Big Rig Records
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (informally referred to as The Bosstones and often stylized as The Mighty Mighty BossToneS) were an American
ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...
band from
Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, formed in 1983. From the band's inception, lead vocalist
Dicky Barrett Richard Michael Barrett (born June 22, 1964), better known as Dicky Barrett, is an American singer who was the frontman of ska punk band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He was the announcer for ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' from 2004 until 2022. Barrett is ...
, bassist
Joe Gittleman Joe Gittleman (born April 6, 1968, in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American musician, best known as the bass guitar player for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. His proficiency on bass earned him the nickname "the Bass Fiddleman." Career Gittlem ...
, tenor saxophonist
Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton Tim Burton (born John Timothy Burton; 1963), known professionally as Johnny Vegas, is an American musician who played saxophone for the band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Burton was one of the four remaining founding band members when the Bosstone ...
and dancer ("Bosstone") Ben Carr remained constant members. The band's final line-up also included drummer
Joe Sirois Joe Sirois (born January 25, 1972) is an American drummer who is best known for having been a member of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He also played drums for the Boston-based band Street Dogs from 2004 to 2007. Life and career Sirois, who grew u ...
, saxophonist Leon Silva, guitarist Lawrence Katz, keyboardist John Goetchius, and trombonist
Chris Rhodes Chris Rhodes is a trombone player from New Haven, Connecticut best known for playing trombone in several notable ska bands including Spring Heeled Jack, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Bim Skala Bim and the Toasters as well as Connecticut funk band, ...
. The Bosstones are often credited as one of the progenitors of the genre of
ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...
and the creators of its subgenre ska-core, which mixes elements of
ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
with
hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
. Starting with the release of their 1989 debut ''
Devil's Night Out ''Devil's Night Out'' is the debut studio album by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1989 by Taang! Records. It was one of the first albums to mix ska and hardcore punk. Production The album was produced by Paul Kolderie. Jimmy Ge ...
'', the band toured and recorded extensively throughout the 1990s, becoming influential in the development of the American
third-wave ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
scene and was one of the first bands to popularize the genre in the musical mainstream. They reached their commercial peak with their
platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
-selling 1997 album ''
Let's Face It '' Let's Face It'' is the fifth studio album by American ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on March 11, 1997, by Mercury Records and Big Rig Records. The album sold very well due to the success of its single "The Impr ...
'' and its hit single "
The Impression That I Get "The Impression That I Get" is a song by American ska punk band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, '' Let's Face It'' (1997), in February 1997. The track reached number one on the US '' Bill ...
". The band was also notable for being featured in the 1995 film ''
Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone, and was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert Lawrence. The film is a loose adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 no ...
'' as the frat party house band. The band had released seven studio albums, three EPs and a live album by the time they announced a hiatus in December 2003. In 2007, the Bosstones reunited to resume recording and touring, and released four more studio albums between 2009 and 2021. From 1994 to 2002, and again from 2007 to 2019, they hosted the annual
Hometown Throwdown Hometown Throwdown was an annual music festival held in Greater Boston, hosted by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The festival featured local Boston-area acts, focusing on ska, punk and hardcore bands. The festival was traditionally held in Decem ...
music festival, held annually around Christmas time in Cambridge and later Boston. On January 27, 2022, the band announced its disbandment.


History


Early history (1983–1988)

The band's roots lie in the hardcore punk scene of the early 1980s, along with a strong influence from the British
2 Tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Second-order intercept point#Two-tone analysis, Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone Warning chime, chime, such as the "ding ...
ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
scene of the 1970s. Bassist
Joe Gittleman Joe Gittleman (born April 6, 1968, in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American musician, best known as the bass guitar player for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. His proficiency on bass earned him the nickname "the Bass Fiddleman." Career Gittlem ...
played with local hardcore band
Gang Green Gang Green is an American punk rock band originally from Braintree, Massachusetts. Chris Doherty (guitar), Bill Manley (bass) and Mike Dean (drums) started the band in 1980 and broke up in 1983. Doherty reformed Gang Green the following year, ...
, while vocalist
Dicky Barrett Richard Michael Barrett (born June 22, 1964), better known as Dicky Barrett, is an American singer who was the frontman of ska punk band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He was the announcer for ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' from 2004 until 2022. Barrett is ...
was a member of Impact Unit and, later on, Cheapskates. The Cheapskates lineup went through frequent changes and would feature members of Gang Green on occasion. It was through Cheapskates that a core lineup coalesced around Barrett, Gittleman,
Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton Tim Burton (born John Timothy Burton; 1963), known professionally as Johnny Vegas, is an American musician who played saxophone for the band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Burton was one of the four remaining founding band members when the Bosstone ...
(saxophone),
Nate Albert Nathan Robert Albert (born November 26, 1970) is an American music executive, songwriter, producer and guitar player. He is currently the President oGiant Music a division of The Azoff Company. He was previously the Executive Vice President of A ...
(guitar), Josh Dalsimer (drums), Tim Bridwell (trumpet) and Ben Carr (a ubiquitous, dancing non-musician onstage presence, later credited as "Bosstone"). The group decided on the name, "the Bosstones" as a reference to the city near their hometowns. While some of the band members were influenced by bands such as
AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
,
Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. It consists of Mike Ness (vocals, guitar), Jonny Wickersham (guitar), Brent Harding (bass), David Hidalgo Jr. (drums), and David Kalish (keyboards). Emerg ...
,
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...
,
The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
and
Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a Northern Irish punk rock band from Belfast. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the Deep P ...
, Barrett had become enthralled with
2 Tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Second-order intercept point#Two-tone analysis, Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone Warning chime, chime, such as the "ding ...
ska, which was in the tail end of its prominence. In 1987, the Bosstones made their recorded debut when they were featured on the ''Mash It Up'' ska compilation. The Bosstones' contribution was "The Cave", and "Ugly". Another early recording, "Drums and Chickens," appeared on the 1989 ska compilation ''Mashin' Up The Nation''. By the time ''Mashin' Up The Nation'' was released, the Bosstones had temporarily disbanded in order for Albert and Gittleman to finish high school. After their graduation, the band reunited. Around this time, it was brought to the band's attention that an
a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
group,
The Bosstones The Bosstones (also known as The Boss-Tones) were an American musical group who performed in the instrumentally-sparse, a cappella-based harmonic style known as Philadelphia doo-wop. The Bosstones apparently released only one record in their hi ...
, had already used the name during the 1950s. A bartender friend arbitrarily suggested that they become the "Mighty Mighty Bosstones", in order to avoid any possible legal hassles, to which the band agreed.


Taang! years (1989–1992)

Despite not consistently drawing large crowds at their live shows, the
Taang! 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 ...
record label gave the band a
recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...
which would result in the ''
Devil's Night Out ''Devil's Night Out'' is the debut studio album by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1989 by Taang! Records. It was one of the first albums to mix ska and hardcore punk. Production The album was produced by Paul Kolderie. Jimmy Ge ...
'' album, produced by
Paul Q. Kolderie Paul Q. Kolderie is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with Pixies, Radiohead, Orangutang, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Wax, Warren Zevon, Uncle Tupelo, Throwing Muses, Morphine, the Mighty Mighty Bossto ...
. The album was released to positive local and lukewarm national reaction during a time when ska was struggling to move out of the American underground. The band found resistance from ska purists who did not like that the band were not playing traditional ska while hardcore fans were against the ska and heavy metal elements in the music. Despite the initial reaction, ''Devil's Night Out'' has gone on to become one of the band's most popular albums. It was during this time that the band's trademark plaid clothing came to be. After a show where Barrett wore plaid, fans started to show up wearing it as well. It was noticeable enough that the band was approached by the Converse sneaker company to promote Chuck Taylor sneakers. The band accepted the proposal and were seen in one print ad and several television commercials promoting the sneakers. By this time, Tim Bridewell had left the band, to be replaced by
Dennis Brockenborough Dennis Brockenborough is an American musician who played trombone in The Mighty Mighty Bosstones for ten years and was an important contributor to the band's brass instrument-driven skacore sound. Brockenborough joined the Mighty Mighty Bosstones ...
(trombone) and Kevin Lenear (saxophone). The band's next release was an EP titled '' Where'd You Go?''. The EP featured the title track as well as cover versions of
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
's "
Sweet Emotion "Sweet Emotion" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith, released in 1975 on their third studio album '' Toys in the Attic'' by Columbia Records. It was released as a single on May 19, 1975. The song began a string of pop hits and large ...
