Mighty Mighty Bosstones
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The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (informally referred to as The Bosstones and often stylized as The Mighty Mighty BossToneS) were an American
ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hardc ...
band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky Barrett, bassist
Joe Gittleman Joe Gittleman (born April 6, 1968 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American musician, best known as the bass guitar player for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. His proficiency on bass earned him the nickname "the Bass Fiddleman." Career Gittlema ...
, tenor saxophonist
Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton Tim Burton (born John Timothy Burton; 1963), known professionally as Johnny Vegas, is an American musician who played saxophone for the band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Burton was one of the four remaining founding band members when the Bosstone ...
and dancer ("Bosstone") Ben Carr remained constant members. The band's final line-up also included drummer
Joe Sirois Joe Sirois (born January 25, 1972) is an American drummer who plays with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He also played drums for the Boston-based band Street Dogs from 2004 to 2007. Sirois, who grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, knew Bosstone's f ...
, saxophonist Leon Silva, guitarist Lawrence Katz, keyboardist John Goetchius, and trombonist
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, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Bim Skala Bim and the Toasters as well as Connecticut funk band, ...
. The Bosstones are often credited as one of the progenitors of the genre of
ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hardc ...
and the creators of its subgenre ska-core, which mixes elements of
ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
with
hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...
. Starting with the release of their 1989 debut ''
Devil's Night Out ''Devil's Night Out'' is the debut studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1990 by Taang! Records. It was one of the first albums to mix ska and hardcore punk. Production The album was produced by Paul Kolderie. Jimmy Ge ...
'', the band toured and recorded extensively throughout the 1990s, becoming influential in the development of the American
third-wave ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
scene and was one of the first bands to popularize the genre in the musical mainstream. They reached their commercial peak with their
platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...
-selling 1997 album ''
Let's Face It '' Let's Face It'' is the fifth studio album by American ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on March 11, 1997 by Mercury Records and Big Rig Records. The album sold very well due to the success of its single "The Impres ...
'' and its hit single "
The Impression That I Get "The Impression That I Get" is a song by American ska punk band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, ''Let's Face It'' (1997), in February 1997. The track reached number one on the US ''Billboard ...
". The band was also notable for being featured in the 1995 film ''
Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. It was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert La ...
'' 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 Hiatus may refer to: *Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure *Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species ''Hiatus fulvipes'' *Globa ...
in December 2003. 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 Hometown Throwdown is an annual music festival held in Greater Boston. It is hosted by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The festival features local Boston-area acts, focusing on ska, punk and hardcore bands. The festival is traditionally held in De ...
music festival, held annually around Christmas time in Cambridge and later Boston. On January 27, 2022, the band announced their disbandment.


History


Early history (1983–1988)

The band's roots lie in the hardcore punk scene of the early 1980s, along with a strong influence from the British
2 Tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone chime, such as the "ding dong" sound of a doorbell * Two-tone sequential paging, sel ...
ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
scene of the 1970s. Bassist
Joe Gittleman Joe Gittleman (born April 6, 1968 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American musician, best known as the bass guitar player for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. His proficiency on bass earned him the nickname "the Bass Fiddleman." Career Gittlema ...
played with local hardcore band
Gang Green Gang Green is an American punk rock band originally from Braintree, Massachusetts. Chris Doherty (guitar), Bill Manley (bass) and Mike Dean (drums) started the band in 1980 and broke up in 1983. Doherty reformed Gang Green the following year ...
, 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 Tim Burton (born John Timothy Burton; 1963), known professionally as Johnny Vegas, is an American musician who played saxophone for the band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Burton was one of the four remaining founding band members when the Bosstone ...
(saxophone),
Nate Albert Nathan Albert (born 1970) is an American music executive, songwriter, producer and guitar player. He is currently the Executive Vice President of A&R at Warner Records a division of Warner Music Group. He was previously Executive Vice President o ...
(guitar), Josh Dalsimer (drums), Tim Bridwell (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 the city near their hometowns. While some of the band members were influenced by bands such as
AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
,
Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...
,
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...
,
The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
and
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, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the De ...
, Barrett had become enthralled with
2 Tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone chime, such as the "ding dong" sound of a doorbell * Two-tone sequential paging, sel ...
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 ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
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)

