Mighty Mighty Bosstones

While the Mighty Mighty Bosstones didn't enjoy the same success as their less accomplished colleagues during their 15+ year run as group, it was this Boston band that broke ska into the mainstream and allowed it to gain acceptance with the MTV generation. The Bosstones were the premier 3rd Wave ska group, handily outdoing their peers in both songwriting and musicianship, and holding claim to the most devoted fanbase of all the groups that broke out during the ska explosion of the mid-90's. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were formed in 1985 in Boston by Dicky Barrett, who was influenced by the works of 2nd wave British Ska groups. Barrett quickly pulled together a group of like-minded musicians, including guitarist Nate Albert, bassist Joe Gittleman, and saxophonist Tim Burton. These three would form the core of the Bosstones, as the band would go through countless lineup changes. The Bosstones recorded their first album, Devil's Night Out, in 1989. Following the album, drummer Joe Sirois joined the lineup to replace the group's original drummer. Kevin Lenear (Saxophone) and Dennis Brockenborough (Trombone) were also introduced into the lineup in time for the band's second album, More Noise and Other Disturbances, released in 1992. The Bosstones also released the Where'd You Go EP that same year, which gained decent popularity in the Boston area thanks to the single "Where'd You Go?". The strength of the album and the singles gave the Bosstones a decent sized following, and the next year they signed a deal with major-label Mercury Records. The Bosstones released their first major label LP, Question the Answers in 1994 to decent sales, although their singles didn't gain the amount of airplay that the label had hoped for. Things would change drastically in 1996 when the band released their next album Let's Face It. With similiar groups like Sublime and No Doubt finding their way into the mainstream and starting the ska explosions, the Bosstones found themselves in the right place at the right time. Their lead single, "The Impression that I Get", garnered heavy rotation from both MTV and popular radio stations, and Let's Face It easily became the band's best selling album. The Bosstones were at the peak of their popularity, but the lineup that had helped them gain that popularity would again change during the 3 years following the release of Let's Face It. Lead guitarist Nate Albert left the group to take care of his family, and Kevin Lenear followed suit. The two were replaced, and the group released their next album, Pay Attention in 2000. After the release of Pay Attention, The Bosstones decided to head back to an independent label (SideOne Dummy) and recorded A Jackknife to a Swan in 2002, hailed as a return to the band's "skacore" roots. During the recording of the album and directly following it, many of the band members became involved in various side projects. Bassist Joe Gittleman took an active role in Avoid One Thing, a punk outfit that got a spot on the Warped Tour the year they put out their debut, guitarist Nate Albert teamed up with Weezer's Mikey Welsh to record an album as The Kickovers, and Dicky Barrett took a job as the announcer for The Jimmy Kimmel Show. Rumors were quickly spreading that The Bosstones would break up, a rumor that was somewhat confirmed when the group cancelled their annual Hometown Throwdown, a five-day event in Boston that took place around Christmastime, after nine straight years performing it. While the Bosstones never officially announced a breakup, they confirmed that they would be on an "extended hiatus" due to bandmembers persuing different projects. Due to the fact that 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 AP 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 10th official Hometown Throwdown at Cambridge's famed Middle East club on December 26th-30th, 2007. Barrett would not confirm any long-term plans for the band. Soon after Barrett's announcement, Joe 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 mark 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 Kevin Lenear rejoined the band, taking back over for Roman, whose job prevented him from being able to play with the band. Despite the recent activity, the Bosstones were non-committal on whether they would write and release a studio album. The band also stated that they would never tour non-stop year round again like they frequently had in the past. On May 15, 2008, it was reported that the Bosstones would be doing a short US tour in July with the Dropkick Murphys. During the tour, the Bosstones made three stops at Boston Red Sox minor league ballparks. These stops were in Lowell, MA (July 10), Portland, ME (July 11), and Pawtucket, RI (July 12). Recently, "Where'd You Go?" was featured as a playable song in Rock Band 2. The version used is a rerecording done by the Bosstones in 2008. On October 20, 2008, their website announced that they would play an 11th Hometown Throwdown on December 26–29 at the Middle East Club in Cambridge, MA, at Toad's Place in New Haven, CT on December 30 (playfully titled the "Rhodestown Throwdown"- New Haven is trombonist Chris Rhodes' home town) and a New Year's Eve show at Lupo's in Providence. On November 4, a MySpace blog revealed the recording of a new album, with two songs, "The Impossible Dream" and "Next to Nothing" streaming on the page. According to vocalist Dicky Barrett, the band is actively working on a new album, to be recorded sometime in June and released on an unknown date. The band joined the Dropkick Murphys onstage for "Shipping Up To Boston" during the Dropkick's recent show at House of Blues in Boston. Dicky, Ben, Joe Gittleman, Chris, and Johnny Vegas were onstage. In July, 2009, The Bosstones to headlined the Victoria Ska Fest with Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Slackers, Chris Murray and La Severa Matacrera.