Poli van Dam - Jaded In Chicago - Music News, Interviews, Features, and more

Semi-Famous to Release Debut Album, Destroy Ourselves, out July 26th

07.25.24

Semi-Famous began as a fictional band from the 2001 book Weasels in a Box, which was authored by Screeching Weasel co-founder and guitarist John “Jughead” Pierson. With the book being rereleased on paperback, as well as made available on audiobook for the first time, it was decided to turn Semi-Famous into an actual band. Pierson explained, “Originally, Chris Barrows, the singer from the Pink Lincolns, put out a photo book of all the pictures that he’s taken of bands over the years. That was put out by Rare Bird Lit. Chris referred me to Tyson Cornell, who runs Rare Bird Lit. Tyson and I decided to rerelease Weasels in a Box, which hadn’t had another pressing in something like 20 years. Then he came to me and said, ‘Hey, why don’t we put out a seven-inch of that band Semi-Famous who’s like Screeching Weasel in the book?’ I said, ‘That’s a pretty cool idea. We could put it out on Duck Records, which was Lookout! Records in the book. And we could have Christopher Appelgren do the cover, just like he did for all the Lookout! stuff.’”