Chaz H. Scally

ORIGINS: Penrith, NSW

GENRE: Ska-Core

YEARS ACTIVE: 2004-2008, 2012-2014

 

MEMBERS:

• Ged - Vocals, Guitar
• Brett 'Dengy' Dengate - Guitar, Backing Vocals
• Chris Baker - Drums, Backing Vocals
  
• Michael Vella - Bass, Backing Vocals (2004-2007, 2012-2014)
  
• Gavin Lynch - Bass (2008)
• Jake - Bass (2007) [Fill-In]
  

RELEASES:

• Demo (2004) - Download Here.
  
• 1. Attack in Progress
• 2. Nope Rope
• 3. Looking to the Right
• 4. Make Up Your Mind

• Attack in Progress (2005) - Download Here.
  
• 1. Attack in Progress
• 2. No Rope
• 3. 05
• 4. Character Dintation 
• 5. Looking to the Right
• 6. Value Your Sanity
• 7. 6 Foot Shadow
• 8. Judo Hobo
• 9. Make Up Your Mind
• 10. You Don't Own
• 11. Loopholes
  

• Blackwire Split w/ Anarchoi
• 1. 1057
• 2. You Don't Own

• 2008 (2008)
• 1. Intro
• 2. Soon to Be
• 3. 10:57
• 4. TCT
• 5. Territorial Fuck
• 6. Effective From
• 7. An Answer to What
• 8. On a Line
• 9. Untitled
  

SUMMARY: Chaz H. Scally began after the demise of previous Penrith ska-core band Titan Outfits, with Ged, Dengy, and Baker heading in a harder-edged direction. The band recorded a demo early on and then began gigging straight away, playing shows in both Western Sydney and the inner city, as well as embarking on tours to Brisbane and Adelaide. Original bassplayer Vella left when the band began downtuning guitars and momentum was later lost with the departure of guitarist Dengy, although the band did reform a few years later for a sporadic run of shows.

 

SHOWS: 

• PCYC, Penrith - 12th November, 2004
• Church Bar, Canberra - 8th October, 2005
  
• Gaelic Club, Sydney - 18th November, 2005
• PCYC, Penrith - 19th November, 2005
• Judges Carpark, Penrith - 3rd March, 2006 
• Repressed Records, Penrith - 24th April, 2006
  
• PCYC, Penrith - 30th June, 2006 
• Club 22, Newtown - 21st August, 2006
  
• National Beer Day, The Union, Penrith - 4th November, 2006
• Red Tile, Alleyway Show, Adelaide (SA) - 24th March, 2007
  
• The Pitz, Marrickville - 11th August, 2007
• Spaceport One, Marrickville - 6th October, 2012 
• Town and Country, St Peters - 15th December, 2012
  
• Agincourt Hotel, Sydney - 5th July, 2014

ORAL HISTORY:

GED: The band morphed from previous band Titan Outfits into Chaz some time in 2004. We liked the idea of more guitars without a brass section. Vella, the bass player, had been jamming with us for a while and he slotted right in. A few songs on our first album were leftover Titan Outfits ideas that were never finished. We had been rehearsing at my parents' house but the time had come to move on to Symphonic Sound Studios ran by Farz. We had lots of good times down there.

Ged (Vocals, Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

VELLA: We were just hanging out and jamming at Geds. Once Titans finished, Chaz started. 

Vella (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

DENGY: It started as a jam at Ged's with the four of us - we pretty much decided in this first jam that we were gonna make the lineup of myself, Ged, Baker, and Vella into our new band. It was a real quick thing, we had the demo recorded within a couple of weeks. We'd still been doing Titan Outfits but I feel like everyone was ready to move on from that. I wanted to play guitar and we all wanted to something that, while still being ska, didn't have the horns and was a bit more int he punk direction (even though Titans was basically heading that way anyway, haha). The two biggest influences for Chaz were Choking Victim / Leftover Crack, and The Unseen. We kinda wanted to blend those sounds to see what would happen.

Brett Dengate (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

GED: I stole the name from a poster in a school class room years earlier. Either History or Geography, not sure, but it could have been a map or something similar. I thought it was interesting and changed it from 'Chas' to 'Chaz'. I told the lads the name idea and they were all on board.

Ged (Vocals, Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

BAKER: We started Chaz from Titan Outfits; we wanted to go more punkier and Dengy wanted to get on guitar. We'd been jamming with Vella, just doing covers and stuff, then thought we'd start something new. My drumming changed a bit, a little faster, and I added some double kick for certain songs. We were right into Tragedy so I tried a few of the beats they like to do, crust-style beats. 

Chris Baker (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

GED: At first we tuned in standard E and had lots of ska tracks. It was fast and we liked the sound to be dirty. Towards the end we had several tunings, ranging from C# standard and back to E. We were listening to more metal, going back and listening to early Slayer albums that are quite fasy. I couldn't scream as well as when I was younger so I began screaming lower to compensate. Baker started adding more double kick drum which we right into, except maybe Vella. We probably could have written a few more ska songs though.

Ged (Vocals, Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

VELLA: 'You Don't Own' was always the best song to play.

Vella (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

DENGY: The first Chaz show was at Penrith PCYC... We were on pretty early and we were pretty stoked with how it went, and gave out a bunch of demos for free after the set... That first demo; I cut out all the paper inlays on my lunch break on the day of the gig!

Brett Dengate (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

GED: Earlier on we played a lot of shows thanks to the organising of Jordan, Ryan and Dave from Anarchoi. They were always great. We toured with overseas hardcore band Vitamin X through those guys. Meeting the Steppin' Razor lads was great, we played with them a lot. 

Ged (Vocals, Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

DENGY: Titan Outfits had already been playing lots of shows in the city and doing the Punx Picnics and all those sorts of things, and it was this same scene that Chaz ended up playing in for the most part. The Penrith scene didn't seem to dig Chaz as much as they did Titan Outfits so we didn't do as much out West as Chaz H. Scally. In both bands we always felt like our sound was too heavy for the ska crowd and too ska for the punk and crust crowds we ended up playing to. Chaz got a lot heavier by the second album - that was a combination of what we were listening to and also the bands and crowds we were playing with and to.

Brett Dengate (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

GED: All the Punx Picnics were always loose. We did shows in Adelaide and Brisbane, they were unreal. It was all fun.

Ged (Vocals, Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

DENGY: We went to Brisbane a few times and also to Adelaide. The Adelaide weekend was awesome; we stayed at this squat with the guys from The Jerks and we just partied the whole weekend. One of the shows in particular was really cool, kind of had a Punx Picnic vibe but they had the crowd all meet at one spot and then walk as a big group to the gig - there were hundreds of people and the gig was set up in this amphitheatre-styled outdoor concert venue. So were set up ready to go and waiting on a signal from the organiser to start, and as we did the crowd just poured in. It was wild!

Brett Dengate (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

VELLA: The show I remember most was the Red Square in Adelaide. It was crazy how they organised it and how many people showed up.

Vella (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

BAKER: The shows that stand out are the ones in the Adelaide. Dengy sorted the accommodation out with the bands and then we got there and it was a squat, haha, but we did the shows and had a massive party afterwards there, it was sick! I think we left at around 5am to get back to the airport and we were all blind, somehow we got on the plane, then Dengy started introducing himself to everyone who walked past, then started yelling 'bomb bomb bomb!'. Still don't know how we made it back to Sydney.

Chris Baker (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

GED: Recording the album was a great time. We went back to Tim Walter, who'd recorded the Titan Outfits album. We approached this one with the idea that we wanted it more hard, loud, and heavy compared to Titans and he delivered well... Every song we write we try to outdo the last one. We don't like to look back on something we've written and make something similar, that's just not on, haha.

Ged (Vocals, Guitar), CTW #14, June 2006

REVIEW: This is the debut CD from Penrith's premier ska-core outfit and a sharp and snappy album. Even great songs packed full of energy and enthusiasm - a real unbridled hybrid of poppy reggae/ska with dirty-sounding hardcore... I think my favourite tracks are 'Attack in Progress' and 'You Don't Own'. 

Review of Attack in Progress, CTW #14, June 2006

DENGY: I loved the whole Vitamin X tour. We didn't even play the Melbourne leg but that hang and those shows were all time. The Repressed Records in-store with Anarchoi was great too. As was the Leftover Crack support. There was also a show we did at the Town and Country when we got back together in 2013, it was such a fucking vibe and I hadn't seen a lot of people from that show in years so that made it extra awesome. I look back on all of the gigs and memories so fondly. There's so many more I could mention - the Blackwire instores, Maggotville, Lansdowne - so many! There was this sick little venue/room in Newtown... it was tiny but the shows were hectic, and the crowds used to go nuts in there. I remember watching Vae Victus play there before we did, it was fucking mad.

Brett Dengate (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

GED: Jake from Solid Beam had filled in for a few shows when Vella had a broken hand. Later, after Vella left, another mate, Gavin, filled in on bass. Gavin recorded the second album with us. 

Ged (Vocals, Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

VELLA: The rest of the band wanted to drop tune the guitars. That's when I said 'I'm out'. 

Vella (Bass), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

DENGY: Honestly, I can't think of much I didn't love... playing in a band is expensive and it takes up lots of time but we were just always stoked to be amongst mates playing music we loved and hanging out. I play music full time and it pays the bills but it's got nothing on those days!

Brett Dengate (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

 

BAKER: The band finished because I think we'd all just had enough. Vella had already gone, and we just didn't have the time anymore, unfortunately.

Chris Baker (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

GED: Dengy left and we tried to get a replacement but it didn't work. We played a few shows as a three piece but they were shit. We reformed a few times years later for random shows here and there but everyone lived far away from each other and it fizzled out.

Ged (Vocals, Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

 

DENGY: I left the band in maybe 2008 as I wanted to do other things - which I regretted. But then we got back together for the Leftover Crack show and a string of gigs including a little Brisbane tour in 2013. We all just kinda went our ways, everyone was getting older and having families and busy jobs, etc., so it just kinda died. 

Brett Dengate (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2024

RELATED BANDS: Titan Outfits, Celebrity Morgue, The Oi Ska's / Badtown Allstars, The Vigilantes, The Rabid Terror