A Dirty Dozen with CHUMHUFFER – March 2025

According to a recent press release: “ChumHuffer, the hardcore punk outfit renowned for their ferocious sound and sharp social critique, are preparing to drop their highly awaited third studio EP, Slaughterhouse Five, in May 2025. Set for release through their independent label, DWY Records, the EP draws its title from Kurt Vonnegut’s iconic novel, with its lead track highlighting unsettling similarities between the chaos of war in the book and the turbulence of today’s global unrest. ChumHuffer has earned a reputation for their intense performances and sharp, often satirical lyricism. Formed by members of Blackout Shoppers, Refuse Resist, and Urban Waste, the band channels the spirit of ’80s punk while injecting it with a modern, raw edge—creating a sound that is unapologetically honest and confrontational.” We get the band to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Jimmy Duke: As of right now the Slaughterhouse EP is my favorite record I ever played on. The time we put in the studio as well as a big shout out to Jast Collum for recording the record. He helped us with our sound tremendously. Everything pops! The song structure, the lyrics and the musical arrangement shows off our strengths and gelled well together. I truly am proud to put this out into the world.

Blackout Matt: The new record shows the scope of what we’re capable of as a band, embracing literary references in ‘Slaughterhouse’ (referring to Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five) as well as indulging in tabloid conspiracy theories and how they reflect on modern life in the song “Miami.”

Joe Dorane: I can’t confirm or deny that if you play our record backwards there’s a hidden satanic message so… buy the record and find out.

Shawn Refuse: What they all said, except “Miami” is nothing about that lol. It was the working name that just stuck. Song is about the family you make vs the one you were born into.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Shawn Refuse: First time my childhood friend put a Dead Kennedys tape in the dashboard I was hooked. It was Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death. Not their best album but it was my gateway to the music I love.

Jimmy Duke: At one point in time my Uncle Jim lived downstairs from my family. Ever since I was 4 years old, every time I would hang out with him he would blast Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Judas Priest or Iron Maiden in his room. My dad always played 104.3 back when it was Pure Rock not classic rock so we got a dose of the contemporary stuff (1990s) as well as classics. So, music was always there. When I was asked to play drums for legendary Hardcore Punk band, Ultra Violence, at the A7 Reunion show at the Knitting Factory in 2008. It just felt right, that was where I belonged. That was the day when I said I will be doing this for the rest of my life.

Blackout Matt: I learned to love music as a kid watching MTV, which in its early days would show very different videos back-to-back, so you could be exposed to lots of different kinds of music in just a few minutes. Songs could pack a lot of punch into a short span of time without a lot of tedious explanation; I wanted to be able to do that.

Joe Dorane: My family always played Billy Joel growing up. I had a bunch of his cassettes I would listen to on long car trips. Then my friend Doug showed me Green Day in middle school, sending me right down the rabbit role of discovering punk bands from that point on. As for playing, my first band The Spork Experience had our first “gig” at a high school talent show. We sucked and got booed while playing “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It never deterred me from getting back up on stage, playing for people. I just thought I would keep at it. Turns out I’ve kept at it for the past 20 years and counting.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Jimmy Duke: I listened to The Ramones Greatest Hits Live album on repeat during a vacation in upstate NY. I heard the studio versions of the songs on the radio and with my dad. But that album in particular made me realize, “Wait? You can play that fast!” Ever since then I gravitated towards the loud, fast stuff.

Blackout Matt: Seeing The Dwarves live was a key moment. I loved the raw songs and the absolute violent chaos that the Dwarves would bring with them everywhere. The most beat up I have ever been in a mosh pit was at my first Dwarves show. And they have a sense of humor and put naked women on their album covers. The Dwarves should be every band’s North Star.

Joe Dorane: I can always listen to Sam Cooke’s Live At The Harlem Square Club anytime, anywhere, whatever mood I’m in. It’s a perfect live album. Just raw unfiltered talent. It evokes so much feeling. Everyone should listen to it.

Shawn Refuse: “Funland at the Beach” has always been a favorite of mine. The signature changes and out there lyrics bring a smile to my face every time I hear it.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Shawn Refuse: I’d say Frank Turner. We had a fun little back and forth when he heard our song about how he plays really long sets. He comes from a similar background and has been influential to Joe and I. He’s a good sport and it’d be a blast.

Jimmy Duke: To keep it funky wit ya. Miley Cyrus. Not only does she have a great voice and is sexy as hell. She has this aura about her being a true lover and appreciator of music and not just a pop act, especially when she released Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz. That’s what showed me that she was not the cookie cutter pop princess. She wanted to make a statement,  she is an artist. Then I thought, “You know what would be a true act of rebellion? If Miley Cyrus teamed up with ChumHuffer and did a Hardcore punk collaboration with some Warzone covers to really slam it home!”

Blackout Matt: DMC / Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC. Run-DMC combined powerful rock guitar and the heavy driving beat of rap with awesome catchy lyrics. Raising Hell is one of the best albums ever made. It would be a great honor to play guitar for DMC.

Joe Dorane: Damian Abraham of Fucked Up. His band collaborates with other artists all the time. Just to have his scream kick off a ChumHuffer song would be killer.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour? What do you like to do to unwind?

Jimmy Duke: I like hanging out with my kids. If we go to the park, the movies, Coney Island, the arcade, whatever we are doing I like doing it with them.

Blackout Matt: I like to spend time with my kids, watch movies, and meet up with family and friends. I like going to local punk rock shows if I am able to.

Joe Dorane: I got back into weightlifting 2 years ago and I try to hit the gym as often as I can. I like going to local shows and supporting my friends’ bands any given weekend. Video games are still fun.

