Douglas Ward

Douglas Ward has been an important player in Chicago's punk scene for many years. Doug first appeared in 1986 with his band ID Under. Their first EP, The Lords of Nothing, was the 2nd release ever on Underdog Records. ID Under broke up in 1989 and that same year Doug played guitar with Screeching Weasel for some local shows and appeared on a few compilation tracks, as well. For his work with Screeching Weasel, he has been credited as "Doug Ward", "Doug ID Under", and, strangely, "Douglas C Wonderful".

Throughout the '90s, Doug continued to play music, leading both 8-Bark, V. Reverse, and Fourth Rotor, who announced their break-up in the fall of 2006. His current band is 97-shiki.

One of Doug's most important contributions, though, was his work with Underdog Records. In 1989, Doug, along with Ben Weasel, Jughead, and Russ Forster, turned Underdog into a collective-run label, (previously, Russ had been the sole owner). Doug would be the only continuous member of the collective until it ended in 1997. From 1989 until 1997, Underdog would release dozens of records by local punk bands, run a record distro, and publish the "Underdog Zine" fanzine.