The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Encyclopedia
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (informally referred to as The Bosstones) are an American
ska punk
band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. Since the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky Barrett
, bassist Joe Gittleman
, tenor saxophonist Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton and dancer ("Bosstone") Ben Carr have remained constant members. The current line-up also includes drummer Joe Sirois
, saxophonist Kevin Lenear, guitarist Lawrence Katz and trombonist Chris Rhodes
.
The Bosstones are often credited as one of the progenitors of the genre of ska punk
and the creators of its sub-genre ska-core, a form of music which mixes elements of ska
with punk rock
and hardcore
. Since the release of their 1989 debut Devil's Night Out
, the band toured and recorded extensively throughout the 1990s, becoming a key figure in the development of the American third wave ska scene and one of the first bands to popularize the genre in the musical mainstream, reaching their commercial peak with their platinum
-selling 1997 album Let's Face It
and its hit single "The Impression That I Get
". The band had released seven studio albums, three EPs and a live album by the time they announced a hiatus in December 2003.
In the fall of 2007, the Bosstones reunited to resume touring and recording. Their eighth studio album, Pin Points and Gin Joints
, followed in December 2009.
scene of the early 1980s along with a strong influence from the British 2 Tone
ska
scene of the 1970s. Bassist Joe Gittleman
played with local hardcore band Gang Green
, while vocalist Dicky Barrett
was a member of Impact Unit and, later on, the Cheap Skates. The Cheap Skates lineup went through frequent changes and would feature members of Gang Green on occasion. It was through the Cheap Skates that a core lineup coalesced around Barrett, Gittleman, Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton (saxophone), Nate Albert
(guitar), Josh Dalsimer (drums), Tim Bridewell (trumpet) and Ben Carr (a ubiquitous, dancing non-musician onstage presence, later credited as "Bosstone"). The group decided on the name, "the Bosstones" as a reference to their hometown. While some of the band members were influenced by bands such as AC/DC
, Social Distortion
, Motörhead, The Clash
and Stiff Little Fingers
, Barrett had become enthralled with 2 Tone
ska, which was in the tail end of its existence.
In 1987, the Bosstones made their recorded debut when they were featured on the Mash It Up ska compilation. The Bosstones' contribution was "The Cave." Another early recording, "Drums and Chickens," appeared on the 1989 ska compilation Mashin' Up The Nation. By the time Mashin' Up The Nation was released, the Bosstones had temporarily disbanded in order for Albert and Gittleman to finish high school. After their graduation, the band reunited. Around this time, it was brought to the band's attention that an a cappella
group, The Bosstones
, had already used the name during the 1950s. A bartender friend arbitrarily suggested that they become the "Mighty Mighty Bosstones", in order to avoid any possible legal hassles, to which the band agreed.
record label gave the band a recording contract
which would result in the Devil's Night Out
album, produced by Paul Q. Kolderie
. The album was released to positive local and lukewarm national reaction during a time when ska was struggling to move out of the American underground. The band found resistance from ska purists who did not like that the band were not playing traditional ska while hardcore
fans were against the ska and heavy metal elements in the music. Despite the initial reaction, Devil's Night Out has gone on to become one of the band's most popular albums.
It was during this time that the band's trademark plaid
clothing came to be. After a show where Barrett wore plaid, fans started to show up wearing it as well. It was noticeable enough that the band was approached by the Converse sneaker company to promote their new line of Chuck Taylor
sneakers. The band accepted the proposal and were seen in several television commercials promoting the sneakers.
By this time, Tim Bridewell had left the band, to be replaced by Dennis Brockenborough
(trombone) and Kevin Lenear (saxophone). The band's next release was an EP entitled Where'd You Go?. The EP featured the title track as well as cover versions of Aerosmith
's "Sweet Emotion
", Metallica
's "Enter Sandman
", Van Halen
's "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love
" and a new version of "Do Somethin' Crazy", originally featured on Devil's Night Out
.
In 1991, the band set out on their first full American tour. It was during the first leg of touring that drummer Josh Dalsimer would leave the band to pursue a college education. He would be replaced by Joe Sirois
, who Barrett met at Bunker Hill Community College
. Sirois would immediately join his new bandmates in the recording studio
to start work on the band's second album.
Once again produced by Paul Q. Kolderie
, More Noise and Other Disturbances
was released in June 1992. The band would film a video
for the song "Where'd You Go?" which had previously been available on the EP of the same name (though the band had also recorded a video for "Guns and the Young", the video was not finished until a few years after it was recorded.
During this era, the band published a newsletter for their fans titled 737.
roster and soon recorded the Ska-Core, the Devil, and More
EP. Released in March 1993, it was largely a collection of cover songs. Four of the seven tracks paid homage to the band's influences: The Angry Samoans' "Lights Out", Minor Threat
's "Think Again", SSD
's "Police Beat" and The Wailers' "Simmer Down
". Three live tracks were included as well. The EP contained one new studio track "Someday I Suppose," which would later appear on the band's third full-length album.
Produced by Tony Platt, the band's third LP, Don't Know How to Party
contained a cover of Stiff Little Fingers
' song "Tin Soldiers" as well as a vocal appearance by Daryl Jennifer of Bad Brains
. A video was also filmed for "Someday I Suppose" and it received minor airplay on MTV
. Though the footage was originally intended to serve as a promo for the Bosstones debut on Mercury, the label liked the footage and turned it into a single. The band would also appear on the 1994 Kiss My Ass tribute to Kiss
album, covering "Detroit Rock City
". Mercury Records
released it as a single, appearing on 7-inch green vinyl and backed by the original Kiss version of the song. Soon after, the band found themselves invited by fellow Bostonian Steven Tyler
, to open up for Aerosmith
at their New Year's Eve
concert in Boston. While it was not the most successful show the Bosstones had played, it ensured that the Bosstones started 1994 on the road as they had intended.
Big Rig Records started when the band wanted to release their records on vinyl. While Mercury showed no interest at first, they eventually allowed the band to start their own vanity label
. Mercury continued to handle the conventional CD and cassette versions of the albums while Big Rig would focus on the vinyl editions. The new label immediately issued re-releases of Don't Know How To Party and Ska-Core, The Devil, and More on colored vinyl. Later releases would also include re-releases by Barrett's former hardcore band, Impact Unit.
