Pegboy

Pegboy formed as a Chicago punk supergroup that extended the city's post-hardcore tradition into the 1990s through a direct yet tuneful style. Guitarist and founder John Haggerty arrived from Naked Raygun, while his brother Joe Haggerty handled drums after stints in Bloodsport and a later lineup of the Effigies. Vocalist Larry Damore and bassist Steve Saylors both came from the Bhopal Stiffs; the four musicians united in 1990 once their previous groups had dissolved. Quarterstick, a Touch & Go subsidiary, signed the band, which issued its debut Three Chord Monte EP that year and followed with the full-length Strong Reaction in 1991. The two releases later appeared together on a CD reissue that connected 1990s punk-pop with earlier acts such as Hüsker Dü, Mission of Burma, and Naked Raygun.

After touring alongside Social Distortion, Saylors departed because of a rigid day job. Steve Albini substituted on bass for the 1993 EP Fore before the group recruited Pierre Kezdy, another former Naked Raygun member whose career began in Strike Under (his brother John had fronted the Effigies). Kezdy appeared on the 1994 album Earwig, which preceded a split single with Kepone. Pegboy stayed quiet for several years before resurfacing in 1997 with the Albini-recorded Cha Cha Damore. Although the band kept playing shows, waning momentum led to a breakup in 2000. Bassist Pierre Kezdy died on October 9, 2020, at age 58.