The A-Bones was an American

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

band from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Their name was derived from a 1964 song by

the Trashmen The Trashmen were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis in 1962 and are best known for their biggest hit, 1963's " Surfin' Bird", which reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The original line-up of the group featured guitarists Ton ...

. The A-Bones was formed in 1984 by vocalist Billy Miller and his wife, drummer and co-vocalist

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

, soon after they formed the Zantees. At the time, they were the editors of the rock and roll culture

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

''Kicks'' and just about to launch

Norton Records Norton Records is an American independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller in 1986. The label concentrates on releasing rock, rockabilly, primitive music, punk, garage rock, and early rhythm and blues. Most of i ...

. Guitarist Bruce Bennett replaced original guitarist Mike Mariconda shortly after the band was formed. Marcus "The Carcass" Natale replaced founding bass player Mike Lewis (a one time member of both the

Lyres Yoke lutes, commonly called lyres, are a class of string instruments, subfamily of lutes, indicated with the codes 321.21 and 321.22 in the Hornbostel–Sachs classification. Description Yoke lutes are defined as instruments with one or more ...

and

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (Spanish language, Spanish for "I've got it"; also abbreviated as YLT) 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 ...

), prior to recording the A-Bones second E.P. ''Free Beer For Life'' in 1988. Tenor sax player Lars Espensen was in the group from 1990 until 2010. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described the band solely in terms of its label, calling the group "dedicated rock revivalists", and noting "The A-Bones include Miriam Linna and Billy Miller, proprietors of Norton Records, which worships rockabilly, 1960s garage and anything having to do with that most cartoonish rock archetype: the juvenile delinquent in a leather jacket." In its overview of the band, ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' praised the A-Bones' "new levels of sloppy enthusiasm" and said that the band's "joyously cruddy sound is built on Linna's simple but effective pounding, Miller's manly grunt, and Bruce Bennett's unexpectedly inventive guitar work." ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' declared that a 2009 A-Bones recording "may be the missing link between Andre Williams and

Jay Reatard James Lee Lindsey Jr. (May 1, 1980 – January 13, 2010), known professionally as Jay Reatard, was an American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. He was signed to Matador Records. He released recordings as a solo artist and as a member of the Rea ...

, if Reatard had any groove in his grit." According to a series of postings on the

WFMU WFMU (91.1 MHz) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported, independent radio, independent community radio station city of license, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey, with studios in Jersey City. It is owned by ...

Ichiban blog and WFMU's own Beware of The Blog blogsite, the band's choice of cover material has ranged from songs by no-hit obscurities like Mike Waggoner and the Bops, to covers of

the Troggs The Troggs (originally called the Troglodytes) are an English beat music band formed in Andover, Hampshire, in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper " Wild Thing", " With a Girl Like You" and " Love Is All Around", al ...

Larry Williams Lawrence Eugene Williams (May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, and pianist from New Orleans. He is best known for writing and recording some rock and roll classics from 1957 to ...

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, the

MC5 MC5 was an American rock music, rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The classic lineup consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis (bassist), Michael Davis, and drummer ...

, and many others.

From Brooklyn to Japan

Aside from recording five albums, two EPs, and about a dozen 45s on various labels, the A-Bones also were a backup band for acts such as

Hasil Adkins Hasil Adkins (April 29, 1937 – April 26, 2005) was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His genres include rock and roll, country, blues and more commonly rockabilly, and because of his unusual playing and singing style, ...

, Ronnie Dawson,

Cordell Jackson Cordell Jackson (née Miller; July 15, 1923 – October 14, 2004) was an American guitarist thought to be the first woman to produce, engineer, arrange and promote music on her own rock and roll music label. Early life She was born Cordell Mill ...

, Andre Williams,

Ray Sharpe Edward Ray Sharpe (born February 8, 1938) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His best-known single was "Linda Lu". Sharpe was described by one record producer as "the greatest white-sounding black dude ever". Background Born in ...

, the

Flamin' Groovies Flamin' Groovies is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965, originally co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, on Epic ('' Supersnazz'') and Kama Sutra (''Flamingo'' and '' Teenage He ...

' Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan, and others. Although the band broke up in 1994, the A-Bones reunited in 2004 and performed gigs in North America, Europe, and Japan with the core line-up of Linna, Miller, Bennett, and Natale. Occasionally the group was augmented live by Yo La Tengo's

Ira Kaplan Ira David Kaplan (born January 7, 1957) is a co-founder, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter in the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo. He is married to the band's co-founder Georgia Hubley. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Kaplan formed Y ...

, who contributed keyboards and guitar to 2009's ''Not Now!'', 2014's ''Ears Wide Shut'', and other recent recordings. Miller died of

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...

on November 13, 2016.

Discography

EPs

*''Tempo Tantrum'' (1986) *''Free Beer for Life!'' (1988)

LPs

*''The Life of Riley'' (1991) *''I Was a Teenage Mummy'' (1992) *''Music Minus Five'' (1993) *''Crash the Party: The Wild, Wild Sounds of Benny Joy'' (1996) *''Not Now!'' (2009) *''Ears Wide Shut'' (2014)

Compilation albums

*''Daddy Wants a Cold Beer and Other Million Sellers'' (2004) *''I Hate CD's: Norton Records 45 RPM Singles Collection, Vol. 1'' (2007) * '' Daddy Rockin' Strong: A Tribute to Nolan Strong & the Diablos'' (The Wind /

, 2010, TWR002 LP) tracks: ''Real True Love'' and ''The Way You Dog Me Around'' (w/ Andre Williams)

References

External links

Levi Fuller review: ''The Life of Riley'' (October 29, 2009)

Blurt Obituary

Brooklyn Vegan Obituary

Pitchfork Obituary

Rolling Stone magazine obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:A-Bones, The American garage punk groups Garage rock groups from New York (state) Musical groups from Brooklyn Norton Records artists American rockabilly music groups