The band released their fourth album, Question the Answers
, in October 1994. The album featured production work by the Butcher Brothers, Paul Q. Kolderie
and Ross Humphrey. The Big Rig vinyl version of the album contained "Pirate Ship" as an extra track. Besides touring, the band found itself making their network television debut on The Jon Stewart Show
and hosting MTV's 120 Minutes
. They also contributed a new version of "Where'd You Go?" to the Alicia Silverstone
movie Clueless. The band also made an appearance in the film, performing the songs "Where'd You Go?" and "Someday I Suppose" during a college fraternity party scene. On top of their TV and film appearances, the band was added to the main stage of the 1995 Lollapalooza
tour. Mercury set about repromoting Question the Answers by adding a second disc with five B-side tracks. The EP was titled Here We Go Again and it was compiled by Barrett at the request of Mercury.
After touring as part of the 1997 Warped Tour
, the Bosstones began work on their next studio album. Released later that year, Let's Face It
, would prove to be the band's biggest seller, mostly due to its first single "The Impression That I Get
", which reached number one on the Billboard
Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album was followed by Video Stew, a VHS
compilation of the band's twelve music videos. The mainstream exposure led to the band's appearance on Sesame Street
's Elmopalooza
television special and Grammy Award winning soundtrack album
. In it, the band performs the song "The Zig Zag Dance" with the Muppet The Count
. The band also made their Saturday Night Live
debut, performing "The Impression That I Get".
Capitalizing on the band's popularity, Mercury released the band's live album, Live From the Middle East
in October 1998. The album was recorded live in Cambridge, Massachusetts at The Middle East
Restaurant and Nightclub during the band's annual end-of-the-year Hometown Throwdown from 1997. In 1999, the band contributed their cover version of the song, "Rudie Can't Fail," to the Burning London Clash
tribute compilation. Shortly after all of these releases, Kevin Lenear quit the band to work on his own material and was replaced by Roman Fleysher. Founding member Nate Albert also left in order to obtain a degree in political theory
from Brown University
. His next musical venture would be as a member of Evan Dando
’s re-formed Lemonheads
before forming The Kickovers
, which focused more on a 1970's punk sound than ska. Albert eventually became involved in band management, handling bands such as Bayside
and Lost City Angels
. Albert's replacement on guitar was Lawrence Katz.
In 2000, the band released Pay Attention
which failed to meet expectations set by the previous album. "So Sad to Say", was released as a single, but it never reached a position higher than #22 on the Billboard charts. Ultimately, the album did not sell as well as their previous release. This was to be the band's last album with Mercury Records, who along with Polygram
, had become part of the Universal Music Group
who subsequently merged Island Records
and Def Jam Recordings
forming the new Island Def Jam label. The band, unhappy with the way the newly formed label had been handling them, asked for a release from their contract, to which the label agreed. "Pay Attention" was also the last album for Dennis Brockenborough who had already formed his own band, Chubby, for which he sang and played guitar. Brockenborough's replacement was former Spring Heeled Jack
member, Chris Rhodes. Spring Heeled Jack had dissolved in 2000, and Rhodes had recently taken a vacant trombone position with Bim Skala Bim
when he received the invitation to join.
. In July 2002, the band released A Jackknife to a Swan
and from it the song "You Gotta Go!" was released as a single and video. The band continued to tour but in December 2003, they announced their decision to go on a hiatus and were forced to forgo that year's Hometown Throwdown. One contributing factor was that several band members were reported to already be busy with other bands and side projects. Another factor was that the band had been touring, almost non-stop, since 1991, and some of the band members desired a break.
On September 12, 2004, the band performed along with other punk rock groups in a tribute concert for Johnny Ramone
, in which the proceeds were given to support cancer research. Barrett remarked, "When the Ramones say hop, this cretin starts hopping." The concert was later made into the 2006 documentary film Too Tough to Die: A Tribute to Johnny Ramone.
's Jimmy Kimmel Live
late night talk show. In 2005, he became the host of the Mighty Morning Show on Los Angeles radio's Indie 103.1 FM
. In March 2006, he was dismissed from the radio station.
Before the hiatus announcement, Gittleman had formed a second band named Avoid One Thing
. The band released two albums on SideOneDummy before announcing their own hiatus.
Sirois recorded and toured with Nate Albert's next band, Kickovers, and also played drums for the Street Dogs
and Frank Black
.
Rhodes went on to play with The Toasters
until his departure in 2006. Rhodes also performed with former Spring Heeled Jack
bandmate Rick Omonte in The Mountain Movers and as a fill-in trombonist for Less Than Jake
, Reel Big Fish
, and NOFX
.
Fleysher continued his pursuit of a professional pilot's license. In 2005, after taking classes near his home in South Florida and working as a flight instructor in his spare time, he was hired as an airline pilot for CommutAir
, a Continental Airlines regional affiliate based in Plattsburgh, New York. After a short stint there he began flying as a charter pilot in Los Angeles
, California
.
Burton and his family moved to Los Angeles where he became active in the movie business. Besides working for a Hollywood agent, he wrote several scripts and developed projects for television. He also contributed saxophone for a Cypress Hill
song. In 2007, he appeared in the film Crazy, which was inspired by the life of Hank Garland
.
Katz has since formed a new band called Resistant. Katz has also played guitar on several motion picture soundtracks including Aquamarine
, The Good Night
and London, the latter recorded in collaboration with The Crystal Method
.
During an Alternative Press Acoustic Session, members of fellow Boston area ska
band Big D and the Kids Table
hinted that the Bosstones were in fact reuniting for another Hometown Throwdown. Jerry Mattes, the creator of the band's bulldog mascot, also acknowledged the chances of a reunion and announced that he was designing a new logo for the band.
On October 11, 2007, on Boston Radio Station WBCN, Dicky Barrett
confirmed what he called "the worst kept secret in Boston": the announcement that the Bosstones would indeed play a tenth official Hometown Throwdown at Cambridge's famed Middle East
club on December 26–30, 2007. Barrett would not confirm any long-term plans for the band.
Soon after Barrett's announcement, Gittleman declared that the band intended to record three new songs to be included on an upcoming collection of unreleased material and vinyl B-sides
. The album, titled Medium Rare, was released on December 18, 2007. The three new songs marked the first new material recorded since the 2002 release of A Jackknife to a Swan
.
After the 2007 Throwdown, the Bosstones played a few shows every couple of months. At two of the March shows in Las Vegas
and Los Angeles, Jimmy Kimmel
served as a guest star on bass clarinet
during "The Impression That I Get". Former saxophonist Lenear rejoined the band, replacing Fleysher, whose job prevented him from being able to play with the band. Despite the activity, the Bosstones remained non-committal on whether they would record and release a studio album. They did make it known that they would no longer tour at the frequency they were known for in the past.
