All the good cunts die young, they don’t see it coming when they’re having fun.

Johnny and The Felchers (JATF) was a hardcore gutter punk band from Wellington, New Zealand, formed in 2012. The lineup featured John Dimery on drums, Stacey Topham on vocals, Tony Pearson on guitar, and Shibby on bass. Dimery and Pearson brought experience from their respective grindcore (Numbskull) and sludge (Meth Drinker) projects, infusing JATF with a raw, chaotic energy. Their music celebrated street skating’s freedom and the nihilistic thrill of drugs and alcohol, drawing inspiration from 1980s punk icons like Fear, Adolescents, Black Flag, and JFA.

JATF debuted with an 11-song demo tape in 2012 released at their first gig, a Take Shelter show held in the World War II bunkers of Strathmore. The opening track, “Belushi Blitz”, paid homage to John Belushi’s 1982 overdose, with its anthemic chorus: “All the good cunts die young, they don’t see it coming when they’re having fun.” Known for their reckless live shows, frontman Stacey Topham embodied the band’s self-destructive ethos, performing on the edge of sobriety and sanity.

The band gained traction quickly, playing Christchurch’s Nevermind the Punkfest and Wellington’s Thistle Hall in 2012. In 2013, they supported Seattle’s Iron Lung and played Zero Style’s birthday show, a label run by Dimery that released their music. Gigs were sporadic that year, but 2014 saw JATF hit their stride, sharing stages with bands like The Johos, Pissed Off Bastards, and Rogernomix. That October, Zero Style released The Worst Of, a compilation of earlier recordings, coinciding with a South Island tour ending at Christchurch Punkfest. Later that year, JATF dropped The Last Straw, featuring rerecorded tracks, live cuts, and a cover of Drunk Injuns‘ “Question Authority.”

JATF’s final show was a Meth Drinker fundraiser in May 2015, before Tony Pearson’s departure overseas brought the band to a close.

Origin	Wellington, Lorne Street
Genre	gutter punk
Years Active	2012 – 2015
Labels	Zero Style
Associated Acts	Meth Drinker Numbskull Raw Panic
Past Members	Stacey Topham/ Lizard (vocals) Tony Pearson/ Street Hammer (guitar) Daniel Ströfer/ Shibby (bass) John Dimery/ Johnny Zero (drums)

Releases

Title	Date	Label	Type	Format
Demo	2012, Aug 25	Zero Style	demo	tape/ DL
Felchers Only!	2012, Dec 8	Zero Style	album	tape/ DL
Messed Up Mixtape	2014, Oct 17	Zero Style	compilation	tape
The Worst Of	2014, Oct 17	Zero Style	compilation	tape/ DL
The Last Straw	2014, Dec 26	Zero Style	album	tape/ DL