500 Megatons of Boogie, with the Jonx and Dizzy Pilot

If you know the Slurpees, then you know the Squishees and therefore are probably familiar with 500 Megatons of Boogie. Each is a spin-off of the others, and all are brainchildren of local front man Erik “Fancypants” Westfall. The bespectacled, nerdtastic guitarist gives each of his projects the post-punk flavor you’d expect from his background Westfall collaborated with Biscuit of Austin’s Big Boys and has since spread his love of all things punk/blues/garage/country/experimental.

500 Megatons’ self-titled debut features bassist Johnny Todd, who has joined Westfall in all three incarnations, and Kent Hassinger, one of the Slurpees’ many drummers. Hassinger’s steady, straightforward beats seem to be what Westfall was missing all along the rhythms bring out a bluesy side less noticed in previous efforts for a record that’s as Chuck Berry as it is Minutemen. Fans can count on plenty of breakdowns featuring Westfall’s “fancy-pants” guitar antics, which oddly never seem to interrupt 500 Megatons’ toe-tappin’, boogie-ful ditties.