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Bruce Lee Band | |
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Origin | California, United States |
Genres | Ska, acoustic, pop-punk |
Years active | 1995–2005; 2013–present [1] |
Labels | Asian Man Records |
Members | Mike Park Jeff Rosenstock Kevin Higuchi Dan Potthast |
Past members | Chris Demakes Roger Lima Vinnie Fiorello Derron Nuhfer Matt Embree Steve Choi Steve Borth Joe Troy Chris Tsagakis Chris Sheets Mike Huguenor Ted Moll Chris Diebold Chris Candy Gerry Lundquist John DeDomenici |
Website | www.mikeparkmusic.com |
The Bruce Lee Band (or B. Lee Band) is the name given to the releases of Mike Park and his backing band which up until 2005 included members of Less Than Jake and the Rx Bandits. As of 2014, the collective consisted of touring and recording members from Skankin' Pickle, MU330, Hard Girls, The Chinkees, Bomb the Music Industry, The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, among others.
The music played by Bruce Lee Band spans nearly all subgenres of ska music. Their 2005 release, Beautiful World, showcased a heavily two-tone influenced sound, using exclusively clean guitar and unusual song structure. In contrast, the debut release features more third-wave qualities, and a sound that was very typical of 1995—the year in which it was released.
Park has also used the name the B. Lee Band at times, in order to avoid legal complications with the estate of the late Bruce Lee. The first album was released under the name Bruce Lee Band and Lee's brother Robert, who happened to be the manager of the CD manufacturing plant responsible for pressing the album, contacted Park informally to warn him that Bruce Lee's name and likeness were copyrighted by the Bruce Lee Foundation and offered the friendly suggestion that Park change the band's name. [2] Later pressings of the album were released under the B. Lee Band name.
Their Community Support Group EP was released January 28, 2014 on Really Records and introduced a new lineup that includes Jeff Rosenstock, Mike Huguenor, and Kevin Higuchi. [3] Later on that year, the band released "Everything Will Be Alright, My Friend." The band played a few shows in California in 2014, along with the New Generation of Ska Festival in South Korea. In 2019, Mike Park posted a picture on social media indicating that the band was working on new material. Featured in the picture were Dan Potthast, Mike Park, Kevin Higuchi and Jeff Rosenstock. Trombonist Gerry Lundquist of MU330 and Skankin' Pickle and John DeDomenici of Bomb the Music Industry! frequently perform live with the band as well.
Year | Title | Label |
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1995 | The Bruce Lee Band | Asian Man Records |
2005 | Beautiful World EP | Asian Man Records |
2014 | Community Support Group EP | Really Records [1] |
2014 | Everything Will Be Alright, My Friend | Asian Man Records |
2019 | Rental!! Eviction!! | Asian Man Records |
2021 | Division in the Heartland EP | Asian Man Records |
2022 | One Step Forward. Two Steps Back. | Asian Man Records |
MU330 is an American ska punk band from St. Louis, Missouri. Formed by students of St. Louis University High School in 1988, MU330 played a self-described brand of music called "psycho ska", high energy ska punk marked by manic performances and humorous, often strange lyricism. Since 1997, the band's musical direction has changed towards a more melodic and lyric-driven ska/indie rock sound, a combination that has been described as "Weezer meets The Specials".
Skankin' Pickle was an American ska punk band formed in San Jose, California that was active from 1989 to 1997.
Michael Brian Park is an American musician and progressive activist. His musical ventures include Skankin' Pickle for whom he both played the saxophone and sang, The Chinkees, The Bruce Lee Band, and Ogikubo Station, as well as an acoustic solo project under his own name. After his time with Skankin' Pickle he went on to found Asian Man Records, a label which he has run out of his garage in California since 1996 with only help from his parents and friends. Asian Man Records supports mostly ska and punk bands. Park has used Asian Man Records to release his own music, in addition to providing a start for smaller bands to allow them to grow, including Less Than Jake, Alkaline Trio, and The Lawrence Arms. In 1999 he formed the Plea for Peace Foundation an organization whose aim is "to promote the ideas of peace through the power of music", something which Park has been trying to do with his own bands and with the help of other groups.
Bomb the Music Industry! was an American punk rock musical collective from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, United States, led by singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Rosenstock.
Album Minus Band is the debut full-length album from DIY collective Bomb the Music Industry! It was recorded by ex-Arrogant Sons of Bitches frontman, Jeff Rosenstock, in a bedroom. The album contains “Unlicensed cover songs. Unlicensed audio samples. Great times.” It is available for free download on the band's website, as well as on Quote Unquote Records’ website. The title of this record would go on to inspire the name of a fan-sourced tribute album entitled "Album Minus Jeff". It was released on vinyl for the first time in 2008 through Asbestos Records.
To Leave or Die in Long Island is the second release by the DIY collective Bomb The Music Industry!. It is considered a "mini-album" by the band members, being too long to be an EP but not long enough to be a full-length.
