Selby Tigers

by Bryan CarrollThe band name that the St. Paul, MN, neo-punk quartet the Selby Tigers adopted is an amalgam; a nod to their hometown turf on Selby Avenue, a high-school team mascot, and the aegis of a rebel army. The wildly disparate influences acknowledged in their chosen title are reconciled in their music — an angst-driven, sociopolitical stew of bratty teenage vocals, snarling guitars, and a thick-necked rhythm section. After a number of years playing in good bands (Lefty Lucy, Arm,) that, for one reason or another failed to graduate from bars and basements, guitarist Arzu D2 Gokcen, her husband and second guitarist Nathan Grumdahl, bass player Nicole Gerber, and drummer Dave Gatchell formed the Selby Tigers. After recording and releasing their eponymous debut EP in 1998, Gerber left the band and was replaced by Impetus Inter alum and popular local recording engineer Dave Gardner (Cows, Unsane, Sean Na Na), with whom the Tigers had recorded their first EP. Gardner, who created the alter ego of the loveably clueless, stereotypical Frenchman Sammy G, added the perfect finishing touch to the Tigers infectious, eardrum-destroying stage show. After a number of lengthy tours, the band released the somewhat more refined South Then West EP. The Selby Tigers EPs and tireless touring ethic caught the attention of Southern California punk label (and home to fellow Twin City rockers Dillinger Four) Hopeless records, who signed the band in early 2000. In the spring of that year, Hopeless released a 7 teaser single for their Charm City full-length, which followed later that summer, as did tours with the Alkaline Trio, the Anniversary, and Rocket From the Crypt.