We were hoping the Facebook post announcing this last month might have been a ruse, but it’s true – The Vermin has decided to call it quits.
A message from bassist Rob Ruckus posted on the group’s Facebook page last month reads:
Well, Since Turbo already let the cat outta the bag. Yes The Vermin will be calling it Quits after a 20 Year Anniversary Show. I will be booking this show in the next week or so. 20 years is a long time, we are all still cool with each other, all 3 of us have other things going on, and it’s only right we go out on a drunken high note.
SO, I will be posting a date and details soon, we hope we can get as many friends as possible to be a part of it. I’ll let you know more soon.
Till then, Still LOVE my brothers Dirk and Turbo and a big FUCK YOU TOO from the bottom of our hearts to you all!
If your club or band wants in, let me know ASAP. I’m planning this for June or July.
Ruckus followed this month with more news about the final show:
I got one more thing to confirm, but I’m just telling everyone July 3rd is set!!!
Backstage Bar & Billiards on Fremont Street – THE VERMINS calling it quits after 20 years!!!
I’ll announce all the VERY Special guests we will be having as we get closer to the date. But I do believe I’ve topped myself and booked the Best The Vermin gig EVER!!!
20 years of insanity, Punk Rock and whiskey, will all be distilled into one night. Then we’ll never have to do it again!!
This whole thing is 100% true. We’ve done this for 20 years and this will be The Last time we do this. We’ve been very lucky for a Lil punk band from Las Vegas and We Choose to go out on a high note.
We hope to see you all there!!!
The Vermin leave behind an impressive twenty year legacy of music, shows and debauchery (3+ decades if you include frontman Dirk Vermin’s previous group Vermin From Venus).
Most recently, the band reached its largest audience yet through the A&E program Bad Ink, in which Dirk Vermin and Rob Ruckus co-starred.
I’ll best remember the band as being one of the very first locals I ever checked out, having found one of their early releases after school at a pawn shop in the late 90s. (thank you, down on your luck punk!)
We wish the members of The Vermin the best of luck in future endeavors.
But wait – there’s more!
The Vermin’s influence spread to many in the local scene, including Allan Carter, the SquidHat Records founder who expressed interest in working with the band during our “Five Questions” segment. He’s getting his wish, albeit at the tail end of their career, with retrospective release. According to Carter:
The album is tentatively titled ‘Vermin Must Die: 1995 – 2015′ and will be released locally at their final show at Backstage Bar on July 3, 2015. We will release it nationally in August.
The main track list for the vinyl is below but there will be some surprises on the CD version and download card …. possibly some unreleased covers by the Vermin and maybe even a few tribute tracks of other bands doing Vermin songs. It’s going to be fun to put together.
The Vermin were one of the first bands I ever saw in Las Vegas in 2004 and my band Attack Ships On Fire was fortunate enough to play with them many times. Over the past 10 years, via the label and my relationship with the Double Down and [Double Down Owner] Moss, I’ve become pretty good friends with Dirk, Ruckus and Turbo. When they announced that they were calling it quits I wanted to do this LP/CD to put an exclamation point on what has been a legendary 20 year run. The band, the fans and their legacy deserve it. So, I reached out to Dirk, told him my idea and he gave me the green light.
Since 1995, the Vermin have been synonymous with Vegas punk rock. Everyone knows them, and – love em or hate em – people really respect what they have done. All the other bands of that time period have come and gone but the Vermin have remained constant and consistent in their approach. Music is a party, live music should be fun, and you always knew what you were going to get at a Vermn show. They are truly the Punk Rock Rat Pack. Great chemistry, talented players and solid, aggressive, punk rock.
I’m sure the naysayers will talk plenty of shit but I assure you, very few have had the run or the creative output of the Vermin and very few bands have embodied their city as well or as proudly. The Vermin ARE Las Vegas, and they will be missed … even by those who don’t know it now.
Here is the proposed track listing (subject to change):
-Devil Blonde
-Copulate
-Girl Says No!
-Lipstick Smears & Bloodshot Eyes
-Fuck You Too
-Molotov
-Just Another Nightmare
-Roach!
-Chewin’ On Glass
-Johnny’s Thunder
-The Exciting Sounds of Al Martino
-Boredom (Was The Reason)
-She’s So Tragic
-King Of Men
-That Haunted Train
-Where’s Nikki?
-Dead Friends
-Cockfight
-Santa Was A Cross-Dressing Nazi
And before The Vermin pack things up for good, there is still time to insert yourself into the band’s legacy. If you want to be a part of that final release, SquidHat and The Vermin need you for the album art (yes, you). Details for the photoshoot, which will take place on Saturday, May 9, can be found on Facebook.
The Vermin photo by Emily Matview
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