Arts & Entertainment
Riot Fest, Dave Grohl and the World’s Oldest Young Punks: Punk Band Verböten Tells an Amazing Story 41 Years in the Making
Verböten, unsigned LP. (Courtesy of Jason Narducy)
It’s a Chicago music story for the ages.
In 1983, four friends aged 11 to 15 years old formed a punk band and played the Cubby Bear and a few other shows before amicably breaking up — basically the oldest kid wanted to tour, but the youngest was told that he had to finish 6th grade.
The oldest kid had, and still has, a cousin named Dave Grohl — yes, that Dave Grohl. Back in ‘83 Grohl was a Virginia teenager visiting family in Chicago. He attended the show at the Cubby Bear and later remarked, “That night changed everything I knew about music. Watching him (guitarist Jason Narducy) was the first time I ever thought, ‘If that kid right there does it, then I can do it, too.’”
The band that inspired Grohl was Verböten (German for “forbidden”). After 41 years, they are reuniting for a show at Riot Fest on Saturday.
It sounds like a movie, and it’s already a joyous rock musical: In early 2020 WTTW News featured the hit stage show “Verboten” at the House Theater of Chicago. Acclaimed playwright Brett Neveu wrote the script.
Forty-one years after the band bonded over music, Verböten is about to release its first album. Punchy and urgent, the terrific self-titled debut is a fitting next chapter in the life of these one-time teenage bandmates who are now in their 50s.
The secret weapon is original band member Narducy (the youngest kid) who stuck with music and tours regularly with Bob Mould, Superchunk and Sunny Day Real Estate. His own band, Split Single, is well worth discovering.
Verböten, left to right: Tracey Bradford, John Carroll, Chris Kean and Jason Narducy. (Nathan Keay)
WTTW News spoke with Narducy and Verböten singer Tracey Bradford (the oldest kid) about putting the band back together. At Riot Fest they’ll be joined by original guitarist Chris Kean and new drummer John Carroll.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
WTTW News: Jason, what’s going on today?
Jason Narducy: I just picked up Tracey from the airport. We’re gonna practice tonight, tomorrow and the next day. It’s been 41 years. We need to get a bunch of practices in. [laughs]
It’s amazing that you bonded with each other at such a young age, and that your story is still continuing.
Narducy: We totally did bond. That’s a good way to word it. We were a unit. For that moment, that 18 months or whatever, we had conviction, and because of Tracey’s social skills and ability to connect with people, she was able to get us some amazing gigs, and we made a little mark for ourselves.
Tracey Bradford: It was a family, and we took care of each other. Even though it was punk rock, we looked out for one another.
Whose idea was the reunion?
Bradford: A friend of mine from high school is a promoter and he said, ‘I have this crazy idea.’ Initially I shot it down. I was like, this is crazy, it will never happen. And then guitarist Chris Kean and I talked about it, and I was like maybe I’ll talk to Jason. So somebody else was pushing me, and then it was like, ‘Why can’t we do it?’ I love seeing Jason and spending time with him, and I love the music he creates. It’s a win no matter how I look at it.
Narducy: Chris and Tracey haven’t played music in 40 years and when they approached me about it, I was very surprised and curious, and that’s when the conversation started last summer. One of the first things I said was, ‘We don’t even have enough music to play a show.’ I mean, we have these songs that I wrote when I was 11, and they’re kind of cute and catchy but I don’t think they’d hold anybody’s attention for very long, [laughs] so that’s when I went, ‘Maybe I should write a record so we have some material that we can be proud of,’ and then we started this very unlikely project of making the record.
Perhaps I shouldn’t be so surprised, but I just heard the record (to be released Oct. 4) and it is really strong.
Bradford: I’m glad you like it. It’s short. It’s under 30 minutes so we figured we could get all your 31 flavors in quickly. What was your favorite song?
‘Bodily Autonomy’ stood out and ‘No More Indecision,’ but there weren’t any songs to skip over. ‘Dark Things’ reminded me a bit of Queens of the Stone Age.
Narducy: The points of reference date long before Queens, so the skeleton of that song is very Dead Kennedys. We went back to our roots, and of course it’s going to sound different — we’re not trying to sound like we’re a band in 1982, but yeah, I could go through every single song and tell you which band influenced it.
Your new drummer, John Carroll, sounds like a pro.
Narducy: He’s phenomenal, and the crazy thing is a friend of mine told me about him, and I asked if he could come to my home in Evanston and play with me to see if we can communicate and get along. And he said, ‘Yeah, he can do that because he’s an Evanston Middle School band teacher’ — and it’s the same school Zach and Chris went to while they were in Verböten. It’s pretty wild.
You’ve got the first slot on Saturday’s lineup at Riot Fest. Any other bands you hope to see this weekend?
Bradford: The Buzzcocks, and I’m interested in seeing Beach Bunny because the same producer did my vocals, so that will be interesting, and obviously Beck — that will be a fun closer, so I’m excited.
Jason, you’ve played the fest before. Who are you looking to see?
Narducy: I’ve been fortunate to play Riot Fest both with Bob Mould and Superchunk. It’s a fantastic festival, and I’m thrilled that we’re doing this. But we’re going to play, do some interviews, and then I immediately fly out for a Sunny Day Real Estate tour, so I won’t be staying to see other bands.
I was lucky enough to catch the rock musical ‘Verboten’ at the House Theater in early 2020. What’s the status of that?
Narducy: We’re working on a film adaptation right now. We have a production company and a director in place, and Brett Neveu wrote a screenplay. So it’s in motion. I’ve recorded all the songs since that production. In fact, I wrote three new songs, and we’re really hoping that it can find a home.
Bradford: That show was so good. After that, I was way more interested in doing something with the band, because that was incredible. It was really moving. It was motivation for me and made me think that maybe we could do this. Maybe we could even do it better.
Verböten. (Courtesy of Jason Narducy)
Any family and friends coming in for the show?
Bradford: I have a lot of people flying in from California and Florida to see this.
How about your cousin?
Bradford: We thought so initially, but I’m gonna guess no.
He has a lot on his plate at the moment.
Bradford: Yeah.
Well, best wishes for the reunion. Let’s hope it goes better than the Jane’s Addiction reunion.
Narducy: I can almost guarantee that won’t happen onstage at Riot Fest. We’re having a blast.
