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The Ducky Boys | |
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Origin | Boston |
Genres | Street punk, punk rock |
Years active | 1995–present |
Labels | State Line Records Sailor's Grave Records Thorp Records Flat Records GMM Records I Scream Records |
Members | Mark Lind Jason Messina Douglas Sullivan Rich Crimlisk |
Past members | Mike Marsden James Lynch Mike O'Leary |
Website | duckyboys.com |
The Ducky Boys are a street punk band from Boston. Since forming in 1995 in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, the band has released six full-length albums and over 80 songs. The band's name is derived from the name of an Irish street gang in the 1979 movie, The Wanderers .
Since 2004, the band has been composed of frontman Mark Lind (bass guitar and vocals), drummer Jason Messina, and guitarist Douglas Sullivan. The Ducky Boys have released five studio albums (the last three from this current line-up) along with several 7-inch records and appearances on compilations. Rich Crimlisk joined the band in 2012 and played on the Chemicals EP as well as the sixth studio album.
Over the last ten years, the band's sound has evolved from quick punk riffs to more stripped-down rock music and a developing message of social consciousness. However, the band's influences, which include Rancid, The Replacements, The Clash, Bruce Springsteen, and dozens of other punk and rock n' roll bands, still remains a major element in the band's sound. [1]
This band should not be confused with another punk band by a similar name, Ducky Boys, from Brooklyn, New York, formed in the early 1980s, and featured on the 2006 Staring Down the Barrel compilation, which has over a dozen tracks by very obscure, unknown punk bands from 1979 to 1983. [2]
The band was formed in 1995 by Mark Lind (age 18), Jason Messina (age 19) and former guitarist Mike Marsden (age 17). The band's first two songs were "White Slum" and "Pride". The band soon recorded their first official release in a 7-inch split with Dropkick Murphys and, within a year, was picked up by GMM Records.
The band's first album, No Gettin' Out , was recorded at Salad Days Studio in Boston and was released in May 1997. With the song "I'll Rise Up", the album has 15 tracks that total a length of almost 39 minutes.
Soon after the release of No Getting Out, the band, along with guitarist Mike O'Leary, returned to the studio. Recorded between February and March 1998, the album Dark Days helped to define the band and eventually increased their status in the punk rock community. With songs such as "These Are The Days" and "I've Got My Friends", the album was widely praised and deemed[ by whom? ] a street punk classic. The tour for this album was with Dropkick Murphys and Oxymoron. This saw the first appearance of James Lynch on guitar while on tour. O'Leary, still in high school at the time, was unable to tour.
However, as Lind said in an interview, [3] "we didn't know what we were doing" soon after the release of Dark Days. "We thought bigger than we actually were", he said and, as a result, the band soon experienced turmoil over the future direction and eventually broke up though they would remain on and off until 2002.
After almost five years, which saw several successful side-projects by Lind, Sinners and Saints and Dirty Water, the band permanently re-formed in 2003. Gone were Marsden and O'Leary with the former The Eleventh Hour lead singer Sullivan taking over on lead guitar. The band recorded its third album, Three Chords and the Truth . Produced by Jim Siegel, the album has a clear, big, professional sound found in both the punk shout-outs and melodic rock n' roll type songs. [4]
The album includes a punk-influenced cover version of "Stand By Me". Lind's songwriting was widely acclaimed[ by whom? ] and the album as a whole proved to be a huge success in both sales and popularity.[ citation needed ]
Lind began writing shortly after the release of Three Chords and, within a year, production began on the band's fourth album, The War Back Home . The album was more of a group presentation with several lyrics written by Sullivan and a more complex drum sound. The album has both punk and blues elements with influences from The Clash and Dropkick Murphys clearly heard with the message again evoking social themes of political, social, and economic magnitude. It received relatively positive reviews. [5]
The 12-song album includes "Celebrate", "Bombs Away" and "The Middle Children of History" all of which exhibit the developing style and message of the band, especially focusing on topics such as poverty and the war in Iraq.