Despite not consistently drawing large crowds at their live shows, the
Taang! Taang! Records is an independent record label with a roster of hardcore punk, punk rock, Oi!, power pop, ska, indie rock, psychedelic, and ambient artists and bands founded by Curtis Casella in Boston, Massachusetts in 1983. History Taang! ...
record label gave the band a
recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
which would result in the ''
Devil's Night Out ''Devil's Night Out'' is the debut studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1990 by Taang! Records. It was one of the first albums to mix ska and hardcore punk. Production The album was produced by Paul Kolderie. Jimmy Ge ...
'' album, produced by
Paul Q. Kolderie Paul Q. Kolderie is an American 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 Bosstone ...
. 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 Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...
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 Dennis Brockenborough is an American musician who played trombone in The Mighty Mighty Bosstones for ten years and was an important contributor to the band's brass instrument-driven skacore sound. Brockenborough joined the Mighty Mighty Bossto ...
(trombone) and Kevin Lenear (saxophone). The band's next release was an EP titled '' Where'd You Go?''. The EP featured the title track as well as cover versions of
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...
's "
Sweet Emotion "Sweet Emotion" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith from the band's third album '' Toys in the Attic''. It was released as a single on May 19, 1975. The song began a string of pop hits and large-scale mainstream success for the band t ...
",
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
's "
Enter Sandman "Enter Sandman" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the opening track and lead single from their self-titled fifth album, released in 1991. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Vocalist a ...
",
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
's "
Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" is a song by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in October 1978 as the third single from their 1978 debut album, ''Van Halen''. This song is one of the few David Lee Roth-era songs that subsequent replaceme ...
" and a new version of "Do Somethin' Crazy", originally featured on ''
Devil's Night Out ''Devil's Night Out'' is the debut studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1990 by Taang! Records. It was one of the first albums to mix ska and hardcore punk. Production The album was produced by Paul Kolderie. Jimmy Ge ...
.'' 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 (born January 25, 1972) is an American drummer who plays with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He also played drums for the Boston-based band Street Dogs from 2004 to 2007. Sirois, who grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, knew Bosstone's f ...
, who Barrett met at Bunker Hill Community College. Sirois would immediately join his new bandmates in the
recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...
to start work on the band's second album. Once again produced by
Paul Q. Kolderie Paul Q. Kolderie is an American 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 Bosstone ...
, ''
More Noise and Other Disturbances '' More Noise and Other Disturbances'' is the second studio album by the American band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1992 by Taang! Records. It was a hit on college radio. "Where'd You Go" was released as a single. Critical rec ...
'' was released in June 1992. The band would film a
video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
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 Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
roster and soon recorded the ''
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" ( Dicky Barrett, Nate Albert, J ...
'' EP. Released in March 1993, it was largely a collection of
cover song In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song released ...
s. Four of the seven tracks paid homage to the band's influences: The Angry Samoans' "Lights Out",
Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitaris ...
's "Think Again", SSD's "Police Beat" and
The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
' " 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 Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the De ...
' song "Tin Soldiers" as well as a vocal appearance by Daryl Jennifer of
Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this ...
. A video was also filmed for "Someday I Suppose" and it received minor airplay on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
. 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 A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
album, covering "
Detroit Rock City "Detroit Rock City" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss, released on their 1976 album ''Destroyer''. The song was written by Paul Stanley and producer Bob Ezrin. The song is one of the band's most popular and is a classic rock staple ...
". 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 Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, piano, and percussion. ...
, to open up for
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...
at their
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
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. The band released their fourth album, ''
Question the Answers ''Question the Answers'' is the fourth studio album by the American ska punk band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, released on October 4, 1994. "Pictures to Prove It" was released to alternative radio on February 17, 1995. Track listing All tracks ...
