The Vindictives

The Vindictives are a punk rock band from Chicago led by vocalist Joey Vindictive and bassist Johnny Personality. They have existed off and on since 1990. Ben Weasel was the band's original rhythm guitarist. Between 1991 and 1994, the Vindictives were extremely active in the studio, recording material that would appear on nine 7" EPs, a 5" single of Sex Pistols covers, a double 10" of cover songs, an entire cover of the Ramones' "Leave Home" LP, and various compilation tracks, all released between 1991 and 1995. The first 6 EPs, which were released on the band's own V. M. L. Records, were remixed (with guitar and backing vocal contributions from Ben Weasel replaced by Billy Blastoff, who became the band's permanent guitarist in late 1992), and, along with several compilation tracks, were compiled on the "The Many Moods Of The Vindictives" compilation on Lookout! Records. The band began working on their first full-length collection of original material (entitled "Rat-A-Tat") in 1993, but this was interrupted when Joey got into a car accident and further complicated by Dr. Bob's substance abuse problems. The band's classic line up of Joey Vindictive (vocals), Johnny Personality (bass), Billy Blastoff (guitar), Dr. Bob (guitar), and PJ Parti (drums) dissolved in the summer of 1994. Joey, Johnny, and Billy rehearsed with guitarist Mike Byrne and drummer Tres Quatro in 1995 & 1996 but this line up managed only 1 show together. In July of 1996, Joey announced that the band was ceasing due to his ongoing medical and emotional issues. In 1997, the band released a split 7" with the Sloppy Seconds, featuring an old tune that Ben Weasel had written and recorded with the band. In 1998, Joey, Johnny, and Billy resurrected the Vindictives with drummer Angel Ledezma and recorded the "Hypno-Punko" LP. A novelty Christmas 7" appeared in 2000. In late 2003/early 2004, the band issued 4 CDs, "Oddities, Curosities, and the Bare Essentials" (a collection of singles & comp tracks from 1994 to 2000), "Original Masters" (a collection of the band's original recordings with Ben Weasel), "Muzak For Robots" (featuring kraut-rock versions of old songs) and "Unplugged" (acoustic versions of old songs), on their own Teat Productions imprint. In 2008, the band announced plans to reissue their discography and record new material, featuring a line up of Joey, Johnny, and PJ Parti, but these plans did not come to pass.