Jeffrey Ernest Rosenstock is an American musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter from Long Island, New York. He is known for his former bands Bomb the Music Industry! and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, as well as for his work as a solo artist and as a composer for Craig of the Creek. He is the founder of Quote Unquote Records, the first donation-based record label.
Songs in the Key of Bree is the debut album by Buck-O-Nine, originally released in 1994 on Immune Records, and subsequently re-released on Taang! Records in 1996. This album consists of many of the songs that the band wrote over a period of two years as it played numerous gigs in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona, and saw its regional following swell in numbers. After a gig supporting Skankin' Pickle, the band was encouraged by then-sax-player Mike "Bruce Lee" Park to start touring. Booking agents told the band they would need to have a CD released before they should consider touring nationally, so they promptly entered the studio. During the recording process, Immune Records offered to release the album through a two-year licensing deal, and one week after the album's release, Buck-O-Nine began its first national tour, filling the support slot on the "Skamaggedon" tour, opening up for ska veterans Gangster Fun and MU330.
Dill Records was a small punk rock/ska record label based out of Monte Sereno, California, that put out CDs/records from 1989-1998. The name is an allusion to initially the label's only band, Skankin' Pickle. The record label was started by Mike Park, a.k.a. Bruce Lee of Skankin' Pickle. The first other band with a release on Dill Records was the Tantra Monsters in 1994. After the breakup of Skankin' Pickle, Mike Park continued releasing records, beginning the label Asian Man Records in 1996. Asian Man and Dill Records coexisted until 1998. Asian Man re-released many albums originally released by Dill Records, as all releases are now out of print and Dill Records is no longer in operation.
The Chinkees are an American ska punk band fronted by Mike Park. The group debuted with 1998's The Chinkees Are Coming!, and followed with 1999's Peace Through Music and 2002's Searching for a Brighter Future before a greatest hits album was released in 2003. According to the liner notes for the band's debut album The Chinkees Are Coming!, the music was recorded by members of the band Tuesday with vocals provided by Mike Park. Subsequent albums were recorded all or in part by members Park, Miya Osaki, Greg Alesandro, Jason Thinh, and Steve Choi, as well as "guest" musicians, including Slapstick and Tuesday drummer Rob Kellenberger and Link 80's Steve Borth, often with members trading and playing different instruments than listed. All of the members were involved with the ska/punk scene. Jason Thinh was from the band Short Round, Miya was a member of the Santa Cruz punk trio The Muggs, Greg Alesandro a member of San Jose band Statue Man, and Steve Choi later becoming a keyboardist and guitarist for Rx Bandits in 1999.
The Rudiments are an American ska punk band from the East Bay, California, United States.
Sing Along With Skankin' Pickle is the third studio album by the American ska punk band Skankin' Pickle. It was released on Dill Records in 1994. Four of the bandmembers contributed to the songwriting. The band supported the album with a North American tour.
Skankin' Pickle Live is a live album by American ska punk band Skankin' Pickle, released on Dill Records in 1995.
The Green Album is the fourth and final studio album by American ska punk band Skankin' Pickle, released in 1996 on Dr. Strange Records.
Adults!!!: Smart!!! Shithammered!!! And Excited by Nothing!!!!!!! is a studio album by Bomb the Music Industry! which was released digitally on February 8, 2010 via Quote Unquote Records. Adults!!! is the only Bomb the Music Industry! album to not contain samples of television shows, movies, phone messages or other songs between tracks.
Vacation is the sixth and final studio album by American punk rock band Bomb the Music Industry!. It released on July 26, 2011, by Quote Unquote Records, Ernest Jenning, and Really Records. It was announced in September 2010.
Worry is the second solo album by American rock musician Jeff Rosenstock, released on October 14, 2016 by SideOneDummy Records. Released over a year after his debut solo album We Cool?, Worry was recorded in April and May 2016 at a house in Stinson Beach, California. Much of the album was written shortly after Rosenstock's band's gear was stolen while on tour in 2015. Worry saw the former Bomb the Music Industry! and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches frontman achieve his greatest critical success, with numerous placements on year-end lists and previously unseen media exposure. The album addresses themes including urban gentrification, economic inequality and police brutality in the United States.
No Dream is the fourth solo album by American singer-songwriter Jeff Rosenstock. It was released on May 20, 2020, without any promotional lead-up. The album was released on Polyvinyl Record Co. in the United States and by Specialist Subject Records in the United Kingdom. It is also available directly from the artist through Quote Unquote Records and Really Records.
Stretch Armstrong was a popular third-wave ska band from Provo, Utah. Formed in 1990, Scott Van Wagenen, the lead singer, was the main constant in the band's initially oft-changing lineup. By 1994, the lineup had settled on Darren Hutchison (bass), Dave Thomas (drums), Mike South (guitar), Dan Nelson (sax), Ryan Ridges (keyboard), Brian Rowley (sax), and Sterling Acomb (sax). Their ska music included elements of punk, jazz, and circus music. Their concerts were full of energetic dancing and moshing.