The Exit was a New York City-based band indie/post-punk/reggae group, formed in 2000. The band's music blended 1980s dub and reggae with 1990s punk and indie rock. The band's members included Ben Brewer on lead guitar and vocals, and Gunnar Olsen on drums. Jeff DaRosa was formerly the band's lead vocals and bass player.
Ben Brewer, a.k.a. Benjamin Bronfman, son of billionaire Edgar Bronfman Jr., met Olsen in high school. The two have played in several bands together. One of these bands turned into an early incarnation of The Exit. In 2000 Brewer met Jeff DaRosa while attending Emerson College in Boston. DaRosa grew up in Watertown, Massachusetts and was the bassist of the local punk band The Vigilantes. Brewer convinced DaRosa to join the group, and they started practicing in basements around Boston. The band made a demo tape which made its way into the hands of Daniel Rey known for his work with The Ramones. Rey produces the band's first record, New Beat, which came out on Some Records, a label started by Walter Schreifels.
The band started touring in early 2001, booking their own shows. New Beat received favorable reviews,[citation needed][1] many of which likened the band to The Clash, The Police and U2.[citation needed] The artwork was done by Damian Genuardi of the Explosion.
The Exit then entered the studio with producer Ron Saint Germain (Bad Brains, Tool, Sonic Youth) to produce a follow-up, Home For An Island. The album featured Brewer singing lead for the first time, tribal rhythms, dubbed out guitars, and psychedelic bridges. The album was a political response to life in post-9/11 New York City. Songs include "Soldier," "Home For an Island," "Let's Go to Haiti" and "Back to the Rebels." The album was originally released in 2004 on Some Records, but in 2005 The Exit signed to Wind-Up Records and re-released Home for an Island, adding three new songs "Sun Will Rise in Queens," "Pressure Cooker" and "Warm Summer Days." Reviews were good.[2] The Exit supported Muse on two different US tours.
On August 15, 2006, through a post on their MySpaceblog, the band announced the departure of Jeff DaRosa. Olsen and Brewer noted the band will continue with a yet-to-be-announced lineup. The band was officially disbanded in 2007.
The Slackers are an American ska band, formed in Manhattan, New York in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz. The Slackers' notability is credited to their prolific career, tours of North and South America, Europe, and elsewhere, and signing to notable punk label Hellcat Records.
Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Erdington area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds, Basil Gabbidon, and Ronald McQueen (bass); along with Basil's brother Colin briefly on drums and Mykaell Riley. Steel Pulse were the first non-Jamaican act to win the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.
The Stills were a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 2000 and disbanded in 2011.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists are an American rock band formed in 1999 in Washington, D.C. They have released six full-length studio albums and have toured internationally. Though the group's lineup has fluctuated throughout their career, singer/guitarist Ted Leo has remained the band's main songwriter, creative force, and only constant member. The group's music combines elements of punk rock, indie rock, art punk, traditional rock, and occasionally folk music and dub reggae. Their most recent album, The Brutalist Bricks, was released on March 9, 2010.
Go Jimmy Go was an American ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul influenced band from Honolulu, Hawaii. Although chronologically, the band belongs to the third-wave, their mellow, slower tempo sound is reminiscent of the classic style of the original 1960s Jamaican first wave of ska.
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.
Unwritten Law is an American punk rock band formed in 1990 in Poway, California by drummer Wade Youman. The band has undergone multiple line-up changes, with Youman the sole remaining original member – however, he has left the group twice in its three-decade history. They are best known for their singles "Seein' Red" and "Save Me ," both of which peaked in the top 5 in the US Modern Rock charts and the former topping it. The band have also toured extensively both nationally and internationally, most notably as part of the Warped Tour. The band has released seven full-length studio albums to date; their most recent, The Hum, was released in 2022.
Catch 22 is an American ska punk band from East Brunswick Township, New Jersey. The band was formed in 1996 by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Tomas Kalnoky, who left the band in 1998 and later formed Streetlight Manifesto. Founding members still in the band are vocalist/saxophonist Ryan Eldred, trumpeter Kevin Gunther and drummer Chris Greer.
Pepper is a three-piece reggae rock band originally from Hawaii, now based in San Diego. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Kaleo Wassman, vocalist/bassist Bret Bollinger, and drummer Yesod Williams. Since the band's formation they have released eight studio albums, as well as two live albums.
Big D and the Kids Table is a ska punk band formed in October 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts when its members converged in college. Their first release was on their own Fork in Hand Records label, but have since teamed with Springman Records and SideOneDummy. The band has been noted for its strict DIY work ethic, such as engineering, producing, and releasing their own albums and videos and self-promotion of their own shows.
Authority Zero is an American punk rock band from Mesa, Arizona, United States, formed in 1994. The band's style is rooted in reggae and skate punk, with Spanish/Portuguese influences. They have released seven albums to date, two DVDs and nine singles. The band regularly tours North America, Europe and Japan.
Inner Circle, also known as The Inner Circle Band or The Bad Boys of Reggae, are a Jamaican reggae band formed in Kingston in 1968. The band first backed The Chosen Few in the early 1970s before joining with successful solo artist Jacob Miller and releasing a string of records. This era of the band ended with Miller's death in a car crash in 1980.
Iron Fire is a Danish power and speed metal band which was formed in 1995 under the name Misery. The name was soon changed to Decades of Darkness and finally to Iron Fire. They have released nine albums with their debut Thunderstorm coming out in 2000.
Victor "Vic" Ruggiero, is a musician, songwriter and producer from New York City who has played in reggae, blues, ska and rocksteady bands since the early 1990s, including The Slackers, Stubborn All-Stars, SKAndalous All Stars, Crazy Baldhead and The Silencers. He has also performed with punk rock band Rancid, both live and in the studio. He has released four solo acoustic albums and continues to tour and record worldwide. Ruggiero is known primarily as a singer and organist, although he also plays piano, bass, banjo, cigar box guitar, guitar, harmonica and percussion.
The Aggrolites are an American reggae band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which formed in 2002.
Howards Alias were a band in the turn-of-the-millennium UK underground punk scene. They formed in 1999 in Southampton, England, and blended an eclectic mix of rock, progressive, punk and ska influences into their own musical output. They permanently disbanded in April 2008.
The Supervillains is a five-piece reggae, ska/punk band from St. Cloud, Florida. The band has released nine studio albums.
The Skints are an English reggae punk band from London, described by Clash Music as "the torchbearers for modern British reggae music." The Skints mix reggae, ska, dub, punk rock, dancehall, soul, and rap, touring extensively across the UK, Europe and the United States. Their album Swimming Lessons (2019) debuted at number 1 on the Billboard reggae chart. Their original style of music has been described as "tropical punk".
Trenchtown is an American five-piece punk rock band from Jerome, Michigan, United States. Formed in the fall of 1996, the group consists of Ryan Wagler, Eric Wagler (bass), Mike Nichols, Greg Bolenbough and Mike Burlett (drums).
Benjamin Zachary Bronfman is an American ecopreneur and a Grammy award nominated musician. Bronfman is a founding partner and board member of Global Thermostat, a direct air capture company that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
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