In 2012, the Ducky Boys released a fifth studio album, Chasing the Ghost. It was recorded at Mad Oak Studios in Allston, Massachusetts.[ citation needed ] Originally slated to be a 7-inch record or an EP, a break-up brought a surge of songwriting from Lind and the project quickly became a full-length 17-track album.[ citation needed ] As a result, many of the songs deal with that sort of loss and the roller coaster of emotions that go along with it. Perhaps the band's strongest overall effort, the record is also the first with songs with the guitarist Sullivan singing lead vocals on two tracks. Live support for the record included sets with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Dropkick Murphys, Sick of it All, The Pietasters, Madball, H2O, The Cromags, Cockney Rejects and Rancid. These shows had a second guitarist with each set, the ex-Ducky Boys member and after Dropkick Murphys guitarist Lynch for one show and Morgan Knockers' guitarist Rich Crimlisk for the others. Chasing the Ghost was released in January 2012 on the band's own State Line Records and was followed in May 2012 with the four-song digital EP, Chemicals, with all new songs. None of these were leftovers from the CTG sessions.[ citation needed ]
The band is currently[ when? ] operating on a "part-time" basis, performing a small number of shows throughout the year, with the line-up of Lind, Messina, Sullivan, and Rich Crimlisk.
Ducky Boys released the album Dead End Streets on State Line Records in June 2013. The band performed an album release show with Swingin Utters and The Welch Boys in June 2013. They regrouped in April 2014 to help organize and perform on a two-night fundraiser for two Boston firemen killed in the line of duty. The benefit shows raised over $52,000 with performances by Street Dogs, Avoid One Thing, Slapshot, Stray Bullets, and The Welch Boys among others.
Ducky Boys have remained relatively silent since 2013 but periodically post updates to their Facebook page. While no upcoming shows have been announced, the band has been clear that it is not over.[ citation needed ] Rich, Messina, and Lind have been playing in a new band called The Warning Shots.
Current members
Former members
The Ducky Boys have performed with the following bands:
Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, former members of the band Operation Ivy, Rancid is often credited as being among the wave of bands that revived mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States during the mid-1990s. Over its 33-year career, Rancid has retained much of its original fan-base, most of which was connected to its underground musical roots.
Let's Go is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Rancid. It was released on June 21, 1994, through Epitaph Records and was the band's first album to feature Lars Frederiksen on guitar and vocals. The album initially achieved little mainstream success, though it appealed to the band's fanbase. However, the surprise success of punk rock bands such as The Offspring, Green Day and Bad Religion in the mid-1990s brought forth more mainstream interest in Let's Go, and it peaked at number 97 on the Billboard 200. "Salvation" was released to alternative radio on February 3, 1995.
The Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly, singer Al Barr, guitarist James Lynch, and multi-instrumentalists Tim Brennan and Jeff DaRosa.
The Bruisers were a punk band that pioneered the American streetpunk/oi! movement, formed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1988. The original lineup included: Al Barr, Scotty Davies (bass), Jeff Morris (guitar) and Rodger Shosa (drums). Morris is now a guitarist and lead vocalist for Death & Taxes, and a former guitarist for Mark Lind & the Unloved. Former guitarist Rick Wimert died 1995.
Swingin' Utters is a Californian punk rock band that formed in the late 1980s. After U.S. and European tours supporting the release of 2003's "Dead Flowers, Bottles, Bluegrass and Bones", some band members concentrated on raising their new families. From 2003-2010, the band played frequently, though mostly limited to the west coast of the United States and Canada, taking a break from any longer, comprehensive touring or recordings. During this time, they released the "Live in a Dive" double live album on Fat Wreck Chords (2004), and "Hatest Grits", a b-sides and rarities compilation (2008). After a seven-year gap in the release of any new, original recordings, the band released the "Brand New Lungs" 3-song 7-inch ep in 2010, followed by the "Here, Under Protest" LP (2011), and have since released four more records, and have resumed touring internationally.
Street Dogs were an American punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 2002 by former Dropkick Murphys singer Mike McColgan. The band disbanded in early 2020 after 17 years together.