,'' in October 1994. The album featured production work by the Butcher Brothers,
Paul Q. Kolderie Paul Q. Kolderie is an American 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 Bosstone ...
and Ross Humphrey. It was at this time that the band decided it wanted to release their albums on vinyl, leading to a partnership with Mercury Records to form Big Rig Records, a
vanity label A vanity label (see related topic on vanity press) is an informal name sometimes given to a record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, ...
that allowed the band to release their albums on vinyl. The Big Rig vinyl versions often contained a bonus track not seen on the cassette or CD versions. Besides touring, the band found itself making their network television debut on ''
The Jon Stewart Show ''The Jon Stewart Show'' is a late night talk show that was hosted by comedian Jon Stewart. The program premiered on MTV in 1993 as a 30-minute daily offering and became one of the network’s more popular shows. Through a series of events t ...
'' and hosting MTV's ''
120 Minutes ''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003. After its cancellation, MTV ...
''. They also contributed a new version of "Where'd You Go?" to the
Alicia Silverstone Alicia Silverstone ( ; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller ''The Crush (1993 film), The Crush'' (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further prom ...
movie ''
Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. It was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert La ...
''. 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 (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
tour. Mercury set about repromoting ''Question the Answers'' by adding a second disc with five
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
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 1996
Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...
lineup (which they would repeat the following year), the Bosstones began work on their next studio album. Released in 1997, ''
Let's Face It '' Let's Face It'' is the fifth studio album by American ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on March 11, 1997 by Mercury Records and Big Rig Records. The album sold very well due to the success of its single "The Impres ...
'', 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" is a song by American ska punk band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, ''Let's Face It'' (1997), in February 1997. The track reached number one on the US ''Billboard ...
", which reached number one on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
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 ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
'''s ''
Elmopalooza ''Elmopalooza!'' is a ''Sesame Street'' special that aired on ABC on February 20, 1998. It was taped in the middle of the 29th season of ''Sesame Street'' and featured songs by celebrity guests. About the show The special begins with an announce ...
'' television special and Grammy Award-winning
soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...
, in which they performed the song "The Zig Zag Dance" with The Count. The band also made their ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' 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 The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europea ...
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 Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...
from
Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
. His next musical venture would be as a member of
Evan Dando Evan Griffith Dando (born March 4, 1967) is an American musician and frontman of the Lemonheads. He has also embarked on a solo career and collaborated on songs with various artists. In December 2015 Dando was inducted into the Boston Music Awards ...
’s re-formed Lemonheads before forming
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 ...
, 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 Lost City Angels were a punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Their most well-known line-up consisted of members, Ron Ragona, Adam Shaw, Chris Duggan, Drew Indingaro and Nick Bacon. Overview Lost City Angels were founded in 2001 by Adam ...
. Albert's replacement on guitar was Lawrence Katz. In 2000, the band released ''
Pay Attention '' Pay Attention'' is the sixth studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on May 2, 2000 by Island Records. The video for "So Sad to Say" premiered on MTV's ''120 Minutes'' on April 25, 2000. In March and April 2001, the band ...
'' 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 No. 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 N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...
, had become part of the
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
who subsequently merged
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
and
Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...
forming the new
Island Def Jam The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordi ...
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 is an entity in English folklore of the Victorian era. The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837. Later sightings were reported all over the United Kingdom and were especially prevalent in suburban Lo ...
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 formed in Boston as a ska band that was influenced by the bands in England’s two-tone movement as well as artists such as the Clash, UB40 and Bob Marley. Their "Boston Blue Beat" sound, a mix of upbeat two-tone ska, rock ‘n’ r ...
when he received the invitation to join.