",
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
's "
Enter Sandman "Enter Sandman" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the opening track and lead single from their self-titled fifth album, released in 1991. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Vocalist ...
",
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...
's "
Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" is a song by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in September 1978 as the fourth US single from their 1978 debut album, ''Van Halen''. This song is one of the few David Lee Roth-era songs that subsequent rep ...
" and a new version of "Do Somethin' Crazy", originally featured on ''
Devil's Night Out ''Devil's Night Out'' is the debut studio album by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1989 by Taang! Records. It was one of the first albums to mix ska and hardcore punk. Production The album was produced by Paul Kolderie. Jimmy Ge ...
.'' In 1991, the band set out on their first full American tour. It was during the first leg of touring that drummer Josh Dalsimer would leave the band to pursue a college education. He would be replaced by
Joe Sirois Joe Sirois (born January 25, 1972) is an American drummer who is best known for having been a member of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He also played drums for the Boston-based band Street Dogs from 2004 to 2007. Life and career Sirois, who grew u ...
, who Barrett met at
Bunker Hill Community College Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is a public community college with multiple campuses in the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1973 in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, BHCC provides higher education and j ...
. Sirois would immediately join his new bandmates in the
recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...
to start work on the band's second album. Once again produced by
Paul Q. Kolderie Paul Q. Kolderie is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with Pixies, Radiohead, Orangutang, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Wax, Warren Zevon, Uncle Tupelo, Throwing Muses, Morphine, the Mighty Mighty Bossto ...
, ''
More Noise and Other Disturbances '' More Noise and Other Disturbances'' is the second studio album by the American band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1992 by Taang! Records. It was a hit on college radio. "Where'd You Go" was released as a single. Critical rec ...
'' was released in June 1992. The band would film a
video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...
for the song "Where'd You Go?" which had previously been available on the EP of the same name (though the band had also recorded a video for "Guns and the Young"), the video was not finished until a few years after it was recorded. During this era, the band published a newsletter for their fans titled ''737''.


Mainstream success and Big Rig Records (1993–2001)

The band signed to their first major label when they joined the
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
roster and soon recorded the ''
Ska-Core, the Devil, and More ''Ska-Core, the Devil, and More'' is an EP by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was first released in 1993 by Mercury Records. This EP includes one ska and three hardcore covers. Track listing #"Someday I Suppose" (Dicky Barrett, Nate Albert, Jo ...
'' EP. Released in March 1993, it was largely a collection of
cover song In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song released ...
s. Four of the seven tracks paid homage to the band's influences:
The Angry Samoans The Angry Samoans was an American punk rock band from the first wave of American punk. Formed in August 1978 in Los Angeles, California, by early 1970s rock writer "Metal" Mike Saunders, his sibling lead guitarist Bonze BlaykBad Trip Records ...
' "Lights Out",
Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guita ...
's "Think Again",
SSD A solid-state drive (SSD) is a type of solid-state storage device that uses Integrated circuit, integrated circuits to store data persistence (computer science), persistently. It is sometimes called semiconductor storage device, solid-stat ...
's "Police Beat" and
The Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as the Wailers and prior to that the Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers and the Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Rober ...
' "
Simmer Down "Simmer Down" is the first single released by the Wailers, accompanied by the ska supergroup the Skatalites and produced by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd in 1963. It was the number one hit in Jamaica in February 1964. The song was directed to the "rude ...
". Three live tracks were included as well. The EP contained one new studio track "Someday I Suppose," which would later appear on the band's third full-length album. Produced by Tony Platt, the band's third LP, '' Don't Know How to Party'' contained a cover of
Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a Northern Irish punk rock band from Belfast. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the Deep P ...
' song "Tin Soldiers" as well as a vocal appearance by Daryl Jennifer of
Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American punk rock band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1976. They are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this term to describe their music. They are also an ade ...
. A video was also filmed for "Someday I Suppose" and it received minor airplay on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
. Though the footage was originally intended to serve as a promo for the Bosstones debut on Mercury, the label liked the footage and turned it into a single. The band would also appear on the 1994 ''Kiss My Ass'' tribute to
Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
album, covering "
Detroit Rock City "Detroit Rock City" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss, released on their 1976 album ''Destroyer''. The song was written by Paul Stanley and producer Bob Ezrin. Background "Detroit Rock City" began with a guitar part by Paul Stanle ...
