Spanking Charlene, winners of Little Steven’s Underground Garage’s “Best Unsigned Band in America” contest are a New York City band whose latest record “Where are the Freaks” (produced by Eric “Roscoe” Ambel) is inspired by NYC nightlife, the quest for the party that never ends, sex, romance, infidelity, gossip, and gentrification in the city where anything can happen at any time.
Cash Registers mastermind John Bendik hails from a small Pennsylvania town outside of Pittsburgh. John began his musical life in high school as a hardcore drummer. He was already a veteran of two Pittsburgh bands (Poisoning & Savage Amused) at seventeen.
John’s bands had a brief existence, but left a lasting impression on the East Coast hardcore scene. Mind Cure Records recently released Savage Amused’s first album-length demo on vinyl to great acclaim.
After moving to New York City in the early Nineties, John formed the Cash Registers. The band played a melodic-frenetic style of punk & garage rock. John’s songs ranged from the urban squalor of “Crack House” to the bittersweet love song “All In The Past.”