SideOneDummy and hiatus (2002–2006)

The band announced their return to an independent label when they signed with
SideOneDummy Records SideOneDummy Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1995 by Bill Armstrong and Joe Sib. The label began as a way for them to release music for their friends' bands. Thereafter SideOneDummy launched the care ...
. In July 2002, the band released ''
A Jackknife to a Swan '' A Jackknife to a Swan'' is the seventh studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on July 9, 2002, by SideOneDummy Records. It was recorded over a few weeks in February 2002. This album marked the band's return to an indie lab ...
'' 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. After the hiatus announcement, several members went on to work on other projects and bands. Barrett became the announcer on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
's ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...
'' 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 already formed a side project band named Avoid One Thing featuring members of
Darkbuster Darkbuster is a punk rock band hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, known largely for their songs about the joys of heavy drinking, which have earned them a strong following in the American Northeast. The band occasionally performs under the na ...
, the Raging Teens and Spring Heeled Jack. The band released two albums for SideOneDummy before announcing their own hiatus in 2005. Sirois recorded and toured with Nate Albert's next band, Kickovers, and also played drums for the
Street Dogs Street Dogs were an American punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 2002 by former Dropkick Murphys singer Mike McColgan. The band disbanded in early 2020 after 17 years together. History In 1997, McColgan left Dropkick Murp ...
and
Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Fo ...
. Rhodes went on to play with
The Toasters The Toasters are one of the original American second wave of ska bands. Founded in New York City in 1981, the band has released nine studio albums, primarily through Moon Ska Records. History Englishman Robert "Bucket" Hingley relocated to New Y ...
until his departure in 2006. Rhodes had just joined
Bim Skala Bim Bim Skala Bim formed in Boston as a ska band that was influenced by the bands in England’s two-tone movement as well as artists such as the Clash, UB40 and Bob Marley. Their "Boston Blue Beat" sound, a mix of upbeat two-tone ska, rock ‘n’ r ...
before the Bosstones' hiatus came to an end and left Bim Skala Bim as a result. He also performed with former Spring Heeled Jack bandmate Rick Omonte in The Mountain Movers and as a fill-in trombonist for
Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxoph ...
,
Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Orange County, California. 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 af ...
, and
NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...
. 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 CommuteAir, operating as United Express, is a U.S. regional airline founded in 1989. Today, CommuteAir operates more than 1600 weekly flights to over 75 U.S. destinations and 3 in Mexico, with Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft, from its bases at Denver, ...
, a Continental Airlines regional affiliate based in
Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...
. After a short stint with the company, he began flying as a charter pilot in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. 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 is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...
song. In 2007, he appeared in the film ''
Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or t ...
'', which was inspired by the life of
Hank Garland Walter Louis Garland (11 November 1930 – 27 December 2004), professionally Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and released a jazz al ...
. Katz formed a band named Resistant. Katz has also played guitar on several motion picture soundtracks including '' Aquamarine'', ''
The Good Night ''The Good Night'' is a 2007 fantasy comedy-drama film written and directed by Jake Paltrow. The film stars his sister Gwyneth Paltrow, Penélope Cruz, Martin Freeman, Danny DeVito, Simon Pegg and others. The movie takes place in London and New Y ...
'' and ''
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
'', the latter recorded in collaboration with
The Crystal Method The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video gam ...
.


Reunion and breakup (2007–2022)

