The Taxis

During their four years, The Taxis were easily the most prominent band in the Maine ska and punk scene. Formed in 1998, they recorded their first EP in 1999 on North East Indie Records. Entitled "Rude Girls Ride Free," the disc helped make them local favorites, especially thanks to stand out track, "$20 Pay." Additionally, the EP featured Dan Stopleman of Big D and the Kids Table on trumpet. In 2000, The Taxis released their first full length release, "Autopilot." The new release really defined their sound, and made it apparent that these boys had IT. To further the excitement, The Taxis had a guest record on this album as well, the legendary Joe Queer of The Queers did the backing vocals on the track "Fantasy." In 2002, the Taxis made the unexpected decision to call it quits at the height of their success. They played a final show in December 2002, paired with The Skatistics, who were also making a final appearance. It was an amazing night filled with positive energy, dancing, but an underlying sadness as the Maine ska scene suffered a huge blow that night. The lucky shopper might still find copies of both albums at his or her local Bull Moose Records outlet in the local artists section.