". Mercury Records released it as a single, appearing on 7-inch green vinyl and backed by the original Kiss version of the song. Soon after, the band found themselves invited by fellow Bostonian
Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer and songwriter. Tyler is best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the keyboards, h ...
, to open up for
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
at their
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...
concert in Boston. While it was not the most successful show the Bosstones had played, it ensured that the Bosstones started 1994 on the road as they had intended. The band released their fourth album, '' Question the Answers,'' in October 1994. The album featured production work by the Butcher Brothers,
Paul Q. Kolderie Paul Q. Kolderie is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with Pixies, Radiohead, Orangutang, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Wax, Warren Zevon, Uncle Tupelo, Throwing Muses, Morphine, the Mighty Mighty Bossto ...
and Ross Humphrey. It was at this time that the band decided it wanted to release their albums on vinyl, leading to a partnership with Mercury Records to form Big Rig Records, a
vanity label Informally, a vanity label (compare vanity press) is a record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the com ...
that allowed the band to release their albums on vinyl. The Big Rig vinyl versions often contained a bonus track not seen on the cassette or CD versions. Besides touring, the band found itself making their network television debut on ''
The Jon Stewart Show ''The Jon Stewart Show'' is a late night talk show that was hosted by comedian Jon Stewart. The program premiered on MTV in 1993 as a 30-minute daily offering and became one of the network's more popular shows. Through a series of events that ...
'' and hosting MTV's ''
120 Minutes ''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the Alternative rock, alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003. After it ...
''. They also contributed a new version of "Where'd You Go?" to the
Alicia Silverstone Alicia Silverstone ( ; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller ''The Crush (1993 film), The Crush'' (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further pro ...
movie ''
Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone, and was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert Lawrence. The film is a loose adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 no ...
''. The band also made an appearance in the film, performing the songs "Where'd You Go?" and "Someday I Suppose" during a college fraternity party scene. On top of their TV and film appearances, the band was added to the main stage of the 1995
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
tour. Mercury set about repromoting ''Question the Answers'' by adding a second disc with five
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
tracks. The EP was titled ''Here We Go Again'' and it was compiled by Barrett at the request of Mercury. After touring as part of the 1996
Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...
lineup (which they would repeat the following year), the Bosstones began work on their next studio album. Released in 1997, ''
Let's Face It '' Let's Face It'' is the fifth studio album by American ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on March 11, 1997, by Mercury Records and Big Rig Records. The album sold very well due to the success of its single "The Impr ...
'', would prove to be the band's biggest seller, mostly due to its first single "
The Impression That I Get "The Impression That I Get" is a song by American ska punk band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, '' Let's Face It'' (1997), in February 1997. The track reached number one on the US '' Bill ...
", which reached number one on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
chart. The album was followed by ''Video Stew'', a
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
compilation of the band's twelve music videos. The mainstream exposure led to the band's appearance on ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'''s '' Elmopalooza'' television special and Grammy Award-winning
soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...
, in which they performed the song "The Zig Zag Dance" with The Count. The band also made their ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' debut, performing "The Impression That I Get". Capitalizing on the band's popularity, Mercury released the band's live album, '' Live From the Middle East'' in October 1998. The album was recorded live in Cambridge, Massachusetts at
The Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
Restaurant and Nightclub during the band's annual end-of-the-year Hometown Throwdown from 1997. In 1999, the band contributed their cover version of the song, "Rudie Can't Fail," to the ''Burning London'' Clash tribute compilation. Shortly after all of these releases, Kevin Lenear quit the band to work on his own material and was replaced by Roman Fleysher. In 2000, the band released '' Pay Attention'' which failed to meet expectations set by the previous album. "So Sad to Say", was released as a single, but it never reached a position higher than No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' charts. Ultimately, the album did not sell as well as their previous release. This was to be the band's last album with Mercury Records, who along with PolyGram, had become part of the
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
who subsequently merged
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
and
Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...
forming the new
Island Def Jam Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American record label group formed on December 31, 1998, by Universal Music Group. Before 2014, IDJMG encompassed labels originally established under the umbrella of Island Records and Def Jam Recording ...
label. The band, unhappy with the way the newly formed label had been handling them, asked for a release from their contract, to which the label agreed. After the recording of ''Pay Attention'', founding member Nate Albert left in order to obtain a degree in
political theory Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from d ...
from
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
. His next musical venture would be as a member of
Evan Dando Evan Griffith Dando (born March 4, 1967) is an American musician and the frontman of the rock band the Lemonheads. He has also embarked on a solo career and collaborated on songs with various artists. In December 2015, Dando was inducted into t ...