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 Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...
'' Acoustic Session, members of fellow Boston area
ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
band
Big D and the Kids Table Big D and the Kids Table is a ska punk band formed in October 1995 in Boston, 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 ...
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 The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
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 A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
. The album, titled ''
Medium Rare Doneness is a gauge of how thoroughly cooked a cut of meat is based on its color, juiciness, and internal temperature. The gradations are most often used in reference to beef (especially steaks and roasts) but are also applicable to other typ ...
'', 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'' is the seventh studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on July 9, 2002, by SideOneDummy Records. It was recorded over a few weeks in February 2002. This album marked the band's return to an indie lab ...
''. 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 (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
and Los Angeles,
Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...
served as a guest star on
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 (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...
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 are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly (1997– ), singer Al Barr (199 ...
. During the tour, the Bosstones made three stops at
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
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 late 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 November 4, 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 Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
,
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
,
Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188
,
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
,
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
,
Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
,
Hampton Beach, New Hampshire Hampton Beach is a village district, census-designated place, and beach resort in the town of Hampton, New Hampshire, United States, along the Atlantic Ocean. Its population at the 2020 census was 2,598. Hampton Beach is in Rockingham County, abo ...
, and
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...
where they performed at the Victoria Ska Fest with
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. Voodoo Glow Skulls first played at backyard parties and later at Spa ...
,
The Slackers The Slackers are an American ska band, formed in Manhattan, New York in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz. The Slackers' notability is credited to their prolific career, tours of Nort ...
and Chris Murray. The band toured during the summer of 2010 with
Teenage Bottlerocket Teenage Bottlerocket is an American punk rock band formed in Laramie, Wyoming in 2000. The band was formed by twin brothers Ray and Brandon Carlisle, following the dissolution of their previous band, Homeless Wonders. The band's music is heav ...
and
the Flatliners The Flatliners are a Canadian punk rock band from Richmond Hill, Ontario. Since their formation in 2002, the band has been a growing influence in the Toronto punk/ska movement, with consistently well-received albums and live shows. History ...
. 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'', was released on December 6, 2011. March 2017 saw the release of their first recording in six years with a limited edition vinyl 7" featuring a cover version of the
Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...
song, "
What the World Needs Now Is Love "What the World Needs Now Is Love" is a 1965 popular song with lyrics by Hal David and music composed by Burt Bacharach. First recorded and made popular by Jackie DeShannon, it was released on April 15, 1965, on the Imperial label after a relea ...
" backed with the track "I Won’t Go Out Like That". In the time between releases, the lineup saw the addition of former
Cherry Poppin' Daddies The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American swing and ska band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by singer-songwriter Steve Perry and bassist Dan Schmid, the band has experienced numerous personnel changes over the course of its 30 ...
keyboard player, John Goetchius in 2008 and Leon Silva in 2016 to replace Kevin Lenear who departed the band for a second time earlier that same year. In September 2017, Tim Burton announced in a post Riot Fest interview that the band was working on a new album set for release in early 2018. According to guitarist Lawrence Katz and producer Ted Hutt's Instagram accounts, recording started on Friday, November 17 at Kingsize Soundlabs in Los Angeles, California. The new album's title was announced to be '' While We're at It''. ''While We're at It'', the band's tenth album, was released on June 15, 2018. It is the final part of a musical trilogy that began with ''Pin Points and Gin Joints'' in 2009 followed by ''The Magic of Youth'' in 2011. For the initial 2018 tour dates supporting the album, Silva could not participate due to his commitments performing with
Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...
. To temporarily fill in for Silva, the band brought in Roman Fleysher and
Peter "JR" Wasilewski Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxop ...
of
Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxoph ...
to play saxophone on select dates. On January 25, 2021, it was announced that the Mighty Mighty Bosstones had signed a new record contract with
Hellcat Records Hellcat Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label, an offshoot of Epitaph Records, was started as a partnership between Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, the owner of Epitaph, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid ...
