Chuck Dukowski

Biography

Gary Arthur McDaniel (born February 1, 1954), better known by his stage name Chuck Dukowski, is an American punk rock musician. He is most well-known for being the bass player and an occasional songwriter for Black Flag. Dukowski was born on February 1, 1954, and raised in a self-described middle-class family in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, where his father worked for the industrial company TRW. Dukowski's mother was German, and her family lineage had many musicians and composers. Dukowski attended San Pedro High School and later Chadwick School, where he played football. After graduation, he went to college to study psychobiology. Dukowski's first band was Würm, which started in 1973. By 1977, the band had moved to Hermosa Beach and lived in a communal house called "the Würmhole" but Würm broke up later that year. Keith Morris and Greg Ginn were regulars at Würmhole parties. in 1977, Dukowski joined their Morris and Ginn's band, Panic, before they played their first show. Panic changed their name to Black Flag after discovering another band using the name "Panic". Dukowski left the band in 1983 before the recording of My War, and afterward served as Black Flag's manager. He was responsible for booking nationwide and worldwide tours until 1986. Dukowski wrote or co-wrote some of Black Flag's most popular songs, including "My War," "The Bars," "I Love You," and "Modern Man". Dukowski started SST Records with Ginn in 1978 and was a co-owner until 1989. During Black Flag's appearance in The Decline of Western Civilization, he is credited as Gary McDaniel. "Chuck Dukowski" is a stage name, originating from a Zippo lighter with "Chuck the Duke" inscribed on it that he found while searching for change. Feeling that the name "Chuck the Duke" sounded macho, he wanted to add a Polish sounding last name, as Poles were frequently picked on. He turned "Chuck the Duke" into "Chuck Dukowski". Dukowski was credited under his real name on original pressings of Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown EP, as well as in the documentary film The Decline of Western Civilization and its companion soundtrack album. He is credited as "Charles Dukowski" on Black Flag's Damaged LP.