Chisel is a punk rock band formed in 1990 at the University of Notre Dame. The members at the time of the formation were Ted Leo on guitar and vocals, Chris Infante on bass, and John Dugan on drums.
In 1991, the band released their first single “Swamp Fox/Spike” b/w “Listen” and would appear on different compilations from local radio stations in Notre Dame and Princeton, NJ. The band then recorded, mixed, and started spreading around a demo tape, which was recorded at Stanford Hall at Notre Dame. The following year, Chris Infante left the band after graduating and was replaced by Chris Norborg.
Two years later, the band relocated to Washington, DC. After a few years of releasing singles and putting songs on comps, the band released a compilation of singles and miscellaneous tracks, Nothing New, in 1995. During the same year, the band would do a split with fellow South Bend band Brian, Collin, & Vince.
Not long after, the band went into the studio to record their first album, which was released as 8 A.M. All Day in 1996. Within the same year, the band appeared in a split with Velocity Girl.
The following year, the band once again went into the studio, and after releasing the single “It’s Alright, You’re O.K.” b/w “The Guns Of Meridian Hill,” they released their final album, Set You Free.
The band broke up after a short tour. They originally planned to tour the West Coast and Europe, but those plans were scrapped.
Ted Leo would not long after go on to form The Sin-Eaters and later see further success in Ted Leo & The Pharmacists. Chris Norborg played drums in a few other bands. John Dugan went on to write for the Washington City Paper and has done interviews with members of Fall Out Boy and many others. In 2022, Numero Group announced they were reissuing and expanding Chisel’s discography throughout the year, starting with the official digital release of the “It’s Alright, You’re O.K.” single building to a 2xLP reissue of Set You Free. That same year, Chisel reformed to play at the Numero Twenty festival and a short tour along the East and West coast.