View source for Chuck Biscuits

{{short description|Canadian drummer}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Chuck Biscuits
| image           =
| caption         =
| image_size      = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->
| birth_name      = Charles Montgomery
| alias           =
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1965|4|17}}
| birth_place     = [[British Columbia]], Canada<ref name="allmusic"/>
| death_date      =
| origin          =
| instrument      = Drums
| genre           = {{flatlist|
*[[Punk rock]]
*[[hardcore punk]]
*[[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]]
*[[doom metal]]
}}
| occupation      = Musician
| years_active    = 1977&ndash;1999
| label           = 
| past_member_of  =  {{flatlist|
*[[D.O.A. (band)|D.O.A.]] 
*[[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]] 
*[[Circle Jerks]]
*[[Danzig (band)|Danzig]]
*[[Social Distortion]]
}}
| associated_acts = [[Danzig (band)|Danzig]]<br />[[Social Distortion]]<br />[[D.O.A. (band)|D.O.A.]]<br />[[Circle Jerks]]<br />[[Samhain (band)|Samhain]]<br />[[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]]<br />[[The Subhumans (Canadian band)|The Subhumans]]<br />[[The Weirdos]]<br />[[Fear (band)|Fear]]<br />[[The Four Horsemen (band)|The Four Horsemen]]<br />[[The Nig-Heist]]<br />Floorlords<br />Brown Sound<br />Victorian Pork
| website         = 
}}

'''Chuck Biscuits''' (born '''Charles Montgomery'''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Keithley|first=Joey|title=I, Shithead : a life in punk|date=2003|publisher=Arsenal Pulp Press|isbn=978-1-55152-309-5|location=Vancouver [B.C.]|pages=45–46|oclc=431546583}}</ref> on April 17, 1965)<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web |title=Chuck Biscuits {!} Biography, Albums, Streaming Links |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/chuck-biscuits-mn0000100946 |website=AllMusic |access-date=January 21, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Chuck Biscuits: Punk Journeyman |url=https://www.moderndrummer.com/2010/05/chuck-biscuits/ |website=Modern Drummer Magazine |access-date=January 21, 2021}}</ref> is a retired Canadian drummer best known for his work across multiple punk rock and heavy metal bands.

Biscuits was a member of [[D.O.A. (band)|D.O.A.]] from 1978 to 1982, playing on the band's first two albums before briefly joining [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]] and later [[Circle Jerks]]. He later joined [[Danzig (band)|Danzig]] in 1987, playing on the band's first four albums as well as their first EP before leaving in 1994. Most recently, he played in [[Social Distortion]] from 1996 to 1999.

==Career==

===Musical Influence===
Biscuits has named his main influences as [[John Bonham]], [[Rat Scabies]] of the Damned, [[Topper Headon]] of the Clash, [[Keith Moon]] and [[Stewart Copeland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&u=dforce&f=dforce00.txt|title=Influences/Interests: Chuck Biscuits|year=1990|publisher=DANZIG Force promo package|access-date=January 5, 2012}}</ref>

===Black Flag & Circle Jerks Era===
Biscuits is the brother of Ken "Dimwit" Montgomery, a fixture on the [[Vancouver]] music scene—at different times, both brothers played drums for [[D.O.A. (band)|D.O.A.]] Biscuits joined [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]] in 1982 and toured with them for five months. His only studio recordings for the band were the [[1982 Demos|1982 demos]] for the ''[[My War]]'' album, which have been widely bootlegged.<ref name="Misfits Central - Black Flag">{{cite web|url=http://www.misfitscentral.com/bands/black-flag.php|title=Black Flag|publisher=Misfits Central|access-date=September 26, 2009}}</ref>

However, Biscuits and [[Henry Rollins]] had clashing personalities, and problems with their record label nudged the drummer to jump ship and join original Black Flag singer Keith Morris’s influential band, the Circle Jerks. Biscuits played with the Circle Jerks relatively briefly until he joined Floorlords. Biscuits planned to quit the music business and took art and electrical engineering courses when that band broke up. He briefly filled in on drums for a few shows for the [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]] during their ''[[Freaky Styley tour]]'' in 1986.

