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INDUSTRY REPORT # 76
We’re Old School: A Chat with Chart Attack
November 5th, 2026 by Kevin Gomez
The term cover band can often get a pretty bad rap. Even now, you’re probably envisioning a lounge act at a local dive bar playing to a nearly empty room, as they belt out a terrible rendition of “Don’t Stop Believing.” But consider that same term can be used to describe the premiere cover band that is Spike and The Gimme Gimmes or Sweet and Tender Hooligans.
There’s a reason why Chart Attack’s home page lists in large font with an asterisk, “not a cover band.”
And with all due respect, they really are elevating the possibilities of what a cover band can do and giving a unique spin on the genre.
I spoke with their guitarist, Cornelius, “Corny” about how Chart Attack got started, how they pregame at their age, and their new album, “Age Against Machine” released October 30th.
I first caught Chart Attack live at last year’s Punk in the Park in San Pedro. If you’re not familiar with the band their presence might be a bit shocking at first – four gentlemen in their senior years, who look more like they are about to tee off from the greens than play a punk show. And yet despite their comedic timing, you realize their playing and live show is far from laughable.
To call them just a cover band would be selling them short, as they re-envision popular hard rock and metal songs into catchy pop punk. Corny said they like to refer to their catalogue as “original covers.” He told me the band was created to take popular songs where you already know the lyrics and turn it into a fun punk show you can sing along to all the words in “a style we prefer.”
Sometimes they’ll even create mashups of multiple songs. Corny explained that their take on “Break Stuff” is basically Sublime’s cover of Bad Religion’s “We’re Only Gonna Die for Our Arrogance,” but with the lyrics to “Break Stuff” sung over it. So, how does Fred Durst feel about it? When the band posted a clip to social media, the Limp Bizkit frontman replied with an applause emoji.
Limp Bizkit is not the first nü metal band they’ve covered, and Durst is not the only frontman to give positive feedback. Chart Attack reimagined Korn’s “Freak on a Leash” in the style of A Day to Remember. It’s as bizarre and fun as it sounds, especially the song’s famous breakdown which they turn into something akin to “Kiss from a Rose.” They posted on social media that they were going to release the song next week unless Korn lead singer Jonathan Davis said “no,” and then tagged him. Davis replied with, “no,” to which the band responded, “oh, you want us to release it early this week?” This prompted several laugh emojis from Davis.
Chart Attack, much like the Gimmes have a very tongue-in-cheek, “in on the joke” style that’s seriously hilarious. Given their funny covers and humor, it’s no surprise Chart Attack are huge fans of “Weird Al” Yankovic. “The G.O.A.T.” Corny said about the legendary comedic singer, “the original… and he’s still awesome to this day.”
For their latest effort, “Age Against the Machine,” Chart Attack brought along some friends. LetLive’s Jason Butler provides guest vocals on “Killing in the Name.” Candlebox’s Kevin Martin provides vocals on the band’s cover of Alice in Chain’s “Man in the Box.”
This is particularly special Corny tells me because “[Martin] was friends with Layne Staley, so he was excited to honor him.” Rounding out the cast is Bowling for Soup’s Jaret Reddick doing vocals on Blind Melon’s “No Rain.”
Be sure to download “Age Against the Machine” and support Chart Attack. Despite all the laughs, this is actually a really special project that’s near and dear to their hearts, as evidenced by all the hard work that’s gone into the recording process.
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SID 261108 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
