The Bronx is an American punk rock band from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, originally formed in 2002. The band's current line-up consists of vocalist

Matt Caughthran Matt Caughthran (born February 13, 1979) is an American singer, best known as the frontman for Los Angeles-based punk band The Bronx and Mariachi El Bronx. In addition to The Bronx, Caughthran is involved in a side project, The Drips. Caughthran ...

, guitarists Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne, bass guitarist Brad Magers, and drummer Joey Castillo. The band has released six studio albums, as well as three additional albums of mariachi music under the moniker of Mariachi El Bronx.

History

The initial lineup of The Bronx consisted of Caughthran, Ford, bassist James Tweedy, and drummer Jorma Vik. At their first performance they impressed Jonathan Daniel, manager of American Hi-Fi, who became their manager; and as early as their second show had attracted the attention of A&R representatives from major

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, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

s. After only twelve live performances the band signed a contract with the

Island Def Jam Music Group 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 Recordin ...

. However, feeling as though they were not yet ready to record for a major label, the band opted to form their own label, White Drugs, to put out their first few releases. They recorded a demo entitled ''Sure Death'' in 2002, followed by their first single "Bats!" in 2003. Their debut album ''

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

'' was released in August 2003. It was produced by Gilby Clarke ( Guns N' Roses) and recorded in his kitchen. This was followed by an EP, '' La Muerte Viva'', that November. To support the album, singles and

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

s were released for the songs " They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy)" and " False Alarm". The band toured the United States and Australia in support of the album. In Australia, the band's performance at the Annandale Hotel in Sydney was filmed, later released as the DVD ''

Live at the Annandale ''Live At The Annandale'' is The Bronx's first available DVD, it showcases a full concert that was held at the Annandale Hotel in Sydney, Australia and released not long after the concert. The DVD is unique in that it was shot by an employee of ...

''. The Bronx's major-label debut was ''

'' (2006), a second eponymous album that was supported by singles and music videos for "History's Stranglers", "White Guilt" and "Shitty Future". Ken Horne of The Dragons played some guitar parts on the album, and soon joined the band as second guitarist. In April 2007, the band announced that they would record two new albums. ''

'' was planned as a punk rock album, while ''

Mariachi El Bronx Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, ...

'' would be a mariachi album. They entered a recording studio in March 2008 to begin work on both albums, with Brad Magers (formerly of Christiansen and Your Highness Electric) replacing Tweedy on

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, and Vincent Hidalgo (formerly of

The Drips The Drips is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, currently signed to White Drugs/Wichita Recordings. History A side-project of members of various other bands, The Drips are Matt Caughthran and Joby J. Fo ...

) also joining Mariachi El Bronx. That June they posted the new song "Knifeman", from ''The Bronx'', on their Myspace profile, followed by the premiere of "PR Rules" from ''El Bronx''. During summer 2008, The Bronx played the entirety of the Warped Tour. They also appeared in the film '' What We Do Is Secret'' as Black Flag, performing the Black Flag song "Police Story". Beginning with preparations for the release of ''El Bronx'', the band has performed as "Mariachi El Bronx" when playing their mariachi set and as "The Bronx" for rock sets. ''The Bronx'' was released on November 11, 2008, with ''El Bronx'' following on August 17, 2009. The band toured North America, followed by a festival performance in the United Kingdom. A second album of mariachi music, ''

'', was released in August 2011. Several members of the band also appear on the debut EP by

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

, a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

indie pop band consisting of Coeur de pirate and

Jay Malinowski Jay Malinowski (born 1982) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, visual artist and writer. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is best known as the vocalist and guitarist for reggae group Bedouin Soundc ...

."Bedouin Soundclash's Jay Malinowski + Coeur De Pirate + El Bronx = Armistice"
chartattack.com, January 12, 2011. In 2012, Mariachi El Bronx collaborated with rapper

Schoolly D Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr. (born June 22, 1962), better known by the stage name Schoolly D (sometimes spelled Schooly D), is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Career Schoolly D teamed up with DJ Code Money in the mid-1980s. His ...

for the theme song to

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

's show ''

Aqua Something You Know Whatever ''Aqua Something You Know Whatever'' (or ''ASYKW'') is the alternative title given to the ninth season of the animated television series ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force''. The ninth season originally aired in the United States on Adult Swim. This seaso ...

''. Mariachi El Bronx currently perform between segments on the El Rey Network wrestling programme '' Lucha Underground''. On June 26, 2016, drummer Jorma Vik announced his departure from both The Bronx and Mariachi El Bronx, later joining

Eagles of Death Metal Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998. Founded by Jesse Hughes (vocals, guitar) and Josh Homme (drums), the band also includes a wide range of other musicians who perform both on the band' ...

as their touring drummer. He was replaced by David Hidalgo, Jr., who also plays with Mariachi El Bronx. In June 2017, the band's Facebook page was updated with the album art for ''V'', the fifth studio album by the band. A teaser was uploaded to the page the following month. The album is the first studio album of their career not to be named ''The Bronx'' or ''Mariachi El Bronx''. It was released on September 22, 2017. In 2018, Hidalgo, Jr. was replaced in The Bronx by former

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple lin ...

drummer Joey Castillo. Hidalgo, Jr. remains a member of Mariachi El Bronx.

Band members

Current members

*Matt Caughthran – vocals (2002–present) *Joby J. Ford – guitar, backing vocals (2002–present) *Ken Horne – guitar, backing vocals (2006–present) *Brad Magers – bass, backing vocals (2007–present) * Joey Castillo – drums (2018–present)

Past members

*James Tweedy – bass, backing vocals (2002–2007) *Jorma Vik – drums (2002–2016) * David Hidalgo Jr. – drums (2016–2018) *Vincent Hidalgo - live guitar (2018)

Timeline

Discography

As The Bronx *''

'' (2003) *''

'' (2006) *''

'' (2008) *''

'' (2013) *'' V'' (2017) *''Dead Tracks, Vol.1 & Vol.2'' (2019) *''Bronx VI'' (2021) As Mariachi El Bronx *''

'' (2009) *''

'' (2011) *''Mariachi El Bronx'' (2014) *''Mariachi El Bronx Live Cuts: Live at Teragram Ballroom and the Independent, Dec 2015'' (2016) *''Música Muerta, Vol.1 & Vol.2'' (2020)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bronx, The Hardcore punk groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Crush Management artists Wichita Recordings artists Ferret Music artists ATO Records artists