The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky Barrett, bassist Joe Gittleman, tenor saxophonist Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton and dancer ("Bosstone") Ben Carr remained constant members. The band's final line-up also included drummer Joe Sirois, saxophonist Leon Silva, guitarist Lawrence Katz, keyboardist John Goetchius, and trombonist Chris Rhodes.
Taang! Records is an independent record label with a roster of hardcore punk, punk rock, Oi!, power pop, ska, indie rock, psychedelic, and ambient artists and bands founded by Curtis Casella in Boston, Massachusetts in 1983.
Youth of Today is an American hardcore punk band, initially active from 1985 to 1990 before reforming in 2010. The band played a major role in establishing the "Youth Crew" subculture of hardcore, both espousing and evolving the philosophies of the straight edge and vegetarian lifestyles.
Dave Smalley is an American musician, best known as the lead singer for the hardcore punk bands DYS, Dag Nasty, and All and as lead singer/guitarist with Down by Law. He is known for his influence on pop punk music and his early contributions to the emo genre. He also founded a side project called The Sharpshooters, whose music is influenced by mod revival bands such as The Jam. Smalley has also produced and appeared on Canadian punk band Penelope's second album, Face au silence du monde, recorded by Don Zientara at Inner Ear Studio in Arlington, Virginia.
The F.U.'s are a hardcore punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. They formed in 1981 as a three-piece band, released two records and appeared on the compilation This Is Boston, Not L.A. before changing their name to Straw Dogs in 1986 to market themselves as a heavy metal act. In 2010 The F.U.’s reformed under their original moniker.
Negative FX was a hardcore punk band from Boston, formed in 1981. Though the band lasted only a short time, playing a total of five shows, the band was well known for their involvement in the local straight edge scene of the early 1980s. Along with members of the bands DYS and SS Decontrol (SSD), Negative FX was part of the "Boston Crew", a group of social friends who traveled around the country with SSD and other Boston hardcore bands.
Devil's Night Out is the debut studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1989 by Taang! Records, and re-released in 1990. It was one of the first albums to mix ska and hardcore punk.
Negative Approach is an American hardcore punk band, formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1981. The band is considered among the pioneers of hardcore punk, particularly in the Midwest region. Like most hardcore bands, Negative Approach was little known in its day outside of its hometown. It is now idolized in the Detroit rock underground and the punk subculture, considered to be one of the elite bands of the "old school" era, and continues to be influential. Negative Approach initially broke up in 1984 with singer John Brannon moving on to the Laughing Hyenas, and later Easy Action, but the band has reformed as of 2006 and continues to tour sporadically.
Slapshot is an American hardcore punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. The band has been active for over 30 years, releasing eight studio albums and a number of singles and EPs over that time period. Though there have been constant line-up changes, founding member Jack "Choke" Kelly has remained a constant member of the band and its primary vocalist and leader.
Gang Green is an American punk rock band originally from Braintree, Massachusetts. Chris Doherty (guitar), Bill Manley (bass) and Mike Dean (drums) started the band in 1980 and broke up in 1983. Doherty reformed Gang Green the following year, and the band experienced numerous lineup changes until its dissolution for the second time in 1992. Doherty has been the band's only constant member and has kept Gang Green active from 2005 onwards. The band was influential in the formation of the East Coast hardcore punk scene, and went on to become one of the forerunners of crossover thrash and speed metal in the late 1980s.
Down by Law is an American punk rock band formed in 1989 by former All frontman Dave Smalley, who is the only remaining original member. The band has recorded seven studio albums. They stayed on Epitaph Records until 1998 and have since switched to other labels. Down by Law has never achieved substantial commercial success, but a number of largely popular acts cite them as influential, and they have an underground following. After several lineup changes, the band went on hiatus from touring and recording in 2003, but resurfaced in 2008 before beginning work on new material and embarking on their first tour in six years in 2009. In 2017, the band reunited their Punkrockacademyfightsong lineup and are currently active and touring.
American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980–1986 is a documentary directed and produced by Paul Rachman and written by Steven Blush. It is based on the 2001 book American Hardcore: A Tribal History also written by Blush. It world premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was released on September 22, 2006 on a limited basis by Sony Pictures Classics. The film features some early pioneers of the hardcore punk music scene including Bad Brains, Black Flag, D.O.A., Minor Threat, Minutemen, SSD, and others. It was released on DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on February 20, 2007.
Jonathan Anastas is an American, Los Angeles-based marketing & advertising executive, and a musician who co-founded a number of Boston hardcore punk bands.
Sam Black Church is an American, rock band. It was named after the West Virginia community of Sam Black Church.
Ben Deily is an American musician and songwriter, most famous as one of the founders, writers and lead singers of the Boston-based alternative rock band The Lemonheads. Deily and Dando met while students at the Commonwealth School in Boston.
The discography of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, an American ska punk band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts, consists of eleven studio albums, ten EPs and twenty two singles, among other recordings.
The Proletariat are a punk rock band from Southeastern Massachusetts, whose heyday was during the 1980s, when they were active in the early Boston hardcore scene, sharing the bill with many of the best punk and hardcore punk acts of the time, despite their recorded output having a decidedly non-hardcore aesthetic; the Proletariat show more strongly the musical influences of early British post-punk bands such as Wire and the Gang of Four in their fractured guitar sound and Marxist-themed lyrics.
All Ages: The Boston Hardcore Film, a Gallery East Production in association with Stone Films/NYC, is a documentary directed by Drew Stone, which had its world premier at the Independent Film Festival of Boston on April 27, 2012. The film features interviews, archival footage and the music of Boston’s early hardcore bands including Deep Wound, DYS, Gang Green, Impact Unit, Jerry's Kids, Negative FX, SS Decontrol, The Freeze and The F.U.'s. Also featured in the film are interviews with renowned author Michael Patrick MacDonald, Actress Christine Elise McCarthy, Advertising Executive Jonathan Anastas, Thrasher Magazine Editor Jake Phelps, "American Hardcore" Director Paul Rachman, "Blowing Smoke with Twisted Rico Podcast" host Steev Riccardo, and Newbury Comics owner Michael Dreese. All Ages has been released on DVD with numerous extras and director's commentary.
Drew Stone is an American film director, producer, film editor, author and musician. His works include music videos, commercials, documentary films and television.
Hometown Throwdown is an annual music festival held in Greater Boston. It is hosted by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The festival features local Boston-area acts, focusing on ska, punk and hardcore bands. The festival is traditionally held in December, usually the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve at clubs around Boston. The first Throwdown was held in from July 27-31, 1994 at The Middle East in Cambridge. Starting in 1995, the festival moved to December, where it has remained ever since. It ran annually until 2002, when the Bosstones went on hiatus. Both the band, and their festival, returned to active status in 2007, and it has been held annually ever since, with the most recent Throwdown, the 22nd, being held December 27-29, 2019 at the House of Blues in Boston.
