The Kickovers were a

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

band formed by

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 ...

, former

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 ...

ist of

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. From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky ...

. After Nate left the Bosstones to go to

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 ...

, he started writing songs, which were not like his previous band. In 2001, he got a band together with Bosstones 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 ...

, short time

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...

bass player

Mikey Welsh Michael Edward Welsh (April 20, 1971 – October 8, 2011) was an American artist and musician who played bass for several bands, including the rock band Weezer. During Weezer's hiatus, he played with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo in the band Homie ...

and another

Boston, MA Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

musician

Johnny Rioux Johnny Rioux is a musician primarily known for playing in and working with many punk rock bands. He was initially based in Boston, MA but is now based in Texas. Rioux is most known for his tenure as bass guitarist with the Street Dogs with who ...

. They initially joined under the name The Brakes which they had to change because of a

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

band called The Break. That's when they took on the moniker The Kickovers. They released their only album, ''

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

'', on April 23, 2002 on Fenway Recordings. Around the release of the album, Joe Sirois left because of the Bosstones schedule and new drummer Jamie Vavra took his place. They toured in support of their album opening for

Local H Local H is an American rock band originally formed by guitarist and vocalist Scott Lucas, bassist Matt Garcia, drummer Joe Daniels, and lead guitarist John Sparkman in Zion, Illinois in 1990. The members all met in high school in 1987 and founde ...

. They released a couple 7"

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

singles through Fenway, ''Fake in Love'' and a

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

with The Damn Personals, whom the band toured with. The Kickovers played their last show on April 14, 2003 in

Cambridge, MA Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

with

Nerf Herder Nerf Herder is an American rock band from Santa Barbara, California, formed in 1994 by Parry Gripp (vocals, guitar), Charlie Dennis (bass) and Steve Sherlock (drums). They describe themselves as a "geek rock" band, and are known for simplistic ...

. The Kickovers members started working with

Mike McColgan Michael McColgan is an American musician, and is a founding member and former lead singer of the American punk band Street Dogs and a founding member and former original lead singer of the American Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys. Early years ...

on his new band, 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 ...

. Nate produced their album while Johnny played bass on it and original Kickovers drummer Joe played drums. Nate made a couple posts on the internet about the Kickovers recording a new EP, but that was never released and the band wasn't heard from again. On October 9, 2011, it was announced that original bassist Mikey Welsh had been found dead in a Chicago, Illinois hotel room.

Discography

Albums * ''

'' (2002) Singles * ''Fake in Love'' 7" (2002) ** Includes "Fake in Love" from ''Osaka'' and the b-side "Don't Look Down" * ''Damn Personals/The Kickovers Split'' 7" (2002) ** Includes "Better Living" by The Damn Personals and "Mascara Queen" by The Kickovers Compilations * '' In Our Lifetime, Vol. 1'' (2002) ** Includes "Fake in Love" from ''Osaka'' * '' In Our Lifetime Vol. 3: The Revenge of Boston'' (2002) ** Includes the non-album track "Dirty Hands" * '' Fat City Presents: Bands We Like 2'' (2005) ** Includes the b-side "Mascara Queen"; album was only available with '' Fat City Magazine'' Issue 9 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kickovers, The Pop punk groups from Massachusetts