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Their first Self Titled and self released record came in 2006. It took awhile, but in Feb. '09, Minneapolis Label Heart Of A Champion (Har Mar Superstar/Lifter Puller/Mike Gunther/Eleni Mandell/The Evening Rig) released their second record, NICE PLACE. NICE PARTY. NICE FOLKS.---a LIVE RECORD recorded in the legendary 7th St. Entry. Heart Of A Champion is also releasing a forthcoming split 7" with Alabama band, The Dexateens, due out in '09.

Chooglin' also signed a deal with BIG LEGAL MESS/FAT POSSUM RECORDS, and recorded their record SWEET TIME for them in December '08 at Creation Studios in Minneapolis. The studio has a rich history--- recordings by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, The Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird", The Repacements TIM, and many Husker Du records all were had here.

Sweet Time was officially released in July 2009 and was produced by Fat Possum's Bruce Watson (head of BLM) and Tom Herbers.

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"Chooglin’. It’s a verb, baby—as in, to choogle. Just check your Creedence American Dictionary, it’s right there: “to ball and have a good time,” an act to “keep on” or continue. Or better yet, check the Minneapolis octet that bears the name. To them, Chooglin’ means the Soul Train getting robbed by the James Gang, Kiss on 78 speed and the MC5 tearing into Blood, Sweat and Tears. All at once. With a bleating horn section and ferocious guitar playing, the band is a boogie-rock juggernaut that has the guts and the skills to deliver greasy, proto-Stax soul with as much power and conviction as their relentless, riff-driven rockers.

Formed in 2005 by guitarists and singers Brian Vanderwerf and Jesse Tomlinson, from Twin City contenders the Midnight Evils, as a rollicking but conventional two-guitars-bass-and-drums lineup, Chooglin’ made their official debut in November 2005, opening up for Reigning Sound and the Detroit Cobras. Their show garnered some early local praise, but the band hit their sonic stride a month later when they were joined by a three trombone and trumpet horn section that had been assembled for a one-off performance of the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street for a local club’s cover band contest. The full Chooglin’ line-up—Vanderwerf and Tomlinson on guitar and vocals, bassist Jeff Johnson (since replaced by Paul Wells), drummer Shawn Walker, trombonists Harold Longley, Steve Erickson, and Zach Zins, and trumpet player Bob DeBoer—was soon unleashed on an unsuspecting public in a round of now legendary high-octane live shows.

“Yeah, we can get pretty high energy,” laughs Vanderwerf. “Kinda Mach 10 compared to the record. We all come from punk rock, but you know, when I get asked what we sound like, I just say ‘rock and roll.’”

Considering the blistering opener of Chooglin’s Big Legal Mess debut Sweet Time, “Mach 10 compared to the record” is a little terrifying to consider. Weaving ragged guitar and horn lines together at a breakneck pace, songs like “Take Your Sweet Time,” “Airport Bar,” and “Tonight, Alright” careen between soul and early metal. Vanderwerf’s gruff, soul-shouter vocals veer from heartbreak to sleaze and back again, while Tomlinson’s blistering guitar playing stitches all the disparate elements together—making Iron Maiden guitar gallup and Hi Records horns sit together seamlessly, and sound strangely natural together.

For a band that rocks this hard, it is a testament to Chooglin’s musical ambition that some of the real gems on Sweet Time are when they slow down a little. Gritty ballads like “Waltz In D,” “Nexium of Interest” and “Royale Vengeance,” showcase the power of the full line-up—the swaying melodicism of the horns, the songs’ dynamic arrangements, and the range and emotion of Vanderwerf’s voice. Discovered by Big Legal Mess while playing a show with Fat Possum artists Hezekiah Early and Elmo Williams during the Deep Blues Festival, Chooglin’ recorded Sweet Time at Minneapolis’ legendary Creation Studios—home of everything from the Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird” and Dave Dudley’s “Six Days on the Road,” to the Replacements’ Tim and several Husker Du records. Inspired by the close-knit Twin Cities music scene that launched the Replacements and Husker Du, Chooglin’ exhibit a classic Minneapolis band trait—a musical restlessness that keeps them from repeating themselves, and a total refusal to do anything that pigeonholes them."