On May 15, 2008, it was reported that the Bosstones would be embarking on a short United States tour in July with the Dropkick Murphys
. During the tour, the Bosstones made three stops at Boston Red Sox
minor league ballparks. On October 20, 2008, their website announced that they would return to the Middle East in Cambridge to play an eleventh Hometown Throwdown on December 26–29.
In the autumn of 2008, the game Rock Band 2
was released and featured a re-recorded version of "Where'd You Go?" that the band had recorded earlier in the year.
On 4 November 2008, a MySpace blog announced the recording of a new album, and streamed two new songs, "The Impossible Dream" and "Next to Nothing". On July 29, 2009, the band announced the completion of tracking for the album. On October 16, 2009, the album title was announced to be Pin Points and Gin Joints
and a free download of the song "Graffiti Worth Reading" was made available. The release date was later stated as December 8, 2009.
The band continued to tour through the summer of 2009 with shows in Buffalo, New York
, Providence, Rhode Island
, Asbury Park, New Jersey
, Seattle, Washington
, San Francisco, California
, Anaheim, California
, Hampton Beach, New Hampshire
, and Victoria, British Columbia
where they performed at the Victoria Ska Fest
with Voodoo Glow Skulls
, The Slackers
and Chris Murray. The band toured during the summer of 2010 with Teenage Bottlerocket
and the Flatliners
. They also hosted their annual Hometown Throwdown festival over three nights in December, 2010.
In August 2011, Chris Rhodes posted a Facebook update stating that The Mighty Mighty Bosstones had begun work on their next album. The album, titled The Magic of Youth
, is scheduled to be released on December 6, 2011.
Former members
Additional personnel
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ska punk
Ska punk
Ska punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s. Ska-core is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting...
band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. Since the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky Barrett
Dicky Barrett
Richard Michael Barrett , better known as Dicky Barrett, is the frontman of Ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and the announcer for Jimmy Kimmel Live...
, bassist Joe Gittleman
Joe Gittleman
Joe Gittleman is an American musician, best known as the bass guitar player for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones...
, tenor saxophonist Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton and dancer ("Bosstone") Ben Carr have remained constant members. The current line-up also includes drummer Joe Sirois
Joe Sirois
Joe Sirois is an American drummer who played with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones from 1991 until their hiatus in 2003. He also played drums for the Boston based band Street Dogs from 2004 to 2007 when he reunited with the Bosstones....
, saxophonist Kevin Lenear, guitarist Lawrence Katz and trombonist Chris Rhodes
Chris Rhodes
Chris Rhodes is a trombone player from New Haven, Connecticut best known for playing trombone in several notable ska bands including Spring Heeled Jack USA, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Bim Skala Bim and The Toasters as well as Connecticut funk band, Boogie Chillin'...
.
The Bosstones are often credited as one of the progenitors of the genre of ska punk
Ska punk
Ska punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s. Ska-core is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting...
and the creators of its sub-genre ska-core, a form of music which mixes elements of ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
with punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
. Since the release of their 1989 debut Devil's Night Out
Devil's Night Out
Devil's Night Out is the debut album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was first released in 1989 by Taang! Records and re-released in 1990. It is regarded as the first ska-core album...
, the band toured and recorded extensively throughout the 1990s, becoming a key figure in the development of the American third wave ska scene and one of the first bands to popularize the genre in the musical mainstream, reaching their commercial peak with their platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
-selling 1997 album Let's Face It
Let's Face It
Let's Face It is an album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on March 11, 1997 by Mercury Records. This album sold very well due to the success of its single "The Impression That I Get", which reached #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Also faring well were the album's...
and its hit single "The Impression That I Get
The Impression That I Get
"The Impression That I Get" is a song by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and the lead single from their 1997 studio album Let's Face It. It is the band's most successful and popular song. The track reached #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart. In...
". The band had released seven studio albums, three EPs and a live album by the time they announced a hiatus in December 2003.
In the fall of 2007, the Bosstones reunited to resume touring and recording. Their eighth studio album, Pin Points and Gin Joints
Pin Points and Gin Joints
Pin Points and Gin Joints is the eighth studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, which was released on December 8, 2009. It is their first album of all new material in seven years, since the release of A Jackknife to a Swan in 2002, the longest gap between albums in The Mighty Mighty Bosstones'...
, followed in December 2009.
Early history (1983–1988)
The band's roots lay in the hardcoreHardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
scene of the early 1980s along with a strong influence from the British 2 Tone
2 Tone
2 Tone is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae, and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff...
ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
scene of the 1970s. Bassist Joe Gittleman
Joe Gittleman
Joe Gittleman is an American musician, best known as the bass guitar player for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones...
played with local hardcore band Gang Green
Gang Green
Gang Green is a band originally from Braintree, Massachusetts. Chris Doherty , Bill Manley and Mike Dean started the band in 1980 and broke up in 1984...
, while vocalist Dicky Barrett
Dicky Barrett
Richard Michael Barrett , better known as Dicky Barrett, is the frontman of Ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and the announcer for Jimmy Kimmel Live...
was a member of Impact Unit and, later on, the Cheap Skates. The Cheap Skates lineup went through frequent changes and would feature members of Gang Green on occasion. It was through the Cheap Skates that a core lineup coalesced around Barrett, Gittleman, Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton (saxophone), Nate Albert
Nate Albert
Nathan Albert is an American musician best known as a guitarist for ska-core band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He left them to go to Brown University in 2000. Soon he started a new band, The Kickovers, that released one album, Osaka, and disbanded in 2003.On July 15, 2008 he was named the Vice...
(guitar), Josh Dalsimer (drums), Tim Bridewell (trumpet) and Ben Carr (a ubiquitous, dancing non-musician onstage presence, later credited as "Bosstone"). The group decided on the name, "the Bosstones" as a reference to their hometown. While some of the band members were influenced by bands such as AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, Social Distortion
Social Distortion
Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness , Jonny Wickersham , Brent Harding and David Hidalgo, Jr...
, Motörhead, The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
and Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977, at the height of the Troubles. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star , doing rock covers, until they discovered punk. They split up after six years and four albums, although they...
, Barrett had become enthralled with 2 Tone
2 Tone
2 Tone is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae, and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff...
ska, which was in the tail end of its existence.
