the neurosurgeon’s knife for a major back surgery.  That said…on October 6, 2007 at the 40 Watt in Athens, Georgia, a select group of excitement lovers (including the Concert Sutra girls, and six of our friends) gathered for a rare intimate look into the brilliance that is !!!.  Even though I was in terrible pain, and struggling with ruptured discs and pinched nerves, I was forced by the shear genius on display to stand at the very front of the stage with Leah and her wonderful Canon in order to catch every second of the show that night.  I was terribly sore afterwards, but never regretted one bit of time spent on my feet that night.  The lineup of !!! (chk chk chk) who performed for us at the 40 Watt on that wonderful night in October, 2007 was comprised of Nic Offer (vocals), Jerry Fuchs (Marietta, GA native on the drums…Cobb County in the house!), Shannon Funchess (vocals), Allan Wilson (horns, percussion, keys), Mario Andreoni (guitar), Tyler Pope (guitar, electronics), Justin Van Der Volgen (bass) and Dan Gorman (horns, percussion, keys). Continue reading →