Scooter & The Worms

Scooter & the Worms came to life in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with the musical collaboration of Michael “Klop” Klopner (vocals), Mike Gunderson (guitar), Ralph Gallagher (bass), and Scott “Scooter” Bennett (drums). The band played a raw, untamed brand of punk/pop and recorded their first E.P., “Strap-on Chili Dog,” at Uncle Dirty’s Sound Machine Studios in Kalamazoo. The 7 “ vinyl disc was released in 1982 and printed with both yellow and pink covers. A second 7” E.P., “Nice Night,” was recorded at Crosstown Recording Studios in Kalamazoo. In 1985, the record was released on the Run Quik label on red vinyl. Earl Brenneman took over the drums in the summer of 1984. The band also had a keyboard player named “Chuckie Marlin” who occasionally recorded and gigged with the group. Klopner, Gunderson, and Gallagher moved to Los Angeles in late 1986. They worked with various drummers and recorded enough material for two albums, “Sleep Drive” and “Adults Eat Free.” The majority of tracks were recorded at Cazador Recording in Hollywood by producer, Jimmy Hunter. After a long hiatus, the band reformed in Michigan in 2011 to work on songs for a new album. Only five songs for the planned album were recorded before the untimely death of lead singer and chief songwriter, Michael Klopner, in May, 2013. In 2014, the five completed songs were released as an E.P., “Screamin’ Black Car.” Uma Nota Records, a Kalamazoo label run by producer/engineer Todd Zimmerman, has remastered and re-released the band’s first two E.P.’s in digital format. An anthology of the band’s songs was also compiled and released in 2016. Scooter & the Worms have been called Michigan’s greatest underrated punk band. Almost forty years after their formation, the music of Scooter & the Worms is still being enjoyed by a loyal cult following of fans.