In 1987, the Bosstones made their recorded debut when they were featured on the Mash It Up ska compilation. The Bosstones' contribution was "The Cave." Another early recording, "Drums and Chickens," appeared on the 1989 ska compilation Mashin' Up The Nation. By the time Mashin' Up The Nation was released, the Bosstones had temporarily disbanded in order for Albert and Gittleman to finish high school. After their graduation, the band reunited. Around this time, it was brought to the band's attention that an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group, The Bosstones
The Bosstones
The Bosstones were an African American musical group in the 1950s who performed in the instrumentally-sparse, a cappella-based harmonic style known as Philadelphia doo-wop....
, had already used the name during the 1950s. A bartender friend arbitrarily suggested that they become the "Mighty Mighty Bosstones", in order to avoid any possible legal hassles, to which the band agreed.
Taang! years (1989–1992)
Despite not consistently drawing large crowds at their live shows, the Taang!Taang! Records
Taang! Records is an American independent record label founded by Curtis Casella in Boston, Massachusetts which is currently based in San Diego...
record label gave the band a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
which would result in the Devil's Night Out
Devil's Night Out
Devil's Night Out is the debut album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was first released in 1989 by Taang! Records and re-released in 1990. It is regarded as the first ska-core album...
album, produced by Paul Q. Kolderie
Paul Q. Kolderie
Paul Q. Kolderie is a record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with Pixies, Radiohead, Orangutang, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Wax, Warren Zevon, Uncle Tupelo, Throwing Muses, Morphine, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Abandoned Pools, and The Go-Go's...
. The album was released to positive local and lukewarm national reaction during a time when ska was struggling to move out of the American underground. The band found resistance from ska purists who did not like that the band were not playing traditional ska while hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
fans were against the ska and heavy metal elements in the music. Despite the initial reaction, Devil's Night Out has gone on to become one of the band's most popular albums.
It was during this time that the band's trademark plaid
Plaid (pattern)
For other meanings, see plaid.A plaid is a pattern consisting of crossed horizontal and vertical bands in two or more colors in woven cloth.Common examples of plaid patterns include:*Tartan, the pattern most commonly associated with plaid....
clothing came to be. After a show where Barrett wore plaid, fans started to show up wearing it as well. It was noticeable enough that the band was approached by the Converse sneaker company to promote their new line of Chuck Taylor
Chuck Taylor All-Stars
Chuck Taylor All Stars, or Converse All Stars, also referred to as "Chuck Taylors", "Converses", "All Stars", "Chucks" or "Cons", are canvas and rubber shoes produced by Converse. They were first produced in 1917 as the "All Star," Converse's attempt to capture the basketball shoe market...
sneakers. The band accepted the proposal and were seen in several television commercials promoting the sneakers.
By this time, Tim Bridewell had left the band, to be replaced by Dennis Brockenborough
Dennis Brockenborough
Dennis Brockenborough is an African-American musician from Delaware. He played trombone in the Mighty Mighty Bosstones for ten years and was an important contributor to that's band's brass instrument-driven skacore sound....
(trombone) and Kevin Lenear (saxophone). The band's next release was an EP entitled Where'd You Go?. The EP featured the title track as well as cover versions of Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
's "Sweet Emotion
Sweet Emotion
"Sweet Emotion" is a song by American rock band Aerosmith, released by Columbia Records in April 1975 on the album Toys in the Attic and was released as a single a month later on May 19th . The song began a string of pop hits and large-scale mainstream success for the band that would continue for...
", Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's "Enter Sandman
Enter Sandman
"Enter Sandman" is a 1991 song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the first single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich...
", Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
's "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
"Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" is a song by Van Halen, from their 1978 eponymous debut album.When Eddie Van Halen originally wrote the song a year before the album was released, he did not consider it good enough to show his bandmates....
" and a new version of "Do Somethin' Crazy", originally featured on Devil's Night Out
Devil's Night Out
Devil's Night Out is the debut album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was first released in 1989 by Taang! Records and re-released in 1990. It is regarded as the first ska-core album...
.
In 1991, the band set out on their first full American tour. It was during the first leg of touring that drummer Josh Dalsimer would leave the band to pursue a college education. He would be replaced by Joe Sirois
Joe Sirois
Joe Sirois is an American drummer who played with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones from 1991 until their hiatus in 2003. He also played drums for the Boston based band Street Dogs from 2004 to 2007 when he reunited with the Bosstones....
, who Barrett met at Bunker Hill Community College
Bunker Hill Community College
Bunker Hill Community College is a two-year community college located in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts. It is an urban campus with over 10,000 students. Six in ten students are people of color and more than half of all students are women. There are 650 international students attending BHCC;...
. Sirois would immediately join his new bandmates in the recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
to start work on the band's second album.
Once again produced by Paul Q. Kolderie
Paul Q. Kolderie
Paul Q. Kolderie is a record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with Pixies, Radiohead, Orangutang, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Wax, Warren Zevon, Uncle Tupelo, Throwing Muses, Morphine, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Abandoned Pools, and The Go-Go's...
, More Noise and Other Disturbances
More Noise and Other Disturbances
More Noise and Other Disturbances is an album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1992 by Taang! Records.-Track listing:#"Awfully Quiet" – 3:08#"Where'd You Go" – 3:26#"Dr...
was released in June 1992. The band would film a video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song "Where'd You Go?" which had previously been available on the EP of the same name (though the band had also recorded a video for "Guns and the Young", the video was not finished until a few years after it was recorded.
During this era, the band published a newsletter for their fans titled 737.
Mainstream success and Big Rig Records (1993–2001)
The band signed to their first major label when they joined the Mercury RecordsMercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
roster and soon recorded the Ska-Core, the Devil, and More
Ska-Core, the Devil, and More
Ska-Core, the Devil, and More is an EP by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was first released in 1993 by Mercury Records. This EP includes one ska and three hardcore covers.-Track listing:#"Someday I Suppose" – 3:26#"Think Again" – 1:56...
EP. Released in March 1993, it was largely a collection of cover songs. Four of the seven tracks paid homage to the band's influences: The Angry Samoans' "Lights Out", Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
's "Think Again", SSD
SSD (band)
SSD were a straight edge hardcore band from Boston. They released two records as SS Decontrol and then formally changed their name to SSD. As SSD they released two more records, these with a very heavy metal influenced sound...
's "Police Beat" and The Wailers' "Simmer Down
Simmer Down
"Simmer Down" was the first single released by The Wailers, accompanied by the ska supergroup, The Skatalites, and produced by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd in 1963...
". Three live tracks were included as well. The EP contained one new studio track "Someday I Suppose," which would later appear on the band's third full-length album.
