Lyres are a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-area

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band led by Jeff Conolly, founded in 1979 following the breakup of

DMZ A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...

. Their most popular songs included "Don't Give It Up Now," 'She Pays The Rent' and "Help You Ann". The original lineup of the band featured Conolly, Rick Coraccio (bass), Ricky Carmel (guitar), and Paul Murphy (drums). Former DMZ members Coraccio, Murphy, Peter Greenberg, and Mike Lewis all rejoined Connolly in Lyres at some point from 1979 to the early 2000s. The A-Bones drummer

Miriam Linna Miriam Linna (born October 16, 1955 in Sudbury, Ontario) is a Canadian-American drummer who has run the Brooklyn-based independent record label Norton Records since 1986, originally with her husband, the late producer and singer-songwriter B ...

, (a former drummer for

The Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. ...

) and then

A-Bones The A-Bones was an American garage rock band from Brooklyn, New York. Their name was derived from a song by The Trashmen. The band was formed in 1984 by vocalist Billy Miller and his wife, drummer and co-vocalist Miriam Linna, in the wake of ...

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James M ...

and former Lyres bass player Mike Lewis filled-in with Lyres for a show in 1986. Stiv Bators of

The Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. ...

and Lords of the New Church, and

Wally Tax Wladimir "Wally" Tax (; 14 February 1948 – 10 April 2005) was a Dutch singer and songwriter. He was founder and frontman of the Nederbeat group The Outsiders (1959–1969) and the rock group Tax Free (1969–1971). After commercial and artis ...

of The Outsiders also recorded with Lyres in the late 1980s. Lyres were less active in 1989, due to Conolly living in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

for a brief period. After a renewed period of activity in the early 1990s, the band went through a dormant period until 1999. The band has been playing regularly during the last two years. Conolly is the one member who has been in every lineup during the large number of Lyres personnel changes. In 2009, Lyres played at the Go Sinner So festival in Madrid and an additional date in Porto Nuovo. This line-up included a fill-in Peter Greenberg on guitar.

Current line-up

*Jeff Conolly (organ, vocals) *Steve Aquino (guitar) *Paul Murphy (drums) *Dave Szczepaniak (bass)

Discography (incomplete)

LP albums

*''

On Fyre ''On Fyre'' is the first full-length studio album by American garage rock band Lyres. It was released in 1984 by the label Ace of Hearts and reissued in 1998 by Matador Records. It features "Help You Ann," arguably the band's signature song and ...

'' (1984) *''

Lyres Lyres Yoke lutes, commonly called lyres, are a class of string instruments, subfamily of lutes, indicated with the code 321.2 in the Hornbostel–Sachs classification. Description Yoke lutes are defined as instruments with one or more strings, arrange ...

'' (1986) *''

Recorded Live At Cantones A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

'' ( Pryct PR-1003 1987) *''

A Promise Is a Promise ''A Promise Is a Promise'' is an album by the American band Lyres, released in 1988. A band timeline constructed by Pete Frame that was included in the gatefold claimed that the album was recorded by the 13th lineup of the Lyres. The cassette and ...

'' (1988) *'' She Pays the Rent Live'' (1988) *'' Live 1983 Let's Have A Party!!'' ( Pryct PR-1004 1989) *''

Happy Now Happy Now or Happy Now? may refer to: Film and theatre * ''Happy Now?'' (play), a play by Lucinda Coxon * ''Happy Now?'' (film), a British film starring Ioan Gruffudd Music * "Happy Now" (Bon Jovi song), 2009 * "Happy Now" (Take That song), 2011 * ...

'' (1992) *''Some Lyres'' (1994)

EPs

*'' AHS1005'' 12" 45 rpm ( Ace of Hearts 1981) itle commonly referenced as "Buried Alive" after the first track on the disc*''Lyres'' (1985), New Rose *''Nobody But Lyres'' 12" 33 rpm (

TAANG! Records 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 ...

1992)

Singles

*"How Do You Know?" b/w "Don't Give It Up Now" Sounds Interesting S145-002A/B 1979 *"Help You Ann" *"Self Centered Girl" (Telstar Records) 1993 *"We Sell Soul" b/w "Busy Body" Tanng Records 62 NR 18682-1 2006 *"Don't Give It Up Now" c/w "How Do You Know?" Dirty Water Records 2007

Compact Discs

*''

'' + 8 Bonus Tracks ( New Rose 35 CD 1984) *''

A Promise Is A Promise ''A Promise Is a Promise'' is an album by the American band Lyres, released in 1988. A band timeline constructed by Pete Frame that was included in the gatefold claimed that the album was recorded by the 13th lineup of the Lyres. The cassette and ...

'' (( Ace Of Hearts - AHS 325) 1988)

Compilations

* " Hotel Massachusetts"

In other media

The song "Help You Ann" was featured on the game Destroy all Humans 2 and on the TV show Rescue Me.

Related bands

* Barrence Whitfield And The Savages - Howard Ferguson, Peter Greenberg, Phil Lenker *

- Jeff Conolly, Mike Lewis, Peter Greenberg, Paul Murphy *

The Real Kids The Real Kids are an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, United States, led by guitarist, singer and songwriter John Felice. Career Felice (born 1955) grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, as a neighbor and friend of Jonathan Richman, a f ...

- Howard Ferguson *The Zantees - Mike Lewis * The A-Bones - Mike Lewis *

- Mike Lewis *

Darker My Love Darker My Love was a psychedelic rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Guitarist/vocalist Tim Presley, a former member of the hardcore punk band The Nerve Agents, formed the band in 2004 with drummer and former Nerve Agents bandmate Andy Gr ...

- Jared Everett *Orange Rooftops - T.J. O'Brien, Jeff Gregory, Jeff Phelps, Jason Eaton

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20061021090146/http://www.rockinboston.com/lyres.htm {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups from Boston