Messer Chups in Philadelphia

Messer Chups are a Russian band founded in Saint Petersburg by guitarist Oleg Gitarkin. They play largely instrumental surf rock shaped by rockabilly, garage rock, exotica and horror-film samples. Albums including Crazy Price, Black Black Magic and Church of Reverb established their combination of twanging guitar and vintage monster-movie imagery. Messer Chups have toured extensively outside Russia, playing clubs and surf-rock festivals across Europe and the United States in a guitar, bass and drums format. Their live history includes the Surfer Joe Summer Festival in Livorno and an in-studio performance for Seattle broadcaster KEXP.