Produced by Tony Platt, the band's third LP, Don't Know How to Party
Don't Know How to Party
Don't Know How to Party is the third full-length album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, which was released in 1993. It is their most heavy metal-influenced album. Don't Know How to Party was The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' major label debut on Mercury Records, their first venture away from their...
contained a cover of Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977, at the height of the Troubles. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star , doing rock covers, until they discovered punk. They split up after six years and four albums, although they...
' song "Tin Soldiers" as well as a vocal appearance by Daryl Jennifer of Bad Brains
Bad Brains
Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...
. A video was also filmed for "Someday I Suppose" and it received minor airplay on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. Though the footage was originally intended to serve as a promo for the Bosstones debut on Mercury, the label liked the footage and turned it into a single. The band would also appear on the 1994 Kiss My Ass tribute to Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
album, covering "Detroit Rock City
Detroit Rock City
"Detroit Rock City" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss featured on their 1976 album, Destroyer. The song was written by Paul Stanley and Bob Ezrin and is about a real Kiss fan who was killed in a car accident on his way to a Kiss concert...
". Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
released it as a single, appearing on 7-inch green vinyl and backed by the original Kiss version of the song. Soon after, the band found themselves invited by fellow Bostonian Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin'", due to his high screams...
, to open up for Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
at their New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
concert in Boston. While it was not the most successful show the Bosstones had played, it ensured that the Bosstones started 1994 on the road as they had intended.
Big Rig Records started when the band wanted to release their records on vinyl. While Mercury showed no interest at first, they eventually allowed the band to start their own vanity label
Vanity label
A vanity label is an informal name given sometimes to a record label founded as a wholly or partially owned subsidiary of another, larger and better established record label, where the subsidiary label is controlled by a successful recording artist, designed to allow this artist...
. Mercury continued to handle the conventional CD and cassette versions of the albums while Big Rig would focus on the vinyl editions. The new label immediately issued re-releases of Don't Know How To Party and Ska-Core, The Devil, and More on colored vinyl. Later releases would also include re-releases by Barrett's former hardcore band, Impact Unit.
The band released their fourth album, Question the Answers
Question the Answers
Question the Answers is the fourth album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, released on October 4, 1994 .-Track listing:# "Kinder Words" – 3:06# "A Sad Silence" – 3:57# "Hell of a Hat" – 3:54# "Pictures to Prove It" – 3:16...
, in October 1994. The album featured production work by the Butcher Brothers, Paul Q. Kolderie
Paul Q. Kolderie
Paul Q. Kolderie is a record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with Pixies, Radiohead, Orangutang, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Wax, Warren Zevon, Uncle Tupelo, Throwing Muses, Morphine, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Abandoned Pools, and The Go-Go's...
and Ross Humphrey. The Big Rig vinyl version of the album contained "Pirate Ship" as an extra track. Besides touring, the band found itself making their network television debut on The Jon Stewart Show
The Jon Stewart Show
The Jon Stewart Show was a short-lived talk show hosted by comedian Jon Stewart on MTV. It premiered in 1993 and became the second highest-rated program on the network behind Beavis and Butt-Head....
and hosting MTV's 120 Minutes
120 Minutes
120 Minutes is a television show in the United States dedicated to alternative music, originally airing on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then on MTV's sister channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003....
. They also contributed a new version of "Where'd You Go?" to the Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone is an American actress, author, and former fashion model. She first came to widespread attention in music videos for Aerosmith, and is perhaps best known for her roles in Hollywood films such as Clueless and her portrayal of Batgirl in Batman & Robin .-Early life:Silverstone...
movie Clueless. The band also made an appearance in the film, performing the songs "Where'd You Go?" and "Someday I Suppose" during a college fraternity party scene. On top of their TV and film appearances, the band was added to the main stage of the 1995 Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
tour. Mercury set about repromoting Question the Answers by adding a second disc with five B-side tracks. The EP was titled Here We Go Again and it was compiled by Barrett at the request of Mercury.
After touring as part of the 1997 Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...
, the Bosstones began work on their next studio album. Released later that year, Let's Face It
Let's Face It
Let's Face It is an album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on March 11, 1997 by Mercury Records. This album sold very well due to the success of its single "The Impression That I Get", which reached #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Also faring well were the album's...
, would prove to be the band's biggest seller, mostly due to its first single "The Impression That I Get
The Impression That I Get
"The Impression That I Get" is a song by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and the lead single from their 1997 studio album Let's Face It. It is the band's most successful and popular song. The track reached #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart. In...
", which reached number one on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album was followed by Video Stew, a VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
compilation of the band's twelve music videos. The mainstream exposure led to the band's appearance on Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
's Elmopalooza
Elmopalooza
Elmopalooza is a Sesame Street special that aired on ABC on February 20, 1998.-About the show:The show is a musical, featuring performances from guests Jon Stewart, David Alan Grier, Rosie O' Donnell, Gloria Estefan, En Vogue, The Fugees, Kenny Loggins, Shawn Colvin, Jimmy Buffett, and The Mighty...
television special and Grammy Award winning soundtrack album
Elmopalooza! (soundtrack)
Elmopalooza! is a 1998 children's album featuring songs performed by characters from Sesame Street with special musical guests. First released on CD and cassette in 1998, this album is the soundtrack to the Elmopalooza television special which commemorated Sesame Street's 30th anniversary...
. In it, the band performs the song "The Zig Zag Dance" with the Muppet The Count
Count von Count
Count von Count, often known simply as "The Count", is one of the Muppet characters on Sesame Street, performed by Jerry Nelson. The Count is a vampire modeled after Bela Lugosi's interpretation of Count Dracula.-Description:...
. The band also made their Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
debut, performing "The Impression That I Get".
Capitalizing on the band's popularity, Mercury released the band's live album, Live From the Middle East
Live from the Middle East
Live from the Middle East is an album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on October 20, 1998 by Mercury Records. This album was recorded live in Cambridge, Massachusetts at The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub...
in October 1998. The album was recorded live in Cambridge, Massachusetts at The Middle East
The Middle East (nightclub)
The Middle East is a live music venue, bar and restaurant in the Central Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Having featured a huge variety of musicians since 1987, the establishment, with its upstairs and downstairs rooms, "is the nexus of metro Boston's rock-club scene for local and touring...
Restaurant and Nightclub during the band's annual end-of-the-year Hometown Throwdown from 1997. In 1999, the band contributed their cover version of the song, "Rudie Can't Fail," to the Burning London Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
tribute compilation. Shortly after all of these releases, Kevin Lenear quit the band to work on his own material and was replaced by Roman Fleysher. Founding member Nate Albert also left in order to obtain a degree in political theory
Political philosophy
Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...
from Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
. His next musical venture would be as a member of Evan Dando
Evan Dando
Evan Griffith Dando is an American musician, most famous for fronting the alternative rock band The Lemonheads. He is the only original member left in the current Lemonheads line-up, having served as lead singer since the band's original formation in 1986...
