Back before Jason Narducy became an in-demand musician who’s played in Bob Mould’s band, Superchunk, Sunny Day Real Estate, a star-studded R.E.M. tribute band with Michael Shannon, and more, and before he launched his own band Split Single, Jason was a preteen who played guitar in the Evanston, IL band Verböten, who lasted for just one year in the early ’80s. Not many heard them at the time but one person who did was Dave Grohl, and after waxing poetic about them in the Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways documentary series, the band inspired a musical called Verböten: A Story About How Punk Saves Lives, and got the band to reconnect and reunite 40 years later. Verböten released their self-titled debut album last week.
“It never even occurred to me that they would want to reunite because they hadn’t played music in four decades,” says Jason of this unlikely reunion. “This is the punk rock record we always wanted to make. That’s what we wanted to do as kids—we just weren’t able to do it. This is how I imagined this band would have grown if we had stayed a band.”
Listen to Verböten below.
Jason was nice enough to tell us about the influences behind Verböten, both then and now, which includes The Clash, Chicago punk legends Articles of Faith, Circle Jerks, current Detroit band Protomartyr, and more. Check out Jason’s list and commentary below.
JASON NARDUCY – 10 RECORDS THAT INFLUENCED VERBÖTEN’S DEBUT ALBUM
Articles of Faith – What We Want Is Free EP
Chicago punk rock band, Articles of Faith, fronted by Vic Bondi, released this EP in 1982. It seems impossible that two songs as great as “My Father’s Dreams” and “Bad Attitude” could be on the same 4-song album. I’m not sure how this got into my apartment – fellow Verböten bandmates Chris Kean or Tracey Bradford must have brought it – but it was there long enough for me to tape it and keep that tape in my Sony Walkman for months. 42 years later those two songs still rip. The song “Lost In My Skin” from the Verböten album is inspired by this band.
Circle Jerks – Group Sex
Clocking in at fifteen minutes and 25 seconds, this tour de force album was constantly on my turntable when I was 11 yrs old and playing in Verböten. I wanted to play this well and this fast but it was ahead of my skill level at the time. Now that I’m older and more experienced, I still can’t play this well or this fast.
The Who – The Kids Are Alright (film)
This movie came out in 1979 and my dad took me to see it in the theater. In the first scene, after they play “My Generation”, the band destroys a guitar, guitar amps, and a set of drums. 8 year old me didn’t need to see anything else to know what I wanted to do in life. I drew a picture of The Who the next day (I wasn’t a musician yet so I celebrated them in the only creative way I could in that moment). One of the first songs I wrote for Verböten in the early 80s, was called “My Opinion.” The chords are exactly the same as “My Generation” but in reverse order. Even as an 11 year old, I knew how to dodge a lawsuit.
Cheap Trick – At Budokan
I cannot overstate the influence this band had on me as a kid. I often went to school in 5th grade dressed like Rick Nielsen. I recently found a cassette tape of me and original Verböten drummer, Zack Kantor, playing guitar and drums for his older sister Robin and her friend. I was 10 yrs old and Zack was 11 and the first song we played for them was “Hello There”. In 2018, Cheap Trick brought me on stage to sing “Surrender” with them. I didn’t sleep that night.
Dead Kennedys
This band scared people in the early 80s. The name alone was so unique at the time. Some of their artwork got banned by certain record stores. Jello Biafra knew how to provoke and his voice was a lisp-y, vibrato-riddled tornado. Both “Dark Things” and “Scam Culture” from the Verböten album were influenced by Dead Kennedys riffs.
Gang Of Four
One of the first new Verböten songs I wrote is called “Human Division”. Its rhythmic approach is a nod to Gang Of Four and their great drummer, Hugo Burnham.
Hüsker Dü
When Bob Mould and I sit around backstage before or after a show, we often talk about guitar voicings. Sometimes it’s discovering and sharing voicings that make an old song easier to play and sometimes it’s a new idea for a song. Needless to say, he’s amazing at it. Very few punk rock guitarists can come close to Bob’s prowess. When Chris Kean gave me the verse riff for “Kicking Away”, I added an unusual voicing where I play the riff while droning E/B/E on the top three strings. I can’t wait to share with Bob!
Protomartyr
This contemporary band brought new life to post-punk for me. They are one of my favorite discoveries of the last ten years. Verböten’s song “Machine” is heavily influenced by this great Detroit band.
The Clash
There was nothing like them before they existed and nothing like them since. The fast punk rock of Verböten’s “No More Indecision” gives a not-so-subtle nod to “Tommy Gun.” Our outlier dark dance song “Better Life” is also inspired by The Clash because that’s how diverse they were.
The Pretenders
The first Pretenders album mesmerized us young Evanston kids. Chrissie in her red leather jacket and “I’m going to destroy you” stare made us sure we needed her in our lives – we would have to settle for just in our ears and eyes. Their song “Space Invader” was an inspiration for our new song “Dark Things”. We also played the Atari 2600 Space Invaders for hours on end but that only inspired sweaty joysticks.
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Verböten just played a release party for the album, which was their first show in 41 years, and Jason will be back out with Michael Shannon performing R.E.M.’s Fables of the Reconstruction in full in early 2025.