Total Chaos

The punk outfit Total Chaos emerged from Riverside, California, in 1988. Its original roster consisted of vocalist Rob Chaos, guitarist Gary Doom, bassist Joe E. Bastard and drummer Gearbox, the same configuration responsible for the independently issued debut album We Are the Punx, We Are the Future. Doom left shortly afterward, yet the arrival of replacement guitarist Ronald McMurder enabled Total Chaos to secure a contract with Epitaph and deliver Pledge of Defiance in 1994. Germ entered as second guitarist in time for Patriotic Shock the following year, although Anthems from the Alleyway found only Rob Chaos and Joe E. Bastard remaining from that lineup, now augmented by guitarist Shawn Smash and drummer Suzy Homewrecker. Reports that Rob Chaos had died began circulating in early 1998; while those claims proved false, Total Chaos was simultaneously announced as defunct, only to regroup by September without Homewrecker, whom the band’s official website charged with appropriating T-shirts for discounted resale and retaining the proceeds. The revised quartet, now featuring drummer Traci Michaels, moved to Cleopatra and released In God We Kill in mid-1999, followed later that year by Electric Lady. Punk Invasion surfaced in spring 2001.