Kudgel
Formed in 1989 by Mark Erdody, Kudgel became one of Beantown’s most beloved and cherished secrets, embodying, along with The Swirlies, what came to be known as ‘chimp rock’: spastic and overblown-guitar driven noise-pop, infused with a bubblegum sensibility that belied the complexity of their song structure.
Kudgel’s tenure as a functioning band was appropriately enough brief and tumultuous. The band went through three major lineup changes (although Erdody always remained as the principal songwriter), a disillusioning tour of the states and several hard-wrought self-released recordings, sharing the stage along the way with Pavement, The Jesus Lizard, Rodan, Gumball, and Six Finger Satellite.