Lars Erik Frederiksen is an American musician and record producer best known as a guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock band Rancid, as well as the frontman of Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards and the Old Firm Casuals. In addition, he currently plays guitar in Oxley's Midnight Runners, Stomper 98, and The Last Resort. He was also briefly a member of the UK Subs in 1991.
Sing Loud, Sing Proud! is the third studio album from Boston punk rock band the Dropkick Murphys. Before the album's release in 2001, guitarist Rick Barton left the band. He announced James Lynch of Boston punk band The Ducky Boys as his successor. As well as Lynch, the band also recruited then 17-year-old Marc "The Kid" Orrell on lead guitar. The band also recruited a full-time piper, Robbie Mederios, and Ryan Foltz on mandolin and tin whistle.
Singles Collection Volume 2 is a b-side and rarities compilation album released by Boston punk rock band Dropkick Murphys, on March 8, 2005. The album, which peaked at No. 26 and spent three weeks on the chart, contains songs released on singles, compilations and splits. Among the songs, two are alternate versions of songs previously released on Dropkick Murphys albums, five songs were written by the band and the rest were covers. The artists covered range from mainstream rock bands such as AC/DC and Creedence Clearwater Revival to influential punk bands such as Sham 69 and Cock Sparrer.
Michael McColgan is an American musician, and is a founding member and former lead singer of the American punk band Street Dogs and a founding member and former original lead singer of the American Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys.
The Pinkerton Thugs were a punk band from Kennebunk, Maine.
Three Chords and the Truth is the third studio album by American street punk band The Ducky Boys. It released on November 16, 2004 via Thorp Records and was produced and mixed by Jim Siegel.
The War Back Home is the fourth studio album of The Ducky Boys. It was recorded and released in 2006. The album was a total band collaboration with lyrics written by both bassist Mark Lind and guitarist Douglas Sullivan. This is the Ducky Boy's first album on the label of Sailor's Grave Records..
Dark Days is the second studio album of The Ducky Boys. It was recorded between February and March 1998 at The Outpost in Stoughton, Massachusetts. This is the band's second of two albums with GMM Records and the last album before the band broke up for five years before re-forming in 2003.
Rick Barton is an American musician and producer from Boston, MA, who is currently the singer, guitarist and songwriter of the band Continental. Barton was previously a founding member and guitarist of the rock band, The Outlets and a founding member and guitarist for the punk band Dropkick Murphys.
Split 7inch is a split EP by Dropkick Murphys and The Ducky Boys. It was released in July 1996 on Flat Records, with 2,000 copies on black vinyl and 1,000 copies on green vinyl. This is the first release by both bands. The Dropkick Murphys tracks were later re-released on The Singles Collection, Volume 1.
Anti-Heros were an American Oi!/street punk band formed in 1984 in Georgia, United States. They took a hiatus from 1989 to 1993, but continued to record and play concerts through the early 2000s. The original lineup consisted of Mark Noah (vocals), Jay Jones (bass), Tim Spier (drums) and Joe Winograd (guitar). Phil Solomon replaced Spier on the drums in 1988. The band released two records on Link Records in the late 1980s, That's Right! in 1987 and Don't Tread on Me in 1988. Link manager Mark Brennan never paid the band for the recordings, which the band members paid to produce.
James Patrick Lynch is an American musician. He is a guitarist and a vocalist of the Boston Celtic punk group Dropkick Murphys. Lynch joined the band in 2000 to record the album Sing Loud, Sing Proud. He was previously a member of the Boston-based bands The Ducky Boys and The Pinkerton Thugs. When Marc Orrell left the band in 2008, Lynch was asked to move up to lead guitar, but declined because he enjoyed his position in the band where he only played one instrument. Instead Tim Brennan was moved up to lead guitar and Jeff DaRosa was brought on to play banjo and mandolin. Lynch also played in the band Gimmie Danger along with Marc Orrell, Tim Brennan, and Ben Karnavas.
When God Was Great is the eleventh and final studio album by the Boston ska punk band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 2021 on Hellcat, the band's only album with the label. The album was co-produced by Hellcat founder and Rancid member Tim Armstrong. The album was preceded by the singles and music videos for "The Final Parade", "I Don't Believe in Anything" and "The Killing of Georgie ".