’s re-formed Lemonheads before forming
The Kickovers The Kickovers were a pop punk band formed by Nate Albert, former guitarist of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. After Nate left the Bosstones to go to Brown University, he started writing songs, which were not like his previous band. In 2001, he go ...
, which focused more on a 1970's punk sound than ska. Albert eventually became involved in band management, handling bands such as Bayside and
Lost City Angels Lost City Angels were a punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Their most well-known line-up consisted of members, Ron Ragona, Adam Shaw, Chris Duggan, Drew Indingaro and Nick Bacon. Overview Lost City Angels were founded in 2001 by Adam ...
. Albert's replacement on guitar was Lawrence Katz who appeared in the band photo on the album's reverse and in the music video for "So Sad to Say". ''Pay Attention'' was also the last album for Dennis Brockenborough who had already formed his own band, Chubby, for which he sang and played guitar. Brockenborough's replacement was former
Spring Heeled Jack Spring-heeled Jack was an entity in English folklore of the Victorian era. The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837. Later sightings were reported all over the United Kingdom and were especially prevalent in suburban Lond ...
member Chris Rhodes. Spring Heeled Jack had dissolved in 2000, and Rhodes had recently taken a vacant trombone position with
Bim Skala Bim Bim Skala Bim is a ska band formed in Boston that was influenced by the bands in England's two-tone movement, as well as artists such as the Clash, UB40 and Bob Marley. Their "Boston Blue Beat" sound, a mix of upbeat two-tone ska, rock 'n' roll ...
when he received the invitation to join.


SideOneDummy and hiatus (2002–2006)

The band announced their return to an independent label when they signed with
SideOneDummy Records SideOneDummy Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1995 by Bill Armstrong and Joe Sib. The label began as a way for them to release music for their friends' bands. Thereafter SideOneDummy launched the care ...
. In July 2002, the band released '' A Jackknife to a Swan'' and from it the song "You Gotta Go!" was released as a single and video. The band continued to tour but in December 2003, they announced their decision to go on a hiatus and were forced to forgo that year's Hometown Throwdown. One contributing factor was that several band members were reported to already be busy with other bands and side projects. Another factor was that the band had been touring, almost non-stop, since 1991, and some of the band members desired a break. After the hiatus announcement, several members went on to work on other projects and bands. Barrett became the announcer on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
's ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...
'' late night talk show. In 2005, he became the host of the ''Mighty Morning Show'' on Los Angeles radio's
Indie 103.1 KDLD is a commercial FM radio station in Santa Monica, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on 103.1 MHz. KDLE is a commercial FM radio station in Newport Beach, California, broadcasting to the Orange County area on 103.1& ...
FM. In March 2006, he was dismissed from the radio station. Before the hiatus announcement, Gittleman had already formed a side project band named
Avoid One Thing Avoid One Thing is a punk band that started as a side project by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' bassist Joe Gittleman. The Boston, Massachusetts, Boston-based group's first album, titled ''Avoid One Thing (album), Avoid One Thing'', was released ...
featuring members of
Darkbuster Darkbuster is a punk rock band hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, known largely for their songs about the joys of heavy drinking, which have earned them a strong following in the American Northeast. The band occasionally performs under the nam ...
, the Raging Teens and Spring Heeled Jack. The band released two albums for SideOneDummy before announcing their own hiatus in 2005. Sirois recorded and toured with Nate Albert's next band, Kickovers, and also played drums for the
Street Dogs Street Dogs is 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 but reunited again in 2024. History In 1997, McC ...
and
Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965), better known by the stage name Black Francis, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies. Following the band's break ...
