DMZ and Lyres legends Peter Greenberg & Mike Lewis join forces with Jake Starr & The Delicious Fullness for an R’n’R explosion of fuzz, filth, and frantic stomp.
The all-star line-up of STARR AND THE CZARS has laid down twelve tracks of intensely explosive musical goodness. From the fiery cover art right down to the angry fuzz guitars and pounding drums, this is one album to play loud — pushing those blasé blues and existential angst right on down the street. You’ll feel a whole lot better, but make sure you have decent insurance in case your walls crack or those IKEA cabinets start to warp.
STARR AND THE CZARS, hailing from Washington, DC, bring together an all-star line-up of garage-rock veterans into one explosive new band. Fronted by JAKE STARR (Adam West, Jake Starr & The Delicious Fullness, Go Mod Go!, Goy Division…), the group also features PETER GREENBERG and MICHAEL LEWIS, two legends from Boston’s trailblazing DMZ. After their time in DMZ, Greenberg and Lewis carried the torch in Lyres, cementing their reputation as key figures of the late ’70s and early ’80s garage revival. Greenberg later co-founded The Customs and Barrence Whitfield & The Savages, while Lewis added his bass guitar work to The A-Bones, Yo La Tengo, and The Schramms. Starr, meanwhile, became a fixture of Washington, DC’s garage scene.
SEAN CROWLEY (frontman for Washington, DC’s The Hall Monitors) shares lead vocal duties with Starr and summons howls and thunder from his six-string, while NATHANIEL OSGOOD (drummer for The Hall Monitors) keeps the chaos stitched together, providing the band’s hypnotic backbeat.
Starr and The Czars came together when Greenberg moved to DC from New Mexico and was recruited by Jake and the band to fill out The Delicious Fullness’s guitar line. After developing a batch of new material, refining their sound, and recruiting Mike Lewis on bass, a name change was inevitable — and Starr and The Czars were born.
Together, they deliver what they call The Unauthorized Garage Gospel — a fuzz-soaked, amp-blowing, foot-stomping sound that thrives on raw urgency. Their debut album, It’s the Bad Times, is a full-volume sermon of fuzz, filth, and frantic stomp, built on the legacy of decades in the underground but blazing ahead with unrepentant energy.
The LP will be released on November 21, 2025, as part of a three-label collaboration between Chaputa! Records, KOTJ Records, and Ghost Highway Recordings. The album will also be available on all streaming platforms the same day.
Tracklist:
A-side
IT’S THE BAD TIMES
DEBORAH DEEVINE
FALLING BACK ON ME
DREAM OF JUNE
BABY, CRY
BODY BETWEEN US
B-side
THERE’LL BE NO SQUOPPING OF THE WINKS
AM I ALIVE? OR AM I DEAD?
EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY
KEEP ME UNDERGROUND
LICKING THE FROG
FLASHES
Recorded by Dennis Kane
Cover design by Eric Baconstrip
THE LINE-UP
– Jake Starr — Vocals, tambourine & maracas (Adam West, Jake Starr & The Delicious Fullness, Go Mod Go!, Goy Division)
– Sean Crowley — Guitar & vocals (The Hall Monitors, The Delicious Fullness)
– Peter Greenberg — Guitar (DMZ, Lyres, The Customs, Barrence Whitfield & The Savages)
– Michael Lewis — Bass (DMZ, Lyres, The A-Bones, Yo La Tengo, The Schramms)
– Nathaniel Osgood — Drums (The Hall Monitors, The Delicious Fullness)
Follow Starr and The Czars for music, updates and live news:
Instagram: @starrandtheczars
Facebook: facebook.com/StarrAndTheCzars
Bandcamp: starrandtheczars.bandcamp.com
