| Toxic
Shock
Just prior to the time the Beastie
Boys were forming as a New York hardcore punk band in 1981,
drummer Kate Schellenbach
was in several bands herself. First of which was the
Carcinogens from 1978 to 1979. The Carcinogens paired
down into a group called Skiples in the later part of 1979,
and then formed the band Toxic Shock in 1980. The band took
its name from the severe Staphylococcus aureus infection
that was brought about by the use of super absorbency tampons
in the late 1970s and early1980s. Later these products were
taken off the market. Toxic shock syndrome reached its peak
in the United States in 1980 and was in the news often enough
to gain pop culture notoriety and end up as the name of
a band. This is evidence to support the statement, which
is often made today, that all the good band names have already
been taken and used.
Toxic Shock was a three piece band
with Kate Schellenbach on drums, A.C., first name Ann Caroline,
Chubb on saxophone, and a girl named Janet on guitar. For
those who are not familiar with Kate Schellenbach, she is
perhaps best known for her work as drummer in the band Luscious
Jackson. Around the time and since the dissolution of
Luscious Jackson, she has played drums and recorded with
several groups like the Indigo Girls and Dusty Trails. However,
getting back to the early 1980s, around the time that Kate
was playing with A.C. and Janet in Toxic Shock; she was
also playing with another group who went by the name X-Patriots.
When Toxic Shock broke up in 1980,
Kate went on to play in several groups including the Nagasaki
Newsboys, the Young Aborigines,
and the Beastie Boys. A.C. Chubb had already been playing
saxophone in the New York band Mofungo, which was a successor
to a group called Blinding Headache. For those who are curious,
Mofungo put out a self produced recording entitled Tape
#1 as well as the rare seven inch 45 rpm record Elementary
Particles in 1980. The next year, Mofungo released their
End of the World album and began to develop a devoted following.
Then Mofungo began playing larger shows at some of the very
same venues at which the Beastie Boys would go on to perform
at. According to a 2005 update to an article written by
Robert Sietsama, it was A.C. Chubb who was part of Mofungo
from the fall of 1979 to the fall of 1982. While not a lot
is known about the group Toxic Shock, there is still hope
that something of theirs may have been recorded and will
some day make its way to the surface. Until then, Beastiemania.com
has at the very least given the band their deserved mention
and perhaps provided a stimulus for a few old memories to
be recalled.
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