The Chop Tops began when Sinner found two
rock’n’roll renegades that loved Rockabilly music just as much as he. Sinner's
penchant for playing standing drums was only equaled by his love for the roots
rockabilly, early punk, & psycho vocalists he grew up listening to. This led him
to developing his own wild style of singing lead vocals while playing standing
drums. He teamed up with Gretsch guitar extraordinaire Shelby, after witnessing
one of his blistering guitar performances in San Francisco. With his punk
swagger and the-devil-may-care attitude, it was obvious that Shelby shared
Sinner's passion for a frantic Rock n' Roll beat and songwriting. Last, but not
least, came an upright bassist that would glue together the Chop Tops stompin'
singer/drummer and livewire guitar slinger into one red-hot, rockin' band.
Sinner's childhood friend and Santa Cruz slap bass pioneer Hot Rod completed the
band and set The Chop Tops wheels a rolling.
In 1999 the band released its debut album
Tales of Hot Rods, Hot Broads & Lucky Odds produced by guitar great Deke
Dickerson. They soon headed out to tour the US. They must’ve been doing
something right! A buzz had generated from the bands smoking live shows and
highly polished songwriting skills. This caught the ear of Ronnie Weiser,
president and creator of the legendary Rollin Rock Records, whose label hosted
such heavy hitters as the Blasters, Gene Vincent and Ray Campi, to name a few.
He immediately signed the band and at the end of the tour they headed back in
the studio to record the highly praised Always Wild.
“We barely had time to catch our breath,
said Sinner. “Things happened fast, but we were ready. Hell, this is what we
dreamed about as kids. There was no rest for the wicked, the dream had become
reality and we were ready for it. We were real excited about recording an album
for a label that had released Gene Vincent’s last recordings, The Blasters first
album, & so many other greats!” Always Wild was released in July of 2000 and
another US tour ensued. The boys played to packed houses up and down the states.
After some well deserved time off, it was
time to go back into the studio. 2001 saw the release of their 3rd album. The
rock n roll fist-to-cuffs Evil Six, which they premiered as the opening act for
Brian Setzer’s '68 Come Back Special tour. Proving once again, this band was no
one trick pony!
"Always Wild was a very successful album,
and we could’ve gone back in the studio and recorded Son of Always Wild, but I
don’t think we would’ve been happy, said Shelby. We needed to do something
different. The band had stripped down from a four piece to a three piece and we
were itching to do something a bit more edgy, you know, get back in touch with
our Punk roots, while still retaining the sound fans have become accustomed to.
I guess whatever we did worked.” Evil Six has sold over 20,000 copies!
August 2005 the band embarked on a non-stop
west to east coast 25 city tour. "It was great to finally play in the east and
the crowds were really receptive" said Sinner. "New York was a blast!" added
Shelby. "They really know how to rock!"
2006 found the band playing Viva Las Vegas 10
(their 3rd appearance since 1999) in April and a US tour with Nekromantix in June,
where they premièred their 4th released Triple Deuces. Recorded at the legendary
Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco California and released on the LA label
Spilt 7 Records it became their finest hour. “We poured our heart in soul into
Triple Deuces” said Sinner. “If you liked our other three releases, then you’ll
LOVE this one! After completing the Nekromantix tour, the band was invited by
Kevin Lyman to join the California dates of Van’s Warped Tour where they won
over a completely new audience.
2007 showed the The Chop Tops were real
contenders when they were invited again for the Warped Tour. The audience
attendance was now even bigger than the year before! After finishing The Warped
a tour with Germany’s Mad Sin ensued. July kicked off the highly successful “El
Diablo” US tour. 2007 ended with the Fall/Winter “More Bang for Your Buck Tour”
which had the boys teaming up with the Koffin Kats and the Nekromantix for six
weeks of pure mayhem and sold out shows!
Clocking in at over 230 shows it was time to
put the brakes on. “It was great fun, and our name was now bigger than ever, but
if you were to ask us for specifics on any of those shows in 2007 we really
couldn’t give you any.” Shelby reflects. “It was an absolute blur of constant
motion!”
In early 2008 the band added Brett Black
formally of Three Bad Jacks as the band’s bassist. “We’ve known Brett for over
10 years” said Sinner. “When we found out he was a free agent we knew we to get
him! I really don’t think it’s going too far out on a limb to say he’s one of
the bassist out there!”
At the time of this being written, The Chop
Tops had just completed their “My Curse” US Tour confirm a spot for Viva Las
Vegas 12. They were also discussing plans of releasing their 5th album sometime
in 2009.
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