XX Merge  Grayson Currin , July 20, 2009  XX Merge  The Merge
Records story might be the quintessential indie rock romance: A
North Carolina kid named Mac McCaughan loved rock music. He'd
sneak into local rock clubs (and get kicked out). He gradually
started playing with some bands around town, along the way
meeting people and hearing music he liked. To be reductive, he
wondered why he didn't just put it out.  First came his bands:
Wwax, Metal Pitcher and, of course, Chunk. He'd started those
last two rock acts with his new girlfriend, Laura Ballance. She
was fresh to the bass, but-- even at its debut in Raleigh in
1989-- Chunk, who would soon self-proclaim as Superchunk,
possessed a certain power and charm.  Well, at least that's what
the people that were there say, but history bears them out:
Superchunk landed near the front edge of some great indie
ascension, their simple, riff-heavy songs and intense sneer
landing fans on other continents and in big labels who saw the
financial potential in this new alter