. Rhodes went on to play with
The Toasters The Toasters are one of the original American Third wave ska, third wave of ska bands. Founded in New York City in 1981, the band has released nine studio albums, primarily through Moon Ska Records. History Englishman Robert Hingley relocated ...
until his departure in 2006. Rhodes had just joined
Bim Skala Bim Bim Skala Bim is a ska band formed in Boston that was influenced by the bands in England's two-tone movement, as well as artists such as the Clash, UB40 and Bob Marley. Their "Boston Blue Beat" sound, a mix of upbeat two-tone ska, rock 'n' roll ...
before the Bosstones' hiatus came to an end and left Bim Skala Bim as a result. He also performed with former Spring Heeled Jack bandmate Rick Omonte in The Mountain Movers and as a fill-in trombonist for
Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Buddy Schaub (trombone), Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxophone) and Matt Yonker ...
,
Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album '' Turn the Radio Off''. So ...
, and
NOFX NOFX () was an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Bassist/lead vocalist Fat Mike, rhythm guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin were original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...
. Fleysher continued his pursuit of a professional pilot's license. In 2005, after taking classes near his home in South Florida and working as a flight instructor in his spare time, he was hired as an airline pilot for
CommutAir CommuteAir is a regional airline of the United States founded in 1989. Today, CommuteAir operates more than 1,600 weekly flights, exclusively on behalf of United Express, serving over 75 U.S. destinations and 3 in Mexico. CommuteAir's fleet of E ...
, a Continental Airlines regional affiliate based in
Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The population of the sur ...
. After a short stint with the company, he began flying as a charter pilot in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Burton and his family moved to Los Angeles where he became active in the movie business. Besides working for a Hollywood agent, he wrote several scripts and developed projects for television. He also contributed saxophone for a
Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...
song. In 2007, he appeared in the film ''
Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...
'', which was inspired by the life of
Hank Garland Walter Louis Garland (November 11, 1930 – December 27, 2004), known professionally as Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and release ...
. Katz formed a band named Resistant. Katz has also played guitar on several motion picture soundtracks including '' Aquamarine'', '' The Good Night'' and ''
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
'', the latter recorded in collaboration with
The Crystal Method The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in 1993. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, v ...
.


Reunion and breakup (2007–2022)

Because the band left the possibility of playing together again open, rumors and speculation frequently circulated that a reunion was inevitable. The hiatus of Joe Gittleman's band, Avoid One Thing, fueled further speculation of such a reunion. During an ''
Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...
'' Acoustic Session, members of fellow Boston area
ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
band
Big D and the Kids Table Big D and the Kids Table is a ska punk band formed in October 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts, when its members converged in college. Their first release was on their own Fork in Hand Records label, but have since teamed with Springman Records a ...
hinted that the Bosstones were in fact reuniting for another Hometown Throwdown. Jerry Mattes, the creator of the band's bulldog mascot, also acknowledged the chances of a reunion and announced that he was designing a new logo for the band. On October 11, 2007, on Boston Radio Station WBCN,
Dicky Barrett Richard Michael Barrett (born June 22, 1964), better known as Dicky Barrett, is an American singer who was the frontman of ska punk band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He was the announcer for ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' from 2004 until 2022. Barrett is ...
confirmed what he called "the worst kept secret in Boston": the announcement that the Bosstones would indeed play a tenth official Hometown Throwdown at Cambridge's famed
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
club on December 26–30, 2007. Barrett would not confirm any long-term plans for the band. Soon after Barrett's announcement, Gittleman declared that the band intended to record three new songs to be included on an upcoming collection of unreleased material and vinyl
B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
. The album, titled ''
Medium Rare Doneness is a gauge of how thoroughly cooked a cut of meat is based on its color, juiciness, and internal temperature. The gradations are most often used in reference to beef (especially steaks and roasts) but are also applicable to other types ...
'', was released on December 18, 2007. The three new songs marked the first new material recorded since the 2002 release of '' A Jackknife to a Swan''. After the 2007 Throwdown, the Bosstones played a few shows every couple of months. At two of the March shows in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
and Los Angeles,
Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967), known professionally as Jimmy Kimmel, is an American television host, comedian, writer, voice actor, and producer. He has been the host and executive producer of '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-n ...
served as a guest star on
bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common Soprano clarinet, soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays no ...
during "The Impression That I Get". Former saxophonist Lenear rejoined the band, replacing Fleysher, whose job prevented him from being able to play with the band. Despite the activity, the Bosstones remained non-committal on whether they would record and release a studio album. They did make it known that they would no longer tour at the frequency they were known for in the past. On May 15, 2008, it was reported that the Bosstones would be embarking on a short United States tour in July with the
Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The current lineup consists of co-lead vocalist and bassist Ken Casey, drummer Matt Kelly, co-lead vocalist Al Barr (on hiatus from the band since 202 ...