Shawn Refuse: I basically live at shows, it’s my place to hear new things and see people I care about. I love traveling with my family. Basically any time I can experience something new, I feel alive so I look for new things.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Jimmy Duke: Every time I talk about us I always describe us as fast and loud hardcore punk band where you can understand the lyrics. I’m pretty sure a commenter on YouTube called us an off brand Dead Kennedys.

Blackout Matt: I think the description of Suicidal Tendencies binge-watching Sharknado is an apt way to describe us.

Joe Dorane: “I don’t get it, but that’s what makes it punk, right?” -my mom

Shawn Refuse: I mish mash of everything we grew up on spun around and vomited up in the most beautiful way.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Jimmy Duke: We haven’t been on the road long enough for any of that to happen. Lol.

Blackout Matt: I will drive us to White Castle and it will be every man for himself.

Joe Dorane: We are too busy quoting movies and TV shows, back and forth to each other to do those things.

Shawn Refuse: Joe can play anything quickly. He has definitely been guilty of getting that acoustic going at a firepit or a back porch.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Jimmy Duke: When I saw James Hetfield at the airport it was like I reverted to me being 10 years old. I was talking like Ralph Kramden. “Hummina, hummina, I love your band! Hummina, hummina.

Blackout Matt: I saw the Beastie Boys doing a photo shoot one time while I was going for a walk during my lunch break. I was pretty star struck.

Joe Dorane: My old band got to open up for a secret Frank Turner show in Brooklyn a few years back. I went up to him after he played and mustered up the courage to say “thank you!” and followed that up with an awkward handshake. End of interaction.

Shawn Refuse: I don’t get it that often. I was spoiled. When I was 16 I interviewed Jello Biafra, who I put on a pedestal at the time, and he was so chill and just a human being. After that I was like “man we are all just people” and that’s the way I look at it now. I get excited when I see someone I admire but it’s not that starstruck feeling. I am kind of annoyed that my excitement peaked at such an early age.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

Shawn Refuse: I have tried to quit a couple times but it keep dragging me back in. I don’t feel complete when not performing. One of my favorite lyrics from Slaughterhouse Five is in the song “Miami.” “I tried to do something different, but it pulls me back with a stronger current. There’s no escaping for me. We are sentenced. Sentenced for life.”

Jimmy Duke: I truly love playing live. The sound of the crowd and the look of the crowd when they start dancing, it’s a feeling that really can’t be described. If I couldn’t play music I would continue being a Local 3 Electrician, trying to forward the Working Class to the promised land.

Blackout Matt: Being together with people who also love music as much as you do. Being in a band is hard work, but it’s work that you love.

Joe Dorane: The freedom that comes with creating something out of nothing. Making music lets you access a part of your brain that isn’t weighed down by life’s problems. You get to spend time with friends who value that freedom.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

Jimmy Duke: I don’t get many interviews. So bring on all the questions, baby!

Blackout Matt: I refuse to answer any questions about my rumored relationships with Winona Ryder, Traci Lords, and Angela White. It was Jimmy who spent the night with Angela White.

Joe Dorane: How much chili is too much chili? Is a question I am tired of answering.

Shawn Refuse: This is me not answering this question. LOL.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Jimmy Duke: Maybe back when I was with The Blame in 2011, I think. We were playing The Rebellion Festival in Blackpool, UK and we had an idea of transitioning from one song to another. But we didn’t rehearse said transition and we ended up stopping the song like a true amateur hour moment in front of roughly 1200 people. Yeah, so coming from someone who is real critical of their live performance, I felt like I was 2 inches tall after that.

Blackout Matt: One thing I have learned from being in bands is to confront problems soon and not hope they will get better. If something goes wrong, discuss it sooner rather than later.

Joe Dorane: I think it was 2009, my old band played our very first show. Our set was supposed to be 40 minutes. We did not have 40 minutes worth of music to give so our last song ended in some kind of long, drawn out jam that a) we didn’t rehearse and b) no one was into.

Shawn Refuse: My biggest regret and I have been chasing it ever since (and not getting it) was when I was in Refuse Resist we were offered a European tour to support our record Socialized. Some of the guys didn’t have (or want to get) passports. The fact that I haven’t toured outside the US haunts me daily.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Jimmy Duke: Christ, if I could play the tambourine on the New York Dolls debut record that’s how would be introducing myself to this day! Hi I’m Jimmy Duke I played tambourine for the Dolls. If you are looking for a  dirty, nasty rock n’ Roll album it’s that one. It takes the essence of Little Richard and makes it skankier. That album is truly a gem.

Blackout Matt: I would love to be present for the recording of the Sex Pistols album, Never Mind the Bollocks… I listened to that album repeatedly and spent way too many hours of my high school years trying to get my shitty Squire Stratocaster to sound like Steve Jones’ Gibson Les Paul. That album made me love the raw sound of punk rock guitar.

Joe Dorane: It would have to be when The Clash recorded Sandinista in New York City in 1980. Just to be a part of that creative process and witnessing them drawing inspiration from all the funk, hip hop, and reggae that was coming out of there at the time. I’d just pick up a random instrument and be like “Joe (Strummer), write some lyrics to this!” Then, after creating a true masterpiece, we’d all go out for pizza. That record changed the way I looked at punk forever. You can make whatever you want and sound whatever way you want.

Shawn Refuse: Probably Cock Sparrer Shock Troops. I don’t think there is a song I don’t like on that album. The double guitars, sing alongs and the feeling of having to make a difference. Inspirational to me.

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Category: Interviews