Rick Sims, the leader of The Gaza Strippers, was the founding member and leader of pioneering and influential Chicago punk heroes Didjits. Releasing five albums on Touch and Go Records over the course of the late eighties and early nineties, the band toured consistently all over the world.

As the Didjits called it quits, an up and coming punk band called The Offspring recorded the Didjits' tune "Killboy Powerhead" for its blockbuster 1994 album, Smash (Epitaph) which has gone on to sell upwards of seven million copies. Rick then joined The Supersuckers on their 1994 album, Sacrilicous (Sub Pop) and Fred Schneider of The B-52s on his 1996 album, Just Fred (Reprise). Also active in local theater in current hometown Chicago, Rick has written and performed music for many productions at the Lookinglass Theater company.

In 1996, after leaving The Supersuckers, Sims got the itch to start a new band of his own. With bassist Darren Hooper and former drummer Todd Marino, The Gaza Strippers were born.

The Gaza Strippers are Rick Sims (Didjits, Supersuckers, LHOB) Darren Hooper, Mark Allen and Mike Hodgkiss. They released four albums: LACED CANDY (1999 Man's Ruin) 1000 WATT CONFESSIONS (2000 Lookout rec.) ELECTRIC BIBLE: THE NEW TESTAMENT (2001) and FROM THE DESK OF DR FREEPILL (2005). Currently defunct, catch a clip of the Gaza Strippers live to see how a live show should be done. They're guaranteed to satisfy....

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