The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (informally referred to as The Bosstones and often stylized as The Mighty Mighty BossToneS) were an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983.[1][2][3] From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky Barrett, bassist Joe Gittleman, tenor saxophonist Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton and dancer ("Bosstone") Ben Carr remained constant members. The band's final line-up also included drummer Joe Sirois, saxophonist Leon Silva, guitarist Lawrence Katz, keyboardist John Goetchius, and trombonist Chris Rhodes.
This article is about the ska punk band. For the doo-wop group, see The Bosstones.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
- The Bosstones
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
- 1983–2004
- 2007–2022
Dicky Barrett
Tim Burton
Ben Carr
Joe Gittleman
John Goetchius
Lawrence Katz
Chris Rhodes
Leon Silva
Joe Sirois
Nate Albert
Tim Bridwell
Dennis Brockenborough
Josh Dalsimer
Roman Fleysher
Kevin Lenear
The Bosstones are often credited as one of the progenitors of the genre of ska punk[4] and the creators of its subgenre ska-core, which mixes elements of ska with hardcore punk. Starting with the release of their 1989 debut Devil's Night Out, the band toured and recorded extensively throughout the 1990s, becoming influential in the development of the American third-wave ska scene and was one of the first bands to popularize the genre in the musical mainstream. They reached their commercial peak with their platinum-selling 1997 album Let's Face It and its hit single "The Impression That I Get". The band was also notable for being featured in the 1995 film Clueless as the frat party house band. The band had released seven studio albums, three EPs and a live album by the time they announced a hiatus in December 2003.[5] In 2007, the Bosstones reunited to resume recording and touring, and released four more studio albums between 2009 and 2021. From 1994 to 2002, and again from 2007 to 2019, they hosted the annual Hometown Throwdown music festival, held annually around Christmas time in Cambridge and later Boston.
On January 27, 2022, the band announced their disbandment.[6][7]
History[edit]
Early history (1983–1988)[edit]
The band's roots lie in the hardcore punk scene of the early 1980s, along with a strong influence from the British 2 Tone ska scene of the 1970s.[8] Bassist Joe Gittleman played with local hardcore band Gang Green, while vocalist Dicky Barrett was a member of Impact Unit and, later on, Cheapskates. The Cheapskates lineup went through frequent changes and would feature members of Gang Green on occasion. It was through Cheapskates that a core lineup coalesced around Barrett, Gittleman, Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton (saxophone), Nate Albert (guitar), Josh Dalsimer (drums), Tim Bridwell (trumpet) and Ben Carr (a ubiquitous, dancing non-musician onstage presence, later credited as "Bosstone").[8] The group decided on the name, "the Bosstones" as a reference to the city near their hometowns. 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 prominence.
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", and "Ugly". 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.
Taang! years (1989–1992)[edit]
Despite not consistently drawing large crowds at their live shows, the Taang! record label gave the band a recording contract which would result in the Devil's Night Out album, produced by Paul Q. Kolderie.[8] 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.
Big Rig Records[edit]
Big Rig Records started as a vanity label in 1993 due to the band's desire to release their records on vinyl. While the band wanted to release their albums on vinyl, the label had ceased pressing albums in that format. A partnership between Mercury and the band resulted in the label continuing to handle the conventional CD and cassette versions of the albums while allowing the band's Big Rig label to 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.
Besides the band's own albums, additional releases include the first CD release of Dicky Barrett's previous band Impact Unit, as well as Vow Of Poverty by the Boston punk band Mung, and Half Hour Of Power by Sum 41. Additionally, the label also released a benefit compilation featuring various artists titled Safe And Sound: A Benefit In Response To The Brookline Clinic Violence, as well as, You Decide: Warped Tour 2000 Sampler, a sampler of bands featured on the 2000 Vans Warped Tour. The first new release under this partnership was Question the Answers and it continued through Pay Attention, the band's final album with the Island Def Jam Music Group, the label formed after the merger of Mercury Records, Island Records, and Def Jam Recordings. After leaving Mercury, the vinyl release of A Jackknife to a Swan was handled directly by SideOneDummy, the band's label at the time. Since the band's return from hiatus, Big Rig has been run exclusively by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones as their own independent record label, handling all of their new releases up until 2021's When God Was Great, which was released on Hellcat Records.
Musical style[edit]
The band has been typically aligned with ska punk.[23][24][25][26][27] The L.A. Times, described their sound as "blending the brassy after-beat groove of ska with the uncompromising intensity of hard-core punk".[28] The Tampa Bay Times described it similarly as an "eclectic swirl of good-time music fuses the perky pick-it-up sound of pre-reggae ska with monstrous hard-core guitars."[29] AllMusic credited them as being "one of the first bands to cross high-energy ska with hardcore punk and hard rock guitars", and "[laying] a great deal of the groundwork for the mid- to late-'90s ska explosion, helping shift its tone toward party music."[30] The Boston Herald said that they "were one of the first bands to cross high-energy ska with hardcore punk and heavy metal.".[31]
