Dennes Dale Boon (April 1, 1958 – December 22, 1985) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist,

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

of the punk rock trio Minutemen. He was born on April 1, 1958 in San Pedro, California, and formed the Minutemen in 1980 with bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley. The Minutemen were known for their politically charged lyrics and energetic, fast-paced music, and they released several influential albums during their career. Boon died in an automobile accident on December 22, 1985, at the age of 27. Despite his early death, Boon's contributions to punk rock and

independent music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...

have been widely recognized. He is remembered as an important figure in the history of these genres.

Biography

Youth

Dennes Boon was born in

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: "St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

, on April 1, 1958.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 419-420 His father, a navy veteran, worked installing radios in Buick cars, and the Boons lived in former

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

barracks that had been converted into public housing. According to childhood friend and future bandmate Mike Watt, Boon was unfamiliar with popular music and had grown up listening to

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on ...

and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Watt introduced Boon to

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The band h ...

and

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

. Urged by Boon's mother, Boon and Watt began to learn to play instruments. They learned to play by copying songs from their favorite bands' records. Boon took a few lessons from local teacher Roy Mendez Lopez who taught him rock as well as flamenco and classical. As a teenager, Boon began painting and signed his works "D. Boon," partly because "D" was his slang for

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

, partly after

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

, but mostly because it was similar to E. Bloom, Blue Öyster Cult's vocalist and guitarist.

The Reactionaries

Boon formed his first band, The Reactionaries, with Watt in 1978. The band's members were lead vocalist

Martin Tamburovich Martin Tamburovich (June 6, 1958 – December 2, 2003) was the co-founder of New Alliance Records and vocalist for the short-lived punk/ new wave band The Reactionaries. Tamburovich, along with his San Pedro High School classmates D. Boon, Mi ...

, Boon on guitar, bassist Watt, and drummer George Hurley. The Reactionaries existed for most of 1978 and 1979, practicing regularly but rarely if ever performing live. After only seven months, Boon and Watt broke the band up feeling that the traditional frontman-style band was " bourgeois."

Minutemen

Boon formed Minutemen in January 1980 with Mike Watt on bass and Frank Tonche on drums. Tonche was soon replaced by former Reactionaries drummer George Hurley. Their best-known album is ''

Double Nickels on the Dime ''Double Nickels on the Dime'' is the third album by American punk trio Minutemen, released on the California independent record label SST Records in 1984. A double album containing 45 songs, ''Double Nickels on the Dime'' combines elements of p ...

''.

Death

The Minutemen continued until December 22, 1985, when Boon was killed in a van accident in the Arizona desert on Interstate 10.Rees, David (2005)
What Would D. Boon Do?
, '' Huffington Post'', December 23, 2005, retrieved December 29, 2010 Because he had been sick with fever, Boon was lying down in the rear of the van without a seatbelt when the rear axle broke and the van ran off the road. Boon was thrown out the back door of the van and died instantly from a broken neck.Segalstad, Eric & Hunter, Josh (2009) ''The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock and Roll'', North Atlantic Books, , p. 214, 217 He was 27 years old. Boon's death caused the band to immediately dissolve, though Watt and Hurley would form the band Firehose soon after. The live album '' Ballot Result'' was released in 1987, two years after Boon's death.

Musical style

Boon's guitar style is very distinctive; he rarely used distortion and frequently set the equalization on his amplifier so that only the treble frequencies were heard – the bass and midrange frequencies would be turned off completely. His style had a heavy funk/blues feel which was very different from other

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 p ...

bands in the 1980s.

Artwork

Boon is responsible for the writing and composition of the Minutemen's most anthemic songs (in contrast to Watt's stream of consciousness lyrics), including " This Ain't No Picnic," "

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," "The Price of Paradise," and "Courage." A lifelong artist, Boon also created drawings or paintings for the Minutemen releases ''

Joy The word joy refers to the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune, and is typically associated with feelings of intense, long lasting happiness. Dictionary definitions Dictionary definitions of joy typically include a sense of ...

'', '' The Punch Line'', '' The Politics of Time'', '' Project: Mersh'' and '' 3-Way Tie (For Last)''.

Legacy

Since the first Firehose album, Mike Watt has dedicated every record he has worked on – be it Firehose, solo, or otherwise – to D. Boon's memory. A song on Watt's semi-autobiographical 1997 album ''

Contemplating the Engine Room ''Contemplating the Engine Room'' is a punk rock opera by Minutemen veteran Mike Watt. Released in 1997, the album is a punk rock song cycle that uses navy life as an extended metaphor for both Watt's family history and his first band, the Min ...

,'' "The Boilerman," is about D. Boon; on the recording itself, guitarist

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has w ...

plays one of Boon's last Telecaster guitars, which Watt is in possession of. Watt also mentions his fallen friend in Firehose's "Disciples of the 3-Way" ('' Mr. Machinery Operator'') and his own "Burstedman" (''

The Secondman's Middle Stand ''The Secondman's Middle Stand'' was Mike Watt's third solo album and the first full-length recording that he had made under his own name since the release of '' Contemplating The Engine Room'' in 1997. The storyline for the nine-track album par ...

''). Boon has been paid tribute by American alternative band Stigmata-A-Go-Go with the song "D. Boon," from its 1994 album ''It's All True,''

Uncle Tupelo Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to atten ...

with a different song "D. Boon" from its 1991 album '' Still Feel Gone,'' and Centro-matic's song "D.Boon-Free (A Ninth Grade Crime)" off ''The Static vs. The Strings Vol. 1''. His story is also told in the documentary ''

We Jam Econo ''We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen'', is a full-length documentary about the influential 1980s punk rock band Minutemen, created by director Tim Irwin and producer Keith Schieron in association with Rocket Fuel Films. The film premiered ...

''. In 2003, former D. Boon roommate Richard Derrick released the CD '' D. Boon and Friends,'' a collection of jam session tapes he recorded with D. Boon, and rare Boon solo performances, as the first release on his Box-O-Plenty Records label. Mike Watt authorized the release and provided technical assistance and liner notes. He is #89 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''s list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time: David Fricke's Picks. In his review of the band's last album, music critic Robert Christgau described the death of Boon as "a rock death that for wasted potential has Lennon and Hendrix for company," adding that "after seven fairly amazing years he was just getting started. Shit, shit, shit."

Discography

*'' D. Boon and Friends''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boon, D. Minutemen (band) members American punk rock singers American punk rock guitarists Songwriters from California 1958 births 1985 deaths Lead guitarists Road incident deaths in Arizona The Reactionaries members 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists People from San Pedro, Los Angeles Guitarists from California American male guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters