Saturday, August 23, 2025

Chinpoko

ORIGINS: Penrith, NSW
GENRE: Punk, Hardcore
YEARS ACTIVE: 2005-2006
 
MEMBERS:
RELEASES:
  • Demo (2005)
SUMMARY: Chinpoko were a shortlived dual vocals punk/hardcore band that emerged in Penrith's post-Obzine era of All Ages shows. They recorded a demo and played a couple of shows before the band split and developed into The Ascords and Persist. 
 
SHOWS: 
ORAL HISTORY:
BRIAN: It started out of a group of mates who wanted to be in bands because we'd been going to local PCYC gigs in high school. The problem was that only a couple of us actually knew how to play any instruments. I had dabbled in a few instruments but I ended up with a drumkit for my birthday so, although I was still learning, I was default drummer. Shane Dengate played bass and Big Shane wanted to play drums but didn't have a kit so he sang. 
Brian M. (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

PETER: All of us met going to PCYC shows in Penrith seeing bands. We were mates with bands such as Chaz. H. Scally and Anarchoi, and one day a bunch of us decided... fuck it, let's do music too! Everyone sucked and we had no clue what we were doing but it was super fun. We honestly had no ambitions other than to play punk rock with our mates and get up to mischief.
Peter Jackson (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

BRIAN: The Penrith scene is getting good... although it sucks that a lot of kids are only into bands like Parkway Drive and I Killed the Hardcore Scene.
Brian M. (Drums), CTW Issue 15, October 2006

GAVIN: We were all friends and we always went to gigs. We had close ties with Titan Outfits, Anarchoi, and later Chaz. H. Scally. Ged from Chaz even eventually jumped on drums when Chinpoko changed names to The Ascords and I later joined Chaz. when their originally bassist Vella left. We were always a close group of friends interested in music.
Gavin Lynch (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

BRIAN: The two Shanes and I started having jams in my parents' garage just trying to figure out how to play songs. I had a teacher at school read the roll one day and he saw my address and said, "I live near you, do you know that horrible band that plays on the weekends? I can't wait for them to shut up once they get going". The rest of the band joined because they were mutual friends... we shuffled around who played what a lot as everyone was figuring out what they wanted to play. Chris started off wanting to sing but was the shyest person in the group so he ended up learning bass because it was easier. Pete played guitar but wanted to sing, so we ended up with two singers. Then Gav joined because he actually knew how to play guitar.
Brian M. (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025


SHANE DENGATE: Chinpoko was the first band I was in that ever left the garage. We were always mucking around and jamming together - for a long time we basically lived in Brian's mum's garage, haha. Lots of different combinations of people jamming, but usually variations of the same people. Chinpoko was actually two different 'bands' that joined together. They didn't even have names. One of the bands was a fast hardcore-style band with myself, Pete, Brian, and either Gav or Chris. The other band was myself, Brian, Shane Phillips, and either Gav or Chris. Chris wanted to be the singer but he didn't want to sing in front of us so I taught him some bass and I swapped from bass to guitar.
Shane Dengate (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

BRIAN: I was inspired to play by bands like Minor Threat, Black Flag, Last Nerve, Taking Sides, Gorilla Biscuits, Stand and Fight, Champion, Miles Away, and Internal Affairs. 
Brian M. (Drums), CTW Issue 15, October 2006

GAVIN: I'd gotten into bands listening to my older sister's music and stealing her CDs and playing her vinyls - Green Day, Black Sabbath, Billy Idol. Growing up I'd always been more interested in things with distortion and as I grew older I chased more aggressive sounds. When I found Nirvana I picked up a guitar and wanted to play fast. 
Gavin Lynch (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025


BRIAN: The idea was vaguely punk/hardcore, but there was no real direction as we started as a bit of a joke band - just some mates mucking around trying to learn how to play covers. A lot of bands form because one or two people have an idea for a sound and they get people to join the idea; we just started playing music, which is probably why it was pretty shortlived. Everyone had different tastes and - as we were all young - we discovered new music and our tastes changed. 
Brian M. (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

PETER: There were so many shows in Penrith back then but a lot of the bands were pop punk... it just wasn't who we were. It wasn't how we grew up. Overall the demographic was - you had nothing and were trashy so naturally you were drawn to music that reflected being angry. The pop-punk kids were upper middle class and the biggest tragedy they faced was a girlfriend leaving them 'cause they hooked up with one of the girlfriend's friends. Pretty guy situations, haha. All nice enough blokes I'm sure... but very different realities.
Peter Jackson (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

