| Mad Caddies | |
| Alias: | The Ivy League the Caddies |
| Origin: | Solvang, California, U.S. |
| Genre: | Ska punk, reggae, punk rock, pop punk |
| Years Active: | 1995–present |
| Label: | Fat Wreck Chords SBÄM Records |
| Associated Acts: | Ellwood, Dirty Heads, Mariachi El Bronx, Kinothek |
| Current Members: | Chuck Robertson Jon Gazi Sean Sellers Jason Lichau Stephane Montigny Nicolas Benedetti Boz Rivera Ian Cook |
| Past Members: | Brandon Landelius Todd Rosenberg Sascha Lazor Graham Palmer Eduardo Hernandez Mark Bush Dustin Lanker Derrick Plourde Keith Douglas Carter Benson Mark Iversen Brian Flenniken James William Malis |
The Mad Caddies (or the Caddies) is an American ska punk band from Solvang, California. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. To date, Mad Caddies have sold over 500,000 albums worldwide.
The Mad Caddies sound has influences from broad ranging genres including ska (especially ska 3rd wave), punk rock, hardcore punk, reggae, dixieland jazz, Latin music, polka, cowpunk ("Crew Cut Chuck"), and sea shanties ("Weird Beard").[1] [2] [3] [4]
Founding members Chuck Robertson, Sascha Lazor, Todd Rosenberg, and Carter Benson started the group while attending Santa Ynez Valley Union High School.
In the band's early beginnings in the mid-1990s, they performed as Cracked Macaroni at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. Shortly thereafter, the band played under the name The Ivy League, but in 1996 they changed their name after signing to the Honest Don's Records label to avoid confusion (as well as potential litigation) with two prior bands that had the same moniker. The band's debut album, Quality Soft Core, was released the next year. After the release of the album, the band was signed to Fat Mike's label Fat Wreck Chords, through which the Mad Caddies have released 6 studio albums, 2 EPs, and a live album. The Caddies have toured extensively throughout their career including tours across the US, Europe, Japan, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and South America. Their most recent full-length release, Punk Rocksteady, was released on June 15, 2018 and was produced by Fat Mike. In 2020 the Caddies released a 5 song EP titled "House on Fire" on Fat Wreck Chords. In 2023, the band signed with SBÄM Records, announcing their eight studio album, Arrows Room 117.
In 2008 Chuck Robertson started a side project, Ellwood, which featured Robertson on vocals and guitar, Graham Palmer on bass, Todd Rosenberg on drums, and Dustin Lanker on keys. The band was active from 2008 to 2012. Former trumpet player Keith Douglas has been a member of Mariachi El Bronx since 2012, as well as King City with members of Lagwagon and RKL.
A project with former member Carter Benson (under the alias "Sharky Towers") called Jaws was released in 2006. Other members include Derrick Plourde and "Little" Joe Raposo. The release is called Death & Taxes Volume One and sounds significantly different than Mad Caddies' music. Bassist Graham Palmer has fronted his solo project, Kinothek, since 2008. Since 2020 Palmer has recorded as Redacted Choir alongside Jordan Dalrymple.
In 1999 Robertson, Sascha Lazor, and Benson started a side project with Derrick Plourde called Sweet Action. Today their tracks are really hard to find. The band posted them during the late '90s on Mp3.com and today somebody has put them out on YouTube. Songs like "Did I tell you that I like Bad Religion" have a strong skate punk direction. The project was a pure pop-punk/skate punk project without horns or ska elements. One of the tracks was on the Happy Meals compilation series on My Records, which was owned by Joey Cape from Lagwagon. In 2021, it was announced that Chuck Robertson would be releasing a new solo album under his own name. He toured the next year backed by touring musicians.