Plus, a rundown of even more compilations put together to support Bernie’s campaign.
This past Sunday we were invited into the WEMF’s D.I.WHY radio show. Listen to a recording of that show here.
On May 25, 2014, Boston ska/punk band A Guy Named Guy played their last show. We talked with them about how they got their start, some highlights from their four-year run, and what’s next for the band members.
Featuring members of FORT! The Band and The Takeaways, Meracula is made up of veterans of the Boston basement culture.
Upon first listening, this band clearly put in the effort to make their energetic and interesting live show translate on record
Get to know new Boston ska/punk band Meracula featuring members of FORT! The Band
WATCH: In front of a packed crowd at The Middle East Upstairs, a sold-out show featuring Ramshackle Glory, The Taxpayers, Poor Jeremy, The Takeaways, Fort! said goodbye.
In a blow to those of us who like to party in basements with their friends, the Allston based FORT! The Band announced their last show via their Facebook Page on Sunday:
It was 6 years ago when a few art students and childhood friends found themselves in a basement on Mansfield Street, in Allston, Massachusetts. Through mutual appreciations for certain forms of art and entertainment they recognized a mutual interest in starting a band. They named themselves after a joke. With a bit of practice and thought, they soon enough were debuting their efforts in that very basement. Two other bands, Detonate, from Texas, and Marx Revolution, also played this show. If their self written biography is to be trusted, over the six following years, and through various incarnations, FORT! the Band brought their “rash, eclectic electricity to stages across the northeastern United States.” They made ten albums and went on three or four real rock and roll tours.
Earlier this month, Boston’s own A Guy Named Guy set out on a three-week tour across the Northeast and Midwest USA. I can’t think of any other Boston ska bands that have done any serious touring recently (save for Big D heading out on Warped Tour this summer), so let’s give these guys some respect; touring isn’t easy in the slighted, especially for 7 or 8-piece ska/punk bands. Their first show kicked off in Allston so it’s only suitable that they circle back and close out the tour in Cambridge. Touring can be strenuous, so it’s nice to start and end with fans and friends.
It seems excessively late for a December 2012 recap from where we currently stand, forward facing the bitter cold of January’s last frame. In my defense, I went a bit overboard late last year, insisting on drinking and smoking through a cold that became a full-fledged plague by the last night of the Hometown Throw down. With a weekend of fun ska/punk shows coming up, it’s a good time to recap the madness.
12.14.12
Home For The Skalidays at The Audio Jungle
It started innocently enough in the middle of the month. A Guy Named Guy was headlining the Audio Jungle with a toys for tots benefit. I took a long lunch that day and secured my tot toy at Newberry comics. Come 6 ‘o clock, toy and camera gear in hand, I was headed to Allston. This was a fantastic show. Mr. Furious started the night off, and impressed the hell out of me. I finally got to see Short Handed Goal, a ska punk band based out of RI. Nice guys and a solid set. Fort! The band was up next and always destroys a basement with their ever-evolving gypsy ska-punk-slouch madness. I can’t get enough of Fort!, it’s never the same show twice, and the energy they bring to the table as a collective is impressive. Connecticut’s Llama Tsunami continue to be my nutmeg state ska crush, powering through a strong set of original material sprinkled with energetic covers. I took a setlist, from a basement show, that’s how much I respect this band. A Guy Named Guy, fresh off the release of their Terminals split with Puerto Rico’s D-Cent Jerks, brought the night to a close. If you only know this band from the incredibly popular, and polished, youtube video for “Ska’s Not Dead,” a song they quite possibly retired that night, you have no idea how hard these guys will thrash through a set.