’s re-formed Lemonheads
The Lemonheads
The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band first formed in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member....
before forming The Kickovers
The Kickovers
The Kickovers were a pop punk band formed by Nate Albert, former guitarist of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.After Nate left the Bosstones to go to Brown University, he started writing songs, which were not like his previous band. In 2001, he got a band together with Bosstones drummer Joe Sirois,...
, which focused more on a 1970's punk sound than ska. Albert eventually became involved in band management, handling bands such as Bayside
Bayside (band)
Bayside is an American punk rock band from Queens which formed in the winter of 2000. The band has released five full length albums since signing to Victory Records...
and Lost City Angels
Lost City Angels
Lost City Angels were a punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Their most well known lineup consisted of members, Ron Ragona, Adam Shaw, Chris Duggan, Drew Indingaro, Scott Vierra and Nick Bacon.- History :...
. Albert's replacement on guitar was Lawrence Katz.
In 2000, the band released Pay Attention
Pay Attention
Pay Attention is an album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on May 2, 2000 by Island Records.It reached #74 on the Billboard 200.-Track listing:#"Let Me Be" – 3:52#"The Skeleton Song" – 3:01#"All Things Considered" – 4:01...
which failed to meet expectations set by the previous album. "So Sad to Say", was released as a single, but it never reached a position higher than #22 on the Billboard charts. Ultimately, the album did not sell as well as their previous release. This was to be the band's last album with Mercury Records, who along with Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
, had become part of the Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
who subsequently merged Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
and Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group...
forming the new Island Def Jam label. The band, unhappy with the way the newly formed label had been handling them, asked for a release from their contract, to which the label agreed. "Pay Attention" was also the last album for Dennis Brockenborough who had already formed his own band, Chubby, for which he sang and played guitar. Brockenborough's replacement was former Spring Heeled Jack
Spring Heeled Jack U.S.A.
Spring Heeled Jack U.S.A. was a third wave ska band based out of New Haven, Connecticut. The band was formed by guitarist/vocalist Ron Ragona and drummer Dave Karcich in 1991. After a short breakup, Ragona and Karcich reformed the band with a new lineup. This lineup went on to record two albums...
member, Chris Rhodes. Spring Heeled Jack had dissolved in 2000, and Rhodes had recently taken a vacant trombone position with Bim Skala Bim
Bim Skala Bim
Bim Skala Bim, formed in Boston, Massachusetts, was a third wave ska band that started in 1983 and remained active until 2002. They were influenced by the bands in England's 2 Tone movement, as well as bands such as the Clash, UB40 and Bob Marley...
when he received the invitation to join.
Return to the independents (2002–2003)
The band soon announced their return to an independent label when they signed with SideOneDummy RecordsSideOneDummy Records
SideOneDummy Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label whose roster focuses mostly on punk and related genres. Founded in 1995 by Joe Sib and Bill Armstrong, who continue to run it today, the label has built a reputation for its diverse roster of artists ranging from third wave ska...
. In July 2002, the band released A Jackknife to a Swan
A Jackknife to a Swan
A Jackknife to a Swan is an album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on July 9, 2002 by SideOneDummy Records. This album marked the return of the Bosstones to an indie label, and was the last album released by the group before their four-year hiatus between 2003 and 2007...
and from it the song "You Gotta Go!" was released as a single and video. The band continued to tour but in December 2003, they announced their decision to go on a hiatus and were forced to forgo that year's Hometown Throwdown. One contributing factor was that several band members were reported to already be busy with other bands and side projects. Another factor was that the band had been touring, almost non-stop, since 1991, and some of the band members desired a break.
On September 12, 2004, the band performed along with other punk rock groups in a tribute concert for Johnny Ramone
Johnny Ramone
John William Cummings , better known by his stage name Johnny Ramone, was an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being the guitarist for the punk rock band the Ramones. He was a founding member of the band, and remained a member throughout the band's entire career...
, in which the proceeds were given to support cancer research. Barrett remarked, "When the Ramones say hop, this cretin starts hopping." The concert was later made into the 2006 documentary film Too Tough to Die: A Tribute to Johnny Ramone.
Hiatus (2004–2006)
After the hiatus announcement, several members went on to work on other projects and bands. Barrett became the announcer on ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.The nightly hour-long show made its debut on January 26, 2003, following Super Bowl XXXVII. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is produced by Jackhole Productions in association with ABC Studios...
late night talk show. In 2005, he became the host of the Mighty Morning Show on Los Angeles radio's Indie 103.1 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
. In March 2006, he was dismissed from the radio station.
Before the hiatus announcement, Gittleman had formed a second band named Avoid One Thing
Avoid One Thing
Avoid One Thing was started as a side project by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' bassist Joe Gittleman. The Boston-based group's first album, titled Avoid One Thing, was released in 2002 on Side One Dummy Records. The album was written and recorded almost solely by Gittleman. Gittleman assembled a...
. The band released two albums on SideOneDummy before announcing their own hiatus.
Sirois recorded and toured with Nate Albert's next band, Kickovers, and also played drums for the Street Dogs
Street Dogs
Street Dogs are a punk rock band originally from Boston, Massachusetts. The band's current line-up includes Mike McColgan, former lead singer of Dropkick Murphys, Johnny Rioux, Marcus Hollar, Tobe Bean III and Paul Rucker.-History:...
and Frank Black
Frank Black
Black Francis is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black...
.
Rhodes went on to play with The Toasters
The Toasters
The Toasters was one of the first American bands in the third wave of ska, and is one of the longest active third wave ska bands.They have released nine studio albums, most of them on Moon Ska Records. The Toasters experienced a small degree of commercial success in the late 1990s due to the...
until his departure in 2006. Rhodes also performed with former Spring Heeled Jack
Spring Heeled Jack U.S.A.
Spring Heeled Jack U.S.A. was a third wave ska band based out of New Haven, Connecticut. The band was formed by guitarist/vocalist Ron Ragona and drummer Dave Karcich in 1991. After a short breakup, Ragona and Karcich reformed the band with a new lineup. This lineup went on to record two albums...
bandmate Rick Omonte in The Mountain Movers and as a fill-in trombonist for Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida. Originally formed in 1992 as a power pop trio, the band evolved into a hybrid of ska punk. Less Than Jake have also been cited as showing influences from a wide variety of genres including post-grunge, heavy metal, alternative...
, Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California, best known for the 1997 hit "Sell Out". The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold certified album Turn the Radio Off. Soon after, the band...
, and NOFX
NOFX
NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
.
Fleysher continued his pursuit of a professional pilot's license. In 2005, after taking classes near his home in South Florida and working as a flight instructor in his spare time, he was hired as an airline pilot for CommutAir
CommutAir
Champlain Enterprises, Inc., operating name CommutAir, is an American regional airline with its headquarters in South Burlington, Vermont and its operations center in North Olmsted, Ohio. It operates under the name Continental Connection for United Continental Holdings, with its main bases at...
, a Continental Airlines regional affiliate based in Plattsburgh, New York. After a short stint there he began flying as a charter pilot in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, 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...
.
Burton and his family moved to Los Angeles where he became active in the movie business. Besides working for a Hollywood agent, he wrote several scripts and developed projects for television. He also contributed saxophone for a Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...
song. In 2007, he appeared in the film Crazy, which was inspired by the life of Hank Garland
Hank Garland
Walter Louis Garland , better known as Hank Garland, was a Nashville studio musician who performed with Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison and many others.-Biography:...
.
Katz has since formed a new band called Resistant. Katz has also played guitar on several motion picture soundtracks including Aquamarine
Aquamarine (film)
Aquamarine is a 2006 Australian-American teen fantasy comedy film starring Sara Paxton, Emma Roberts, and Joanna "JoJo" Levesque . The film, which was made in both the United States and Australia, was released in North America on March 3, 2006...
, The Good Night
The Good Night
The Good Night is a 2007 romantic comedy film written and directed by Jake Paltrow. The film stars his sister Gwyneth Paltrow, Penélope Cruz, Martin Freeman, Danny DeVito, Simon Pegg and others...
and London, the latter recorded in collaboration with The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo that was created in Los Angeles, California by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. The Crystal Method's music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video games, and advertisements. The most prominent is the US television...
.
Reunion and the future (2007–present)
Because the band left the possibility of playing together again open, rumors and speculation frequently circulated that a reunion was inevitable. The hiatus of Joe Gittleman's band, Avoid One Thing, fueled further speculation of such a reunion.During an Alternative Press Acoustic Session, members of fellow Boston area ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
band Big D and the Kids Table
Big D and the Kids Table
Big D and the Kids Table is a ska punk band formed in October 1995 in Allston, 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...
hinted that the Bosstones were in fact reuniting for another Hometown Throwdown. Jerry Mattes, the creator of the band's bulldog mascot, also acknowledged the chances of a reunion and announced that he was designing a new logo for the band.
On October 11, 2007, on Boston Radio Station WBCN, Dicky Barrett
Dicky Barrett
Richard Michael Barrett , better known as Dicky Barrett, is the frontman of Ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and the announcer for Jimmy Kimmel Live...
confirmed what he called "the worst kept secret in Boston": the announcement that the Bosstones would indeed play a tenth official Hometown Throwdown at Cambridge's famed Middle East
The Middle East (nightclub)
The Middle East is a live music venue, bar and restaurant in the Central Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Having featured a huge variety of musicians since 1987, the establishment, with its upstairs and downstairs rooms, "is the nexus of metro Boston's rock-club scene for local and touring...
club on December 26–30, 2007. Barrett would not confirm any long-term plans for the band.
Soon after Barrett's announcement, Gittleman declared that the band intended to record three new songs to be included on an upcoming collection of unreleased material and vinyl B-sides
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
. The album, titled Medium Rare, was released on December 18, 2007. The three new songs marked the first new material recorded since the 2002 release of A Jackknife to a Swan
A Jackknife to a Swan
A Jackknife to a Swan is an album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on July 9, 2002 by SideOneDummy Records. This album marked the return of the Bosstones to an indie label, and was the last album released by the group before their four-year hiatus between 2003 and 2007...
.
After the 2007 Throwdown, the Bosstones played a few shows every couple of months. At two of the March shows in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
and Los Angeles, Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel
James Christian "Jimmy" Kimmel is an American television host and comedian. He is the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a late-night talk show that airs on ABC. Prior to that, Kimmel was best known as the co-host of Comedy Central's The Man Show and Win Ben Stein's Money...
served as a guest star on bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
during "The Impression That I Get". Former saxophonist Lenear rejoined the band, replacing Fleysher, whose job prevented him from being able to play with the band. Despite the activity, the Bosstones remained non-committal on whether they would record and release a studio album. They did make it known that they would no longer tour at the frequency they were known for in the past.
On May 15, 2008, it was reported that the Bosstones would be embarking on a short United States tour in July with the Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys are an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and making a name for themselves locally through constant playing and yearly St....
. During the tour, the Bosstones made three stops at Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
minor league ballparks. On October 20, 2008, their website announced that they would return to the Middle East in Cambridge to play an eleventh Hometown Throwdown on December 26–29.
In the autumn of 2008, the game Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
was released and featured a re-recorded version of "Where'd You Go?" that the band had recorded earlier in the year.
On 4 November 2008, a MySpace blog announced the recording of a new album, and streamed two new songs, "The Impossible Dream" and "Next to Nothing". On July 29, 2009, the band announced the completion of tracking for the album. On October 16, 2009, the album title was announced to be Pin Points and Gin Joints
Pin Points and Gin Joints
Pin Points and Gin Joints is the eighth studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, which was released on December 8, 2009. It is their first album of all new material in seven years, since the release of A Jackknife to a Swan in 2002, the longest gap between albums in The Mighty Mighty Bosstones'...
and a free download of the song "Graffiti Worth Reading" was made available. The release date was later stated as December 8, 2009.
The band continued to tour through the summer of 2009 with shows in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, located on the Jersey Shore and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 16,116. The city is known for its rich musical history, including its association with...
, Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
, Hampton Beach, New Hampshire
Hampton Beach, New Hampshire
Hampton Beach is a village district, census-designated place, and beach resort within the town of Hampton, in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located on the Atlantic Ocean. Its population at the 2010 census was 2,275. Hampton Beach is located in Rockingham County, approximately south of Portsmouth...
, and Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
where they performed at the Victoria Ska Fest
Victoria Ska Fest
The Victoria Ska Fest is a music festival that takes place every summer in Victoria British Columbia, Canada. The festival is organized and executed by the Victoria BC Ska Society and an army of volunteers...
with Voodoo Glow Skulls
Voodoo Glow Skulls
Voodoo Glow Skulls are an American ska punk band formed in 1988 in Riverside, California by brothers Frank, Eddie and Jorge Casillas and their longtime friend Jerry O'Neill...