. In conjunction with the announcement, the band released a new single titled, "The Final Parade" which features guest appearances by
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
n singer
Stranger Cole Stranger Cole, also known as StrangeJah Cole (born Wilburn Theodore Cole, 26 June 1942)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 335 is a Jamaican singer whose long recording career dates from the early days of ska ...
and members of Rancid,
The Interrupters ''The Interrupters'' is a 2011 documentary film, produced by Kartemquin Films, that tells the story of three violence interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. It examines a year in which Chi ...
,
Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1979, that plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late ' ...
,
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, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the De ...
,
The Suicide Machines The Suicide Machines are an American punk rock band formed in March 1991 in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. During the course of their career, the band has released seven full-length albums on the labels Hollywood Records, Side One Dummy Records and ...
,
Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxoph ...
, Murphy's Law, H2O, Goldfinger,
Sonic Boom Six Sonic Boom Six (often shortened to SB6) are an English five-piece band from Manchester, United Kingdom. Their eclectic sound combines different elements of several genres and has been described by ''Kerrang!'' as "taking ska, pop, grime, dubs ...
,
The Toasters The Toasters are one of the original American second wave of ska bands. Founded in New York City in 1981, the band has released nine studio albums, primarily through Moon Ska Records. History Englishman Robert "Bucket" Hingley relocated to New Y ...
,
Bim Skala Bim Bim Skala Bim formed in Boston as a ska band that was influenced by the bands in England’s two-tone movement as well as artists such as the Clash, UB40 and Bob Marley. Their "Boston Blue Beat" sound, a mix of upbeat two-tone ska, rock ‘n’ r ...
,
Big D and the Kids Table Big D and the Kids Table is a ska punk band formed in October 1995 in Boston, 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 ...
, Doped Up Dollies,
The Aggrolites The Aggrolites are an American reggae band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which formed in 2002. Overview The Aggrolites are an amalgamation of two previous Los Angeles reggae and ska bands, the Vessels and the Rhythm Doctors. ...
,
Dance Hall Crashers Dance Hall Crashers (often abbreviated to DHC) was an American ska punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Initially founded by former Operation Ivy members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, the band has had a fluid lineup over its care ...
,
The Aquabats The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1994. Throughout many fluctuations in the group's line-up, singer the MC Bat Commander and bassist Crash McLarson have remained the band's two constant fixtures. ...
,
Buck-O-Nine Buck-O-Nine is an American ska punk band which was formed in San Diego in 1991. The band has toured internationally and released several albums and EPs, as well as appearing on compilations and film soundtracks. During the mid-to-late 1990s, t ...
,
The Porkers The Porkers are an Australian ska punk band from Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Formed in 1987 as The Pork Hunts, the band was eventually forced to change its name to the less offensive-sounding The Porkers in 1990 after their regular ...
,
The Pietasters The Pietasters are an American eight-piece ska/soul band from Washington, D.C., with additional members from Maryland and Virginia. History In 1990, Stephen Jackson and Chris Watt met at Virginia Tech, through mutual friend Tal Bayer, who was at ...
, Los Skanarles, Buster Shuffle,
Kemuri Kemuri (Japanese for ''smoke'') is a Japanese-American ska punk band formed in Oxnard, California in 1995. They have an upbeat sound with positive lyrics which they refer to as PMA (positive mental attitude). While the majority of their songs a ...
,
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a contemporary swing revival band from Southern California. Their notable singles include "Go Daddy-O", "You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)", and "Mr. Pinstripe Suit". The band played at the Super Bowl XXXIII ha ...
, and
The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...
. In March 2021, the band announced their first album since signing to Hellcat Records, '' When God Was Great'', would be released on May 7, 2021, and released the album's second single "I Don't Believe in Anything". The album's third single, "The Killing of King Georgie (Part III)", a song about the death of George Floyd, was released on April 21, 2021. On January 27, 2022, the band announced that they had split up. The statement shared by the band reads: "After decades of brotherhood, touring the world and making great records together we have decided not to continue on as a band. Above all, we want to express our sincere gratitude to every single one of you who have supported us. We could not have done any of it without you. Love Always, The Mighty Mighty BossToneS." Although the band chose to keep to keep their reasoning for the split private, speculation suggested that it was over Barrett's stance on
COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...
s and his participation in the production of a video promoting the "Defeat the Mandates" anti-vaccination mandate rally held by
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954) is an American environmental lawyer and author known for promoting anti-vaccine propaganda and conspiracy theories. Kennedy is a son of U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy and a nephew of President ...
In February 2017, Barrett was a guest on The Highwire with Del Bigtree podcast where he confirmed that it was his anti-vaccination views that had made the rest of the band uncomfortable.


