Chisel: The Guns of Meridian Hill
It’s a strange time to be getting older. Said everyone ever in the history of the world. But hear me out. When I was younger, I liked music that wasn’t necessarily on the radio or sold in major record stores. Well, I still like that same music. And all of it was bought as tangible items that may not have stood the test of time, like 7” EPs.
The format was great in the ’80s and ’90s because they were cheap to make, cheap to ship and easy to listen to under the guise of owning a record player or transferring that music to tape via an antiquated stereo. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of those records between moving, storing and living life across the country several times now. The cassette tapes I transferred some of that music to, well, those are gone too. I can still hear the songs in my head and 8 times out of 10, on YouTube. But there was a generational shift away from tangible music and it feels like it’s now in reverse to meet records and cassettes somewhere in the middle with streaming. I’m all for it.
I also really loved a band from NJ via South Bend via D.C. named Chisel. Fronted by Ted Leo (later of Ted Leo and The Pharmacists), Chisel first played a sort-of spoken word melodic hardcore that evolved into more anthemic, more guitar-driven, for lack of a better word, emo rock. Then they embraced pop influences like Squeeze and The Jam and never looked back. At the time, it really felt like Chisel burned out quick, but they lasted from 1990 to 1997 and built a loyal following that earned them spots on tours with bands like Velocity Girl, Fugazi and Blonde Redhead.
Chisel was also early evidence to me that you could be from New Jersey, move away from New Jersey, still retain the loyalties that made you New Jersey, and not be whatever New Jersey was at one point in time. Ted Leo always owned his roots but also had no problem stepping out of the Jersey box to chase his true, artistic aims. And that sounds easy to me at 47, but when I was 22, it was mystifying.
In the end, Chisel left behind a wide variety of releases that I tracked down years ago, but between singles, unreleased songs played on WFMU and three CDs, that’s all there is. Those three CDs, released by Charles Maggio’s Gern Blandsten label out of NJ, still get played in my car. And I still cherish them. But here’s where I say it’s strange to get older.
Who’s responsibility is it to keep these records available for digital listening?
Thankfully, The Numero Group is satisfying that need. Says the label: “We’ll be rolling out the Chisel catalog in bite-sized, digital chunks over the course of 2022, with an expanded edition of the band’s landmark final LP Set You Free scheduled for early next year.”
First up is this long, out-of-print single from Chisel featuring a song called “The Guns of Meridian Hill” that is Chisel stepping into a comfortable trademark sound, connecting their ’60s influences to their then-current time, and connecting younger me to current me.
I’m so thankful I get to be 22 again whenever I hear this song.