, The Slackers
The Slackers
The Slackers are a New York City band, formed in Brooklyn in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz...
and Chris Murray. The band toured during the summer of 2010 with Teenage Bottlerocket
Teenage Bottlerocket
Teenage Bottlerocket is a punk rock band formed in Laramie, Wyoming in 2001.The band was formed by twin brothers Ray and Brandon Carlisle, following the dissolution of their previous band, Homeless Wonders, in 2000...
and the Flatliners
The Flatliners
The Flatliners are a punk rock/ska punk band from Richmond Hill and Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Since their formation in 2002, The Flatliners have been a growing influence in the Toronto punk/ska scene as well as other areas of the Greater Toronto Area. They are currently signed to Fat Wreck Chords...
. They also hosted their annual Hometown Throwdown festival over three nights in December, 2010.
In August 2011, Chris Rhodes posted a Facebook update stating that The Mighty Mighty Bosstones had begun work on their next album. The album, titled The Magic of Youth
The Magic of Youth
The Magic of Youth is the ninth studio album from Boston ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, due to be released on December 6, 2011 on Big Rig Records.-Track listing:# "The Daylights" - 2:21# "Like a Shotgun" - 3:15# "Disappearing" - 3:26...
, is scheduled to be released on December 6, 2011.
Band members
Current lineup- Dicky BarrettDicky BarrettRichard Michael Barrett , better known as Dicky Barrett, is the frontman of Ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and the announcer for Jimmy Kimmel Live...
– lead vocals - Joe Gittleman "the Bass Fiddleman"Joe GittlemanJoe Gittleman is an American musician, best known as the bass guitar player for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton – tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- Ben Carr – backing vocals, manager, dancer and "Bosstone"
- Joe SiroisJoe SiroisJoe Sirois is an American drummer who played with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones from 1991 until their hiatus in 2003. He also played drums for the Boston based band Street Dogs from 2004 to 2007 when he reunited with the Bosstones....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and percussion - Kevin Lenear – alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
and baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece... - Lawrence Katz – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Chris RhodesChris RhodesChris Rhodes is a trombone player from New Haven, Connecticut best known for playing trombone in several notable ska bands including Spring Heeled Jack USA, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Bim Skala Bim and The Toasters as well as Connecticut funk band, Boogie Chillin'...
– tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
Former members
- Nate AlbertNate AlbertNathan Albert is an American musician best known as a guitarist for ska-core band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He left them to go to Brown University in 2000. Soon he started a new band, The Kickovers, that released one album, Osaka, and disbanded in 2003.On July 15, 2008 he was named the Vice...
– guitar - Tim Bridewell – trombone
- Josh Dalsimer – drums
- Roman Fleysher – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- Dennis BrockenboroughDennis BrockenboroughDennis Brockenborough is an African-American musician from Delaware. He played trombone in the Mighty Mighty Bosstones for ten years and was an important contributor to that's band's brass instrument-driven skacore sound....
– trombone
Additional personnel
- Davey HolmesDavey HolmesDavey Holmes is an American screenwriter, producer and playwright.-Writing:Holmes has written for television shows including In Treatment for which he won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay - New Series, Damages for which he received a nomination for Writers Guild of America...
– keyboards - Brian Dwyer – trumpet
- Kevin P. Stevenson – guitar
- Dave Aaronoff – keyboards
- Sledge Burton – trumpet
- Jon Nash – guitar
- John "JG" GoetchiusJohn GoetchiusJohn "JG" Goetchius is an American keyboardist, best known for his work with Boston ska-core band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.-Career:Born and raised in Massachusetts, Goetchius played keys for a number of Boston bands throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including The Dogmatics, Matweeds and Atomic...
– keyboards
Discography
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones have released the following studio albums:- Devil's Night OutDevil's Night OutDevil's Night Out is the debut album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was first released in 1989 by Taang! Records and re-released in 1990. It is regarded as the first ska-core album...
(1989) - More Noise and Other DisturbancesMore Noise and Other DisturbancesMore Noise and Other Disturbances is an album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1992 by Taang! Records.-Track listing:#"Awfully Quiet" – 3:08#"Where'd You Go" – 3:26#"Dr...
(1991) - Don't Know How to PartyDon't Know How to PartyDon't Know How to Party is the third full-length album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, which was released in 1993. It is their most heavy metal-influenced album. Don't Know How to Party was The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' major label debut on Mercury Records, their first venture away from their...
(1993) - Question the AnswersQuestion the AnswersQuestion the Answers is the fourth album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, released on October 4, 1994 .-Track listing:# "Kinder Words" – 3:06# "A Sad Silence" – 3:57# "Hell of a Hat" – 3:54# "Pictures to Prove It" – 3:16...
(1994) - Let's Face ItLet's Face ItLet's Face It is an album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on March 11, 1997 by Mercury Records. This album sold very well due to the success of its single "The Impression That I Get", which reached #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Also faring well were the album's...
(1997) - Pay AttentionPay AttentionPay Attention is an album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on May 2, 2000 by Island Records.It reached #74 on the Billboard 200.-Track listing:#"Let Me Be" – 3:52#"The Skeleton Song" – 3:01#"All Things Considered" – 4:01...
(2000) - A Jackknife to a SwanA Jackknife to a SwanA Jackknife to a Swan is an album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on July 9, 2002 by SideOneDummy Records. This album marked the return of the Bosstones to an indie label, and was the last album released by the group before their four-year hiatus between 2003 and 2007...
(2002) - Pin Points and Gin JointsPin Points and Gin JointsPin Points and Gin Joints is the eighth studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, which was released on December 8, 2009. It is their first album of all new material in seven years, since the release of A Jackknife to a Swan in 2002, the longest gap between albums in The Mighty Mighty Bosstones'...
(2009) - The Magic of YouthThe Magic of YouthThe Magic of Youth is the ninth studio album from Boston ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, due to be released on December 6, 2011 on Big Rig Records.-Track listing:# "The Daylights" - 2:21# "Like a Shotgun" - 3:15# "Disappearing" - 3:26...
(2011)
External links
- Official website
- December 2007 interview with Joe Gittleman
- 2003 article on the hiatus and future plans of the band members
- 2002 article on the band
- 2001 article and interview with Nate Albert on leaving The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
- William Krick's Bosstones discography
- Interview with Dicky Barrett on PMAKid.com