Lyres (band)
Encyclopedia
Lyres are a Boston
-area garage rock
band led by Jeff "Monoman" Conolly. Lyres were founded in 1979 following the breakup of DMZ
. Their most popular songs included "Don't Give It Up Now," "What A Girl Can't Do" and "Help You Ann". The original lineup of the band featured Rick Coraccio(bass), Ricky Carmel (guitar), and Paul Murphy (drums).
Former DMZ members Rick Coraccio, Paul Murphy, and Peter Greenberg had rejoined Connolly in Lyres over the course of their existence (from 1979 to the early 2000s). Miriam Linna
, former drummer of The Cramps
and The A-Bones
, played in Lyres in 1986. Stiv Bators
of The Dead Boys
and Lords of the New Church
, and Wally Tax
of The Outsiders
also recorded with Lyres in the late 1980s.
Lyres were less active in the 1990s, due to Conolly living in California
and in Europe
for brief periods of time. After a renewed period of activity in the early 2000s, the band went through another dormant period up until 2005. The band has been playing regularly during the last two years. Conolly is the only member who has been in every lineup during the large number of personnel changes that Lyres have gone through over the years. In 2009, Lyres played at the Go Sinner So festival in Madrid and an additional date in Porto Nuovo. This line-up included Peter Greenberg on guitar.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
-area garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
band led by Jeff "Monoman" Conolly. Lyres were founded in 1979 following the breakup of DMZ
DMZ (band)
DMZ was a first-wave American punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, strongly influenced by 1960s garage rock. In early 1976, Jeff Conolly stole the lead vocalist position in the nascent band by out-performing their singer at one of the band's practices...
. Their most popular songs included "Don't Give It Up Now," "What A Girl Can't Do" and "Help You Ann". The original lineup of the band featured Rick Coraccio(bass), Ricky Carmel (guitar), and Paul Murphy (drums).
Former DMZ members Rick Coraccio, Paul Murphy, and Peter Greenberg had rejoined Connolly in Lyres over the course of their existence (from 1979 to the early 2000s). Miriam Linna
Miriam Linna
Miriam Linna has run the Brooklyn-based independent record label Norton Records since 1986 with her husband—the producer and singer-songwriter Billy Miller...
, former drummer of The Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
and The A-Bones
The A-Bones
The A-Bones is a garage rock band from Brooklyn, New York. Their name was derived from a song by The Trashmen. The band was formed in 1984 by vocalist Billy Miller and his wife, drummer Miriam Linna; the couple had previously been the editors of the pop culture journal Kicks and later launched...
, played in Lyres in 1986. Stiv Bators
Stiv Bators
Stiv Bators , was an American punk rockvocalist and guitarist from Youngstown, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands, The Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church.- Music and film career :...
of The Dead Boys
The Dead Boys
The Dead Boys were an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. Among the first wave of early punk bands, the Dead Boys were initially active from 1976 to 1979, briefly reuniting in 1987, 2004 and 2005.-Formation and 1970s punk rock era:...
and Lords of the New Church
Lords of the New Church
Lords of the New Church may refer to:*The Lords of the New Church, a 1980s post-punk band*"Lords of the New Church" , a 1993 song by Tasmin Archer...
, and Wally Tax
Wally Tax
Wally Tax was a Dutch singer and songwriter, best known as founder and frontman of the Nederbeat group The Outsiders. After commercial and artistic success with The Outsiders in the late 1960s, he had a brief solo career in the 1970s, and then was a successful songwriter, producing a number of hit...
of The Outsiders
The Outsiders (Dutch band)
The Outsiders were a Dutch band from Amsterdam. Their period of greatest popularity in the Netherlands was from 1965–67, but they released records until 1969...
also recorded with Lyres in the late 1980s.
Lyres were less active in the 1990s, due to Conolly living in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
for brief periods of time. After a renewed period of activity in the early 2000s, the band went through another dormant period up until 2005. The band has been playing regularly during the last two years. Conolly is the only member who has been in every lineup during the large number of personnel changes that Lyres have gone through over the years. In 2009, Lyres played at the Go Sinner So festival in Madrid and an additional date in Porto Nuovo. This line-up included Peter Greenberg on guitar.
Current line-up
- Jeff Conolly (organ, vocals)
- Steve Aquino (guitar)
- Paul Murphy (drums)
- Rick Coraccio (bass)
LP albums
- On Fyre (1984)
- Lyres Lyres (1985)
- A Promise Is A Promise (1986)
- Happy Now (1988)
- Some Lyres (1994)
EP albums
- AHS1005 12" 45 rpm (Ace of HeartsAce of Hearts Records (Boston)Ace of Hearts Records is a Boston-based independent label founded in 1978 by Rick Harte, who also produced all its releases. It recorded and released Boston area post-punk and garage rock bands in the early 1980s, including Mission of Burma, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, Roger Miller, Neats, Lyres,...
1981) - Nobody But Lyres 12" 33 rpm (TAANG! RecordsTaang! RecordsTaang! Records is an American independent record label founded by Curtis Casella in Boston, Massachusetts which is currently based in San Diego...
1992)
Singles
- "Help You Ann"
- "Don't Give It Up Now" c/w "How Do You Know?" Dirty Water Records 2007
In other media
The song "Help You Ann" was featured on the game Destroy all Humans 2 and on the TV show Rescue Me.Related bands
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