===Danzig Era===
In 1987, producer [[Rick Rubin]] invited Biscuits to become the drummer for Danzig.<ref name="Flipside">{{cite web|url=http://misfitscentral.com/darticle/flip84.html|title=Biscuits|date=May–June 1993|publisher=Flipside|access-date=September 26, 2009}}</ref> Biscuits had been vocalist/songwriter [[Glenn Danzig|Glenn Danzig's]] first choice as drummer for his band.<ref name="Metal Mania">{{cite web|url=http://misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=mania.88|title=Danzig with Danzig|last=Natanael|first=Christine|year=1988|publisher=Metal Mania|access-date=September 26, 2009}}</ref>

Biscuits joined Danzig in 1987 and appeared on the band's first four albums and one EP. In 1990, he recorded drums for one track on Glenn Danzig's final album with the band [[Samhain (band)|Samhain]]. In 1994, he became the first member of the original Danzig line-up to leave the band, citing a contract dispute as the reason for his departure.<ref name="Entertainment Weekly">{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1994/10/14/glenn-danzigs-sympathy-devil/|title=Sympathy for the Devil|date=October 14, 1994|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=September 26, 2009|archive-date=June 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613150029/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,304064,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Social Distortion===
Biscuits left Danzig in 1994 over royalty disagreements. He was replaced by a pre-Queens Of The Stone Age Joey Castillo, after Dave Grohl turned down an offer to join. Biscuits tried to rejoin the group but was rejected and forced to find another group to play with. In 1996, Biscuits hooked up with another big act from the punk scene, joining [[Social Distortion]] between the recording and release of the band's [[White Light, White Heat, White Trash|''White Light, White Heat, White Trash'']] album. Biscuits is credited on the album's liner notes, although Deen Castronovo's playing was featured on the record.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.moderndrummer.com/2010/05/chuck-biscuits/ |title=	Chuck Biscuits: Punk Journeyman |website=	Modern Drummer |access-date=	2023-08-22 |archive-url=  https://web.archive.org/web/20230416233635/https://www.moderndrummer.com/2010/05/chuck-biscuits/ |archive-date=	2023-04-16 }}</ref>	
 
Biscuits participated in a special concert held on December 28, 1994, to honor the lifetime achievements of his brother Ken, who had died earlier in the year of a drug overdose.

===Death Hoax===
On October 27, 2009, a blogger named James Greene Jr. who claimed to have been in recent contact with Biscuits posted a report on his blog announcing that the drummer had died on October 24 of [[Head and neck cancer|throat cancer]]. This report quickly circulated to multiple media sources,<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/10/29/chuck-biscuits.html Original CBC report of death]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="inlog.org">[http://inlog.org/2009/10/29/r-i-p-chuck-biscuits-1965-2009/ R.I.P. Chuck Biscuits (1965 – 2009)]; www.inlog.org.</ref> but was soon questioned by Biscuits' friends and family as a hoax. That evening, Biscuit's sister-in-law e-mailed Greene to confirm that the musician was still alive.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jgtwo.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/chuck-biscuits-1965-2009/ |title=Chuck Biscuits: 1965-2009|work=JG2Land|date=October 27, 2009|access-date=August 14, 2011}}</ref> Biscuits himself never released a statement concerning the death hoax, and Greene would later argue that Biscuits was entirely responsible for the false report.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jgtwo.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/the-chuck-biscuits-death-hoaxer-chuck-biscuits |title=The Chuck Biscuits Death Hoaxer: Chuck Biscuits? |publisher=Jgtwo.wordpress.com |date=November 11, 2009 |access-date=October 3, 2011}}</ref><ref name="JG2Land">[https://archive.today/20130119183702/http://www.crawdaddyarchive.com/index.php/2010/03/11/chuck-biscuits-could-not-care-less-you-thought-he-was-dead/ Chuck Biscuits "Could Not Care Less" You Thought He Was Dead]; www.crawdaddyarchive.com.</ref>

