STIKKY — Where's My Lunchpail? (review)

STIKKY — Where's My Lunchpail? album cover

Album · 1988 · Hardcore Punk

4/5 · 2019-05-23
siLLy puPPy

Of all the punk bands that have come and gone in the San Francisco Bay Area scene, perhaps none are as memorable as the quirky and progenitor of ridiculous-core STIKKY whose crazy antics were not only instrumental in taking silly themed punk to the ultimate extreme but also along with the Southern California based Infest, was one of the earliest acts to create a hardcore punk hybrid that would become known as powerviolence, a style of punk took the essence of hardcore punk and grindcore and mixed in bursts of thrash metal ferocity along with slower sections that were more akin to sludge metal.

While the band formed in the South Bay in Santa Clara, CA in 1985, STIKKY was an important part of the 80s punk scene at the 924 Gilman Street venue in Berkeley. The lineup started out as the trio of Todd Wilder (lead vocals/drums), Chris Wilder (guitar/vocals), and James Porter (bass/vocals) but Porter parted ways in 87 and was replaced by Chris Dodge who played with the San Jose based punk rock band No Use For A Name. While technically the band never broke up and has hinted at reunions now and again, the band has essentially been inactive since 1990 but in the five years that they were sonically assaulting the public, STIKKY released the two EPs “Cuddle” and “I and I and That Guy Over There” as well as this only full-length WHERE’S MY LUNCHPAIL? which at only 27 minutes long is still quite short.

STIKKY was unique in that it played a ferocious style of hardcore punk in a style that would sit well beside some of the heaviest punkers out there such as Discharge and Amebix but the band developed and refined the silly sense of humor that was quite prevalent in the East Bay punk scene. Just one look at the hilarious album title and it’s obvious that this band was less interested in anarchy and more on board with hardcore jocularity. These guys took the goofy-core as far as they possibly could. Just check out the ludicrous song titles such as “Senator Hart Humped a Dumpling,” “I ♥ Fonzie,” “A Hella Short Song And Not A Very Positive One At That” or “Cheese Is Fantastic” and keep a straight face. I suspect that STIKKY was not only a vital innovator of humorous punk and powerviolence, but seems like it may have influenced the crazy antics of other Bay Area bands like Mr Bungle, Nuclear Rabbit and Faxed Head that took the silly hardcore approach mixed with stellar instrumental interplay.

While the lyrics are as ridiculous as possible, the music on the other hand is serious business. This band was tight as fuck with intense sonic assaults. Todd Wilder was a bad ass mother fucker on drums with precision cut blast beats dominating the intensity. It’s utterly amazing that he was not only the drummer but the lead singer as well. Drumming highlights can be heard in"Pollution Rules" and "Boy, Do Girls Ever Suck” but will blow you away all the way through. Likewise while the guitars mostly reside in the classic hardcore punk style, there are many crossovers into metal turf with virtuosic lead soloing and thrash hardcore riffing. In addition to the music there are a few silly dialogues and even a dog barking on WHERE’S MY LUNCHPAIL? In short, this is a Bay Area underground classic that should be experience by anyone who seeks out the roots of powerviolence and the more humorous side of the punk rock experience.

This album was released twice in 1988. Once on the Manic Ears label with the orange cover art and also on the Lookout label with the same cover art only with a yellow background. As an individual album this was never re-released but it can be found with every other STIKKY track on the all encompassing compilation “Spamthology” which was released on the Sound Pollution label in 1998 on CD. In the search of the elusive LUNCHPAIL, STIKKY created a veritable mix of musical insanity on this one. WHERE’S MY LUNCHBOX? delivers not only the hardcore punk goods but is one of the funniest fucking albums of the entire 80s! Some of the material has also been released on Chris Dodge’s record label Slap A Ham Records as well. Too funny, guys! How did you keep a straight face while performing this stuff? LOL