I recently received the sad news that Chris Schultz had passed away. To say Chris was a controversial figure in the Springfield punk scene would be an understatement. In his young years he ran with the local Nazi skinhead crew. Later he dropped the racist ideology and became a somewhat active player in the punk music underground. His band, Violent Karma, was a magnet for drunken thugs and skins, and their shows often ended badly. But a lot of people didn’t know that Chris was actually an intelligent guy who could be a lot of fun to hang out with. I remember going over to Chris’s place back in the day and listening to Crass and Fear albums while we debated the virtues and faults of various bands. Chris always carried a lot of pain with him. His best friend Sludgy (the bass player in Violent Karma) passed away years ago, a blow from which he undoubtedly had difficulty recovering from. Chris was a complex man, and at one time I called him a friend. I’m sorry to hear he’s gone.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Chris Schultz 1972-2009
I recently received the sad news that Chris Schultz had passed away. To say Chris was a controversial figure in the Springfield punk scene would be an understatement. In his young years he ran with the local Nazi skinhead crew. Later he dropped the racist ideology and became a somewhat active player in the punk music underground. His band, Violent Karma, was a magnet for drunken thugs and skins, and their shows often ended badly. But a lot of people didn’t know that Chris was actually an intelligent guy who could be a lot of fun to hang out with. I remember going over to Chris’s place back in the day and listening to Crass and Fear albums while we debated the virtues and faults of various bands. Chris always carried a lot of pain with him. His best friend Sludgy (the bass player in Violent Karma) passed away years ago, a blow from which he undoubtedly had difficulty recovering from. Chris was a complex man, and at one time I called him a friend. I’m sorry to hear he’s gone.
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8 comments:
I knew this guy. We talked a few times when he was a nazi. I disagreed with him, but he wasn't a bonehead. A lot of misdirected anger I guess. Anyway I'm glad to hear that he left that shit behind.
I knew Chris in the late 80's and into the 90's before I moved from Springfield. You kind of have it backwards on his beliefs. When he was younger he was very much part of the anti-racist skinhead scene. Back then the anti's were called "American Skins". It was later, in the early to mid 90's that Chris started leaning toward the racist side. Either way, I considered the guy a friend and was pretty shocked by the news of his passing.
A friend of mine sent this link to me on the anniversary of Chris's death. Music was his life, his escape, and was the only way to express the sadness and pain he carried everyday. Chris and I were moved around a lot as kids, my tally was 12 schools, so him being 4 years older, I'm sure there were a few more. I won't try to make excuses for the life he lead, I'm very proud to be his sister and will always lookup to him. When Chris and I moved back to Springfield from Texas he found acceptance from a group called "American Skins", later the Springfield scene all melded together. Chris, a father of five was very proud of his family but was still very lost. I only hope he now has peace he wasn't able to find here. Our family is still struggling with his death on a daily basis, it's comforting to see that even though others may not have agreed with some of his beliefs, they were still able to respect him as an intelligent, talented person.
Lost
The day I opened my eyes
I saw what I missed
The things I took for granted and the love that I dismissed
Engulfed by anger and hate life's
true meaning pushed aside
Never known who I was, never looked
to afraid of what I would find
I could have had it all
Now I will have none
Led a self medicated like
Missed out on real fun
Can not repair the past
The damage has been done
but I can break the cycle
give a chance to my sons
The worst of days yet the best
The day I opened my eyes
and felt the pain of my regrets
past the shell found love inside
Christoper Schultz
I met both Shultz and Murrell when they came to Kickapoo High in the 80's. Hooked up with Shultz again in late 90's at Aaron's Automotive and joined him in the first Violent Karma right after Knuckle Sandwich (in you're face sucka..!!) I spent alot of time with Shultz writing the music at his home and at our practice room on Walnut while we maintained full time jobs and Shultz had a family at home to boot. Sludgie and I did'nt always get along so Aaron got the job later as lead guitar. Shultzie always put alot of heart in everything he did, and we (the band)worked our assess off to bring the music to the fans. The best shows were when we got Joe Smith singing w/us for what little time we did, and we actually did some Rising Sun covers for our fans.I think we were the most diverse collection of musicians from different walks of life in Springfield which brought so many different flavors to the table. Donald Givens, Joe Smith, and myself are the only ones left from the original Violent Karma at the time I wrote this. I am so extremely happy to find this page. I miss Chris very much. by the way, Einherjar was correct in his comment. Shultzie never got heavy in any racist side that I can remember. I will never forget the first night we played live at The Regency(without Joe in person at the time)when we opened for One Violet Green.People gave us some looks for the first two-three songs, but by the end of our set we had almost everyone including the bands jammin to us. We met so many interesting and great people at our shows and made alot of friends. Shultz was brilliant when he put Violent Karma together and wrote some great music. Hell, we even let the fans sing on stage with the mic. crazy times...lol Anyways, I miss ya Shultzie and God rest you're soul brother... I will never forget you.... Cooter
If he didn't do any serious bad, believed in Jesus, and repented on a regular basis, or not so, we'll see him in Heaven. God bless his soul. Love you, Chris. Be at peace. For we're all sinners. Every one of U.S. And if you don't believe that blatant fact, Hell's just around the korner. God blessa youse -Fr. Sarducci, ol SNL
love and miss my brother.
I don't listen to hard-core much anymore but went to see one our favorite bands last year Agnostic Front and felt like he was with me.
he loved you <3
https://youtu.be/7pSecs5g82U
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