==Equipment==
Biscuits used [[Pro-Mark]]<ref name="Musician">{{cite web|url=http://www.misfitscentral.com/display.php?t=darticle&f=musician.894|title=Danzig Knows the Power of the Dark Side|last=Young|first=Jon|date=August 1994|publisher=[[Musician (magazine)|Musician]]|access-date=February 9, 2011}}</ref> DC-10<ref>Von, Eerie. ''Misery Obscura: The Photography Of Eerie Von (1981-2009)''. Milwaukie, OR: Dark Horse Books, 2009: p. 140</ref> marching sticks to drum. His drumkit at the beginning of Danzig was a black [[Premier Percussion|Premier]] Resonator, though he switched to a chrome covered 1970s era [[Ludwig-Musser|Ludwig]]<ref name="Musician"/> Classic maple kit for ''Danzig II'', and continued with that kit to record and tour for ''Danzig III'' and ''Danzig IV''. Biscuits was usually seen using [[Avedis Zildjian Company|Zildjian]] cymbals. His regular ride cymbal sound during his work with Danzig was a Zildjian 22" Earth Ride.<ref name="Musician"/> Biscuits also favored [[Paiste]] Rude cymbals. He used medium and rock ride cymbals as crashes. Biscuits' mainstay snare with Danzig was a [[Sonor]] steel model, though he also used a Ludwig piccolo snare.<ref name="Musician"/>

With D.O.A. and Black Flag, Biscuits used an older blonde maple Slingerland kit and was also photographed using various colored Ludwig drums. For Social Distortion, Biscuits used a Boom Theory kit, including a Bridgedeck snare built by Al Adinolfi.

==Discography==

===D.O.A. (1978–1982)===

* ''Disco Sucks''
* ''The Prisoner''
* ''Triumph of the Ignoroids''
* ''World War III''
* ''Vancouver Complication''
* ''[[Something Better Change]]''
* ''[[Hardcore '81]]''
* ''[[Let Them Eat Jellybeans!]]''
* ''Positively D.O.A. (No God, No Country, No Lies)''
* ''Rat Music for Rat People Vol. 1''
* ''Bloodied But Unbowed''
* ''[[War on 45]]'' <small>(partial)</small>
* ''1978'' (2019 2-LP single CD compilation featuring rare Biscuits performances)

===Black Flag (1982)===

* 1982: ''[[1982 Demos|The Complete 1982 Demos Plus More]]'' ([[Bootleg recording|bootleg]] album)
* 2010: ''[[Live at the On Broadway 1982]]'' (live album)

=== Circle Jerks (1983–1984) ===
* ''[[Repo Man (soundtrack)]]''
* ''The Best of Flipside Video''

=== Floorlords (1986) ===

* ''Black Ice Ride 2-Nite''

===Glenn Danzig and the Power and Fury Orchestra===

* 1987: ''[[Less than Zero (soundtrack)|Less than Zero]]'' soundtrack

=== Danzig (1987–1994) ===

* 1988: ''[[Danzig (album)|Danzig]]''
* 1990: ''[[Danzig II: Lucifuge]]''
* 1992: ''[[Danzig III: How the Gods Kill]]''
* 1993: ''[[Thrall-Demonsweatlive]]''
* 1994: ''[[Danzig 4]]''
* 2001: ''[[Live on the Black Hand Side]]''
* 2007: ''[[The Lost Tracks of Danzig]]''

===Run-D.M.C.===

* 1988: ''[[Tougher Than Leather]]'' (drum tracks only)

===Samhain===

* 1990: ''[[Final Descent (album)|Final Descent]]''

=== Social Distortion (1996–1999) ===

* 1998: ''[[Live at the Roxy (Social Distortion album)|Live at the Roxy]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.misfitscentral.com/bios/chuck-biscuits.php Biography from Misfits Central]

{{Black Flag}}
{{Circle Jerks}}
{{Danzig}}
{{Fear (band)}}
{{Social Distortion}}
{{Samhain}}
{{D.O.A.}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biscuits, Chuck}}
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American punk rock drummers]]
[[Category:American male drummers]]
[[Category:Black Flag (band) members]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Hardcore punk musicians]]
[[Category:Social Distortion members]]
[[Category:Fear (band) members]]
[[Category:Circle Jerks members]]
[[Category:Danzig (band) members]]
[[Category:Horror punk musicians]]
[[Category:Samhain (band) members]]
[[Category:20th-century American drummers]]
[[Category:D.O.A. (band) members]]
[[Category:Musicians from British Columbia]]