Big Rig Records

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 ''Half Hour of Power'' is the debut extended play by Canadian rock band Sum 41. It was released on June 27, 2000 on Big Rig Records, a subsidiary of Island Records (United States), and Aquarius Records (Canada). The cover features the band's th ...
'' by
Sum 41 Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. Originally called Kaspir, the band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason "Cone" McCas ...
. 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 Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...
. 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 Hellcat Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label, an offshoot of Epitaph Records, was started as a partnership between Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, the owner of Epitaph, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid ...
.


Musical style

The band has been typically aligned with
ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hardc ...
. The L.A. Times, described their sound as "blending the brassy after-beat groove of ska with the uncompromising intensity of hard-core punk". 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." AllMusic credited them as being "one of the first bands to cross high-energy ska with hardcore punk and hard rock guitars", and "
aying Aying is a municipality in the district of Munich in Bavaria, Germany. It is known for the Ayinger Brewery Ayinger Brewery ( ; german: Brauerei Aying) is in Aying, Bavaria, Germany, about 25 km south of Munich. Ayinger beers are exported ...
a great deal of the groundwork for the mid- to late-'90s ska explosion, helping shift its tone toward party music." The Boston Herald said that they "were one of the first bands to cross high-energy ska with hardcore punk and heavy metal.".


Band members


Final lineup

* Dicky Barrett –
lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
(1983–2004, 2007–2022) *
Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton Tim Burton (born John Timothy Burton; 1963), known professionally as Johnny Vegas, is an American musician who played saxophone for the band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Burton was one of the four remaining founding band members when the Bosstone ...
 –
tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...
,
backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...
(1983–2004, 2007–2022) * Ben Carr –
dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...
, backing vocals, percussion, tour manager and "Bosstone" (1983–2004, 2007–2022) *
Joe Gittleman Joe Gittleman (born April 6, 1968 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American musician, best known as the bass guitar player for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. His proficiency on bass earned him the nickname "the Bass Fiddleman." Career Gittlema ...
 – bass, backing vocals (1983–2004, 2007–2022) *
Joe Sirois Joe Sirois (born January 25, 1972) is an American drummer who plays with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He also played drums for the Boston-based band Street Dogs from 2004 to 2007. Sirois, who grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, knew Bosstone's f ...
 –
drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
,
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
(1991–2004, 2007–2022) * Lawrence Katz –
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
, backing vocals (2000–2004, 2007–2022) *
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, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Bim Skala Bim and the Toasters as well as Connecticut funk band, ...
 –
trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...
, backing vocals (2000–2004, 2007–2022) * John Goetchius –
keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
(2008–2022) * Leon Silva –
saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
, backing vocals (2016–2022)


Former members

* Tim Bridewell – trombone (1983–1991) * Josh Dalsimer – drums (1983–1991) *
Dennis Brockenborough Dennis Brockenborough is an American musician who played trombone in The Mighty Mighty Bosstones for ten years and was an important contributor to the band's brass instrument-driven skacore sound. Brockenborough joined the Mighty Mighty Bossto ...
 – trombone (1991–2000) * Kevin Lenear –
alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...
, tenor, and
baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...
s (1991–1998; 2008–2016) *
Nate Albert Nathan Albert (born 1970) is an American music executive, songwriter, producer and guitar player. He is currently the Executive Vice President of A&R at Warner Records a division of Warner Music Group. He was previously Executive Vice President o ...
 – guitar, backing vocals (1983–2000), 2015 (live only), 2020-2022 (studio only) * Roman Fleysher – saxophone (1998–2004, 2007–2008; sporadic appearances 2018–2021)


Additional personnel

* Peter Wasilewski - saxophone (touring member) *
Davey Holmes Davey Holmes (born October 4, 1969 in Massachusetts) is an American screenwriter, producer and playwright. He is the creator and executive producer of the television show ''Get Shorty'' on Epix. Career Holmes began his writing career in New ...
 – keyboards * Brian Dwyer – trumpet * Kevin P. Stevenson – guitar * Dave Aaronoff – keyboards * Sledge Burton – trumpet * Jon Nash – guitar


Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:26 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:120 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:1983 till:01/27/2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1983 ScaleMinor = increment:2 start:1984 Colors = id:lvocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:bvocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums,_percussion id:tenor value:tan2 legend:Tenor_saxophone id:sax value:skyblue legend:Alto_saxophone id:trombone value:coral legend:Trombone id:manager value:lavender legend:Tour_manager,_dancer id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_Albums id:Lines2 value:gray(0.5) legend:Other_Releases id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars LineData = at:08/22/1989 color:black layer:back at:08/13/1992 color:black layer:back at:05/18/1993 color:black layer:back at:10/04/1994 color:black layer:back at:03/11/1997 color:black layer:back at:05/02/2000 color:black layer:back at:07/09/2002 color:black layer:back at:12/08/2009 color:black layer:back at:12/06/2011 color:black layer:back at:06/15/2018 color:black layer:back at:07/01/1997 color:lines2 layer:back at:07/01/1998 color:lines2 layer:back at:05/07/2021 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:dicky text:Dicky Barrett bar:burton text:Tim Burton bar:kevin text:Kevin Lenear bar:roman text:Roman Fleysher bar:leon text:Leon Silva bar:tim text:Tim Bridewell bar:dennis text:Dennis Brockenborough bar:chris text:Chris Rhodes bar:nate text:Nate Albert bar:katz text:Lawrence Katz bar:goetchius text: John Goetchius bar:joe text:Joe Gittleman bar:josh text:Josh Dalsimer bar:sirois text:Joe Sirois bar:ben text:Ben Carr PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:dicky from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:lvocals bar:dicky from:10/11/2007 till:end color:lvocals bar:nate from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/2000 color:guitar bar:nate from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2022 color:guitar bar:katz from:01/01/2000 till:09/12/2004 color:guitar bar:katz from:10/11/2007 till:end color:guitar bar:goetchius from:01/01/2008 till:end color:keys bar:joe from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:bass bar:joe from:10/11/2007 till:end color:bass bar:josh from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1991 color:drums bar:sirois from:01/01/1991 till:09/12/2004 color:drums bar:sirois from:10/11/2007 till:end color:drums bar:burton from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:tenor bar:burton from:10/11/2007 till:end color:tenor bar:kevin from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1998 color:sax bar:kevin from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1998 color:tenor width:3 bar:kevin from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2016 color:sax bar:kevin from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2016 color:tenor width:3 bar:roman from:01/01/1998 till:09/12/2004 color:sax bar:roman from:10/11/2007 till:01/01/2008 color: sax bar:leon from:01/01/2016 till:end color:sax bar:tim from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1991 color:trombone bar:dennis from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/2000 color:trombone bar:chris from:01/01/2000 till:09/12/2004 color:trombone bar:chris from:10/11/2007 till:end color:trombone bar:ben from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:manager bar:ben from:10/11/2007 till:end color:manager width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:nate from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/2000 color:bvocals bar:nate from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2022 color:guitar bar:nate from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2022 color:bvocals width:3 bar:katz from:01/01/2000 till:09/12/2004 color:bvocals bar:katz from:10/11/2007 till:end color:bvocals bar:joe from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:bvocals bar:joe from:10/11/2007 till:end color:bvocals bar:burton from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:bvocals bar:burton from:10/11/2007 till:end color:bvocals bar:leon from:01/01/2016 till:end color:bvocals bar:chris from:01/01/2000 till:09/12/2004 color:bvocals bar:chris from:10/11/2007 till:end color:bvocals bar:ben from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:bvocals bar:ben from:10/11/2007 till:end color:bvocals


Discography

* ''
Devil's Night Out ''Devil's Night Out'' is the debut studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1990 by Taang! Records. It was one of the first albums to mix ska and hardcore punk. Production The album was produced by Paul Kolderie. Jimmy Ge ...
'' (1989) * ''
More Noise and Other Disturbances '' More Noise and Other Disturbances'' is the second studio album by the American band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1992 by Taang! Records. It was a hit on college radio. "Where'd You Go" was released as a single. Critical rec ...
'' (1992) * '' Don't Know How to Party'' (1993) * ''
Question the Answers ''Question the Answers'' is the fourth studio album by the American ska punk band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, released on October 4, 1994. "Pictures to Prove It" was released to alternative radio on February 17, 1995. Track listing All tracks ...
'' (1994) * ''
Let's Face It '' Let's Face It'' is the fifth studio album by American ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on March 11, 1997 by Mercury Records and Big Rig Records. The album sold very well due to the success of its single "The Impres ...
'' (1997) * ''
Pay Attention '' Pay Attention'' is the sixth studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on May 2, 2000 by Island Records. The video for "So Sad to Say" premiered on MTV's ''120 Minutes'' on April 25, 2000. In March and April 2001, the band ...
'' (2000) * ''
A Jackknife to a Swan '' A Jackknife to a Swan'' is the seventh studio album by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on July 9, 2002, by SideOneDummy Records. It was recorded over a few weeks in February 2002. This album marked the band's return to an indie lab ...
'' (2002) * '' Pin Points and Gin Joints'' (2009) * '' The Magic of Youth'' (2011) * '' While We're at It'' (2018) * '' When God Was Great'' (2021)


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The 1983 establishments in Massachusetts 2022 disestablishments in Massachusetts Musical groups from Boston American ska musical groups Third-wave ska groups Punk rock groups from Massachusetts American ska punk musical groups Hellcat Records artists Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Musical groups disestablished in 2022 Mercury Records artists SideOneDummy Records artists American punk rock groups