Nearly overpowered by the angry sonic onslaught that is characteristic of the expanding Des Moines rapcore scene, a different sound has fought for recognition, using black suits and tongue-in-cheek rock star poses to win over bar crowds.

“We’re just a rock band,” said Tom Halverson, drummer for the Chezwicks. “We’re not angry.”

With the Delstars, the Bent Scepters, Full-blown and Radio Caroline all disbanding in 1999, the Des Moines-based Chezwicks are one of the few bands left to keep garage rock alive in the Midwest.

“There aren’t that many of them around anymore, due to the Great Midwest Garage Rock Implosion of 1999,” Halverson said.

None of the band members are new to the scene, as all the guys are from the Delstars, the Ames-based Total Passover or both. Two of the members, bassist Jay Moural and guitarist/vocalist Kurt Johnson, are ISU alumni.

The addition of a second guitarist, Matt Wellendorf, finalized the foursome in the Fall of 1999.

Influenced by blues, ’60s rock and Elvis Presley, the Chezwicks are not a punk band, Halverson said. The band does not play songs about punk rock things, he said, including subjects such as animal rights or oppression.

“We just pretty much sing rock ‘n’ roll songs that are usually about girls or booze or booze and girls,” Halverson said.

Though he admits to having been a “wee punker,” things changed with maturity.

“After awhile, you realize that you’re not really going to change a whole lot, but you still like the energy of the music,” Halverson said.

Together since March 13, 1999, the band has molded a loud live show that features a lot of rock poses, the occasional witty banter, dancing and dressing up for the occasion.

“It’s almost like a contradiction — we dress up, and then we just get all sweaty and get a lot of beer thrown on us,” Halverson said.

The Chezwicks’ black suits have earned them an interesting reaction from an audience member at one of their shows.

“We had one guy that said we sounded like the Barenaked Ladies; I guess they’re on MTV or something,” Halverson said. “I said, ‘Well, how do you figure that?’ He said, ‘Well, you wear suits.'”

Misplaced comparisons aside, the band’s music is comparable to the music of such bands as the Monomen, the Kinks and the Sonics. However, the distinctive Chezwicks’ sound has not always been what it is today.

When he started the band, Halverson and his fellow bandmates crafted songs of the pop punk variation. Eventually, the band gradually gravitated to the garage where straight rock ‘n’ roll was born.

There was no real struggle for a band name, either, which is taken from a character who appears in the book and film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Other names — including the Ovalteens and the Shut-Ins — were considered, but they didn’t quite fit.

To the band, the name they settled on sounded kind of like a ’60s record label or rock band, and it stuck.

Money really isn’t the motivating factor that keeps the Chezwicks going. Traveling around the Midwest, playing for new people and just having fun keeps the guys doing what they’re doing.

“It’s kind of fun just to win over a new crowd,” Halverson said.

Not all audiences appreciate the Chezwicks’ sound or show, as rapcore has become increasingly popular over the past few years.

Though he has respect for the hip-hop/metal bands who have been making that style of music for awhile, Halverson sees a situation that is similar to the Seattle grunge movement of the early ’90s.

“It just seems like a lot of kids will start a band, and there’s so many of those bands out there.” Halverson said. “They figure, ‘If I’m going to be in a band, and I’m going to do something with my band, I have to sound like those guys.'”

In spite of being one of the few garage rock bands left in the area, the Chezwicks plan to keep playing their version of rock ‘n’ roll, release a full-length record soon and get a new van. In addition to these, the band has a few more noteworthy goals.

“Try to stay out of the gutter, stay out of jail,” Halverson said.