For more information on Chooglin’ and upcoming tour dates, check out biglegalmessrecords.com

Ari Surdoval http://arisurdoval.wordpress.com/

CITY PAGES--April '07 BEST ALBUM OF THE PAST 12 MONTHS
Winner: Chooglin', Chooglin'

The group's handle, taken from a Creedence Clearwater Revival song title meaning "to ball and have a good time," appeared on the album's cover in that goofy font made famous by the band Chicago. In other words, Chooglin' announced no need to be taken seriously, and a growing audience obliged them. Yet the presence of two former members of the sublime Midnight Evils—guitarist/singer Brian Vanderwerf and drummer Jesse Tomlinson (now playing Telecaster)—should have been a tip-off. With an in-house brass section called "the Horns of Eleganza," Chooglin' bring "Take Mine Down" to unanticipated heights. Their rave-up R&B punk is the kind of huge and natural sound that few have bothered trying to re-create since Rocket from the Crypt. The rest of Chooglin' is just as addictive and unstoppable—a bender that's too good to park in rehab.

If you're looking for a condensed history of "choogle," head over to TCBlog. In the meantime, Minneapolis quartet Chooglin', who rocked Beerland shortly before South by Southwest, take the name seriously on their latest self-titled.

Armed with a Creedence-coined moniker and a logo nicked from Chicago (might wanna lawyer up on that count, boys), Chooglin' blasts far beyond whatever notions those two weapons might confer. The fourpiece utilizes garage-borne punk fury to remind us of the ass-shaking salvation once offered by the boogie-down guitar rock of the Seventies before it got all bloated on deli trays and cocaine.

Ex-Midnight Evils Jesse Tomlinson and Brian Vanderwerf conjure up double-barreled guitar pyrotechnics while drummer Shawn Walker splays himself every which way at a hundred miles an hour without losing time. Opener "So Stupid" spins itself into a frenzy approximating a speed-of-sound collision between Muddy Waters, Foghat, and the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs. Breakneck soul workout "Do It to It" and a well-placed cover of Roy Head's "Treat Her Right" garner extra oomph from the Horns of Eleganza's barroom brass. Theirs is the sound of workaday shackles rapidly evaporating into a rank steam of spilled beer and hormones.

Greg Beets, Wed Apr 18, 2007

"In Da Club: Chooglin' at the Triple Rock

CITY PAGES
by Christina Schmitt
November 23, 2005

The word "Chooglin'" sounds like an onomatopoeia for beer guzzling or trains chugging. It's actually a Creedence Clearwater Revival term for partying and fornicating, as laid out in the classic, "Keep on Chooglin'"--"You got to ball and have a good time/And that's what I call chooglin'." What's also called Chooglin' is a new local band that debuted last Friday night at the Triple Rock. The CCR reference was probably lost on the majority of the twenty-to-thirtysomethings at the show, but judging by how quickly and early the bar filled up, many did know that the opening band featured two former members of the now defunct Midnight Evils, guitarist/singer Brian Vanderwerf and drummer Jesse Tomlinson, who now plays a Telecaster and occasionally flips off assholes in the crowd. Chooglin' the band is a good time, emphasis on beer and a classic rock sound; their standout, Shawn Walker, also drummer for the Fuck Yeahs, channels Keith Moon through his manic drum fills. The crowd thinned for the middle act, Reigning Sound, and gathered again for the headliners, R&B-garage-rock cover band the Detroit Cobras. But either due to the band's more sedate take on rock or because the crowd was all choogled out, the stage never did regain the evening's earlier verve."

http://www.lowcut.dk/042_lc/reviews/index.asp

http://www.slivermagazine.com/50wordsorless.html

http://www.avclub.com/content/node/56598

http://www.citypages.com/databank/27/1311/article14048.asp

http://www.howwastheshow.com/reviews-2006/best_new_bands-01-18-06.html

http://www.startribune.com/1371/v-print/story/192626.html