Chicago’s own The Effigies never quite became a household name, but as far as the foundations of punk were concerned throughout the early 1980s, few are as aggressive or important.

The group went on to tour alongside the scene-shaping likes of Black Flag, the Dead Kennedys, Naked Raygun and even pre-fame Green Day, while serving as a formative influence for future Nirvana/The Pixies producer Steve Albini and many others emerging from the underground.

Nowadays, the band is blasting back after a 17-year gap between full-length recordings with “Burned,” but the triumph was almost overshadowed by tragedy when singer John Kezdy was suddenly killed in a biking accident during the sessions.

Though it’s taken a bit for fellow co-founders Paul Zamost (bass) and drummer Steve Economou (drums) to decide the next course of action, they will indeed continue with album producer Andy Gerber on guitar and Geoff Sabin on vocals in tribute to their fallen front man.

That tenacity takes them to the Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana on Friday, October 18 during a run of shows supporting The Black Crowes, which as Zamost tells Chicago Concert Reviews, is a complete surprise and a welcome way to kickstart a comeback.

How did you get connected with The Black Crowes for this upcoming tour?

Paul Zamost: Through our new management company, Silent Partner, It was a real shock to us and a great chance to tell the world we’re back again. It’s also pretty damn cool of The Black Crowes to give an obscure band such a great opportunity.

In what ways do you consider your music complimentary to one another?

Zamost: I think each band complements each other. Although we are different genres, we are both uncompromised rock and roll bands playing from the heart.

What’s in store for your upcoming Hard Rock Live concerts, both in Indiana and Illinois?

Zamost: Honestly, we have no idea what to expect. We are pretty new to playing these type of venues and mainly consider ourselves a dive bar band. I imagine the majority of the crowd will be arriving as we are playing our set…We’ll just do what we always have done and play at a high energy pace, and hope to make some new fans.

Tell us a bit about your Chicago area roots and what the punk scene was like when The Effigies were getting started.

Zamost: I grew up in and outside the city in Morton Grove. John Kezdy and Steve Economou are from Evanston, which borders Chicago, and founding guitarist Earl Letiecq is from Cortland, New York. The punk scene was relatively small for a big city, but back in those days, bands from all over networked and we broadened our fan base by playing outside Chicago, i.e. Minneapolis, Detroit, NYC, etc. The original punk clubs in Chicago were a couple of gay bars that were relegated to the lower tax brackets of the city, which made it more punk rock desirable. Chicago being a national market made it tough for local bands to compete with all the major acts coming through town, so we were fortunate to get a lot of opening slots early on. Our second show was opening for Black Flag, our fourth for The Plasmatics, and later on X, PiL [Public Image Ltd] and The Cramps, to name a few.

How do you feel about being extremely respected on the underground, yet never quite breaking the mainstream like some of your peers?

Zamost: It’s a bit of a double-edged sword…with more mainstream success, the respect might have waned some, but for us now it’s that underground respect that may be our most attractive selling point. Hopefully we can have it both ways.

Your new album, “Burned,” is surrounded by both tragedy and triumph. Can you speak a bit about what happened and how you were able to move forward?

Zamost: As you can imagine, John’s loss was devastating to us and many others. The day of the accident myself, Steve and new guitarist Andy Gerber were waiting for John to arrive for practice. We heard he was in a bike accident but thought it was minor and didn’t realize the seriousness of it until later that night. Only then did we realize he was in a coma with no brain activity. Moving forward was difficult. We had just finished with the recording stages of the album and were rehearsing to start playing out again. We were optimistic and in a good place when tragedy struck. After a period of grieving and reflection, it became obvious to us how little time we actually have left ourselves and how important it to us to get things done now! John’s death sparked a fire in us to finish the record, to take The Effigies to a level not yet achieved and cement our legacy in rock history.
 
Why was there such a lengthy gap in between albums?

Zamost: The band had a few split ups over the decades, mostly due to disappointing tours and sales. After a lengthy time apart from each other, we would forget our differences and try it again. We would pick up right were we left off as we did this last time around.

What was the musical direction you were hoping to achieve throughout the project?

Zamost: We wanted to make a record that rivals our earlier productions. Our goal is always to make a record that sounds like it’s our first album. In many ways “Burned” will be our debut to worldwide audiences and we believe it’s our best introduction so far.

How would you describe the messages, which have always been very meaningful?

Zamost: The genius of John Kezdy is that his lyrics are timeless. They are objective and obscure in ways that didn’t pigeonhole us to any ideology. Our message was/is mostly a DIY outlook…Take personal responsibility for your actions and never compromise your integrity.

There’s also a 40th anniversary re-release of your classic album, “For Ever Grounded,” on the horizon. What are your reflections on that milestone?

Zamost: Luckily, Andy was able to remix the record, which allowed us to enhance the recording from its original release, making it much more palpable. In reflection, I feel proud of the level of songwriting we accomplished in our early twenties. When Andy first listened to the digital transfers, he remarked that we were pretty ambitious for that time.

Do you have any upcoming plans beyond this incredibly busy season?  

Zamost: Last year at this time we could have never imagined having two records coming out, five dates with The Black Crowes, a Metro show [on Friday, December 20], merch store, etc., so who knows what will come our way in next year, but whatever it is, we’ll be ready for it.

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The Effigies perform at the Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana on Friday, October 18, opening for The Black Crowes. For additional details, visit Effigies.com and HardRockCasinoNorthernIndiana.com.