BRIAN: One of our mates was putting on shows on the roof of a public carpark. He didn't get anyone's approval, he just figured out he could open the fuse box up there and plug into the power points and off he went. 
Brian M. (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025


PETER: Our first show was the Judges Car Park rooftop show. I almost missed it 'cause they locked the gates downstairs and I had to jump over the spikes to get in. We did a four song set, fuck we sucked so bad but it was one of the most memorable nights of my life. All and all a great night. 
Peter Jackson (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

SHANE DENGATE: We most likely ended up on the Judges Car Park show lineup 'cause we annoyed the shit out of whoever was organising it (maybe Rhys or Dave?) until they caved and said we could play.
Shane Dengate (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

BRIAN: My mum likes to be involved in everything and we were too young to drive so she drove us to the rooftop gig and then stuck around to take photos. As a 17-year old I was thoroughly embarrassed. She left after we played and then a few hours later the cops came to break it up with a bus and pretty much the riot squad. No one was actually doing anything that dodgy, just underage drinking and bands making noise, so it was all a bit of a non-event and dissipated pretty quickly. I obviously didn't mention to old mumsy that it wasn't approved and that the cops turned up... then we rang into Big Shane's mum the next day and she was asking if I was caught up in all the ruckus, to which I played dumb, but my mum knew I was full of shit. 
Brian M. (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

GAVIN: Judges Carpark! It was moshpits, police, and good times. Community and fun - it's one of my fondest memories. 
Gavin Lynch (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

The infamous Judges Carpark show. Chinpoko were a late addition to the bill and played a four song set.

BRIAN: We recorded a demo in Ged's upstairs bedroom of his townhouse with a mattress up against the window for soundproofing. 
Brian M. (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

PETER: We played about two more shows and I ended up leaving and starting Persist. Chinpoko changed their name to something else.
Peter Jackson (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

SHANE DENGATE: The Chinpoko shows that stand out in my memory are the Judges Car Park show and our last show, which was at Maggotsville. Pete had not long left so it was the first time with Shane Phillips being the solo singer with the rest of us attempting backing vocals. It was the week before I turned 18 so I had to sneak into the after-show at the Lansdowne, haha. Brian ended up leaving not long after this show and joined Pete in Persist. That's when Ged came in on drums and we re-branded as The Ascords. 
Shane Dengate (Guitar), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

BRIAN: Chinpoko is pretty much a street punk band as the people in the band are passionate about street punk with a little hardcore influence from me. My other band, Persist, is pretty much a hardcore band as the people in that band are passionate about hardcore, but the people in both bands are my family pretty much.
Brian M. (Drums), CTW Issue 15, October 2006

Zine interview, October 2006

BRIAN: We moved out of the garage and into a practice space and initially we would just still fuck around like we were back in the garage. After a few shows (and starting to pay for band practice space) the idea of being a 'joke band' ran its course, at least for me. Our band named came from an episode of South Park, where chinpokemon meant 'small penis', haha, and we had a logo that said 'Chinpoko - Small Penis Hardcore'. Anyway, because there was six of us with different ideas, band practice was never very productive. Pete and I were getting more into modern hardcore and wanted that incorporated, Gav wanted to be more street punk, Big Shane was into all kinds of grindcore and shit that I had no idea about, and him and Shane Dengate were still happy just fucking around. We also all fell out with Chris over, let's it call it his 'right wing political ideas', and so we decided to part ways. They continued on under a different name with a new line up. 
Brian M. (Drums), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

PETER: I've played some massive international support shows and gone on some wild tours. But, honestly, most of the memories I have were from the old shows back in Penrith! I remember the emotions, the smells, the sounds... every feeling about being at those local shows as a kid. Finally making friends, connecting to something. It sounds cliche as fuck but I wouldn't ever trade that. It honestly was the best times of my entire life.
Peter Jackson (Vocals), Noise Levels correspondence, 2025

RELATED BANDS: The Ascords, Chaz. H. Scally, Persist, Flame the Fire, Clean Break, Bonestorm, Time Will Tell, Civil War, Square One, Homesick, Fuzion, Trauma Victim, Drengr
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