. During the tour, the Bosstones made three stops at
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
minor league ballparks. On October 20, 2008, their website announced that they would return to the Middle East in Cambridge to play an eleventh Hometown Throwdown on December 26–29. In late 2008, the game ''
Rock Band 2 ''Rock Band 2'' is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to ''Rock Band (video game), Rock Band'' (2007) and the second installment in the Rock Band, ''Rock Band ' ...
'' was released and featured a re-recorded version of "Where'd You Go?" that the band had recorded earlier in the year. On November 4, 2008, a MySpace blog announced the recording of a new album, and streamed two new songs, "The Impossible Dream" and "Next to Nothing". On July 29, 2009, the band announced the completion of tracking for the album. On October 16, 2009, the album title was announced to be '' Pin Points and Gin Joints'' and a free download of the song "Graffiti Worth Reading" was made available. The release date was later stated as December 8, 2009. The band continued to tour through the summer of 2009 with shows in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
,
Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
,
Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a decr ...
,
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
,
San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
,
Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...
,
Hampton Beach, New Hampshire Hampton Beach is a village district, census-designated place, and beach resort in the town of Hampton, New Hampshire, United States, along the Atlantic Ocean. Its population at the 2020 census was 2,598. Hampton Beach is in Rockingham County, ...
, and
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...
where they performed at the Victoria Ska Fest with
Voodoo Glow Skulls Voodoo Glow Skulls are an American ska punk band formed in 1988 in Riverside, California, by brothers Frank, Eddie, and Jorge Casillas and their longtime friend Jerry O'Neill. Voodoo Glow Skulls first played at backyard parties and later at Spa ...
,
The Slackers The Slackers are an American ska band, formed in Manhattan, New York in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz. The Slackers' notability is credited to their prolific career, tours of Nort ...
and Chris Murray. The band toured during the summer of 2010 with
Teenage Bottlerocket Teenage Bottlerocket is an American rock band formed in Laramie, Wyoming in 2000. The rock band was formed by twin brothers Ray and Brandon Carlisle, following the dissolution of their previous band, Homeless Wonders. The band's music is he ...
and
the Flatliners The Flatliners are a Canadian punk rock band from Richmond Hill, Ontario. Since their formation in 2002, the band has been a growing influence in the Toronto punk/ska movement, with consistently well-received albums and live shows. History ...
. They also hosted their annual Hometown Throwdown festival over three nights in December 2010. In August 2011, Chris Rhodes posted a Facebook update stating that The Mighty Mighty Bosstones had begun work on their next album. The album, titled ''
The Magic of Youth ''The Magic of Youth'' is the ninth studio album from Boston ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, released on December 6, 2011 on Big Rig Records. The album was released in whole mainland Europe on December 6 via Rude Records. One of t ...
'', was released on December 6, 2011. March 2017 saw the release of their first recording in six years with a limited edition vinyl 7" featuring a cover version of the
Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...
song, " What the World Needs Now Is Love" backed with the track "I Won’t Go Out Like That". In the time between releases, the lineup saw the addition of former
Cherry Poppin' Daddies The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American swing music, swing and ska band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by singer-songwriter Steve Perry (Oregon musician), Steve Perry and bassist Dan Schmid, the band has experienced numerous ...
keyboard player, John Goetchius in 2008 and Leon Silva in 2016 to replace Kevin Lenear who had departed the band for a second time earlier that same year. In September 2017, Tim Burton announced in a post Riot Fest interview that the band was working on a new album set for release in early 2018. According to guitarist Lawrence Katz and producer Ted Hutt's Instagram accounts, recording started on Friday, November 17 at Kingsize Soundlabs in Los Angeles, California. The new album's title was announced to be '' While We're at It''. ''While We're at It'', the band's tenth album, was released on June 15, 2018. It is the final part of a musical trilogy that began with ''Pin Points and Gin Joints'' in 2009 followed by ''The Magic of Youth'' in 2011. For the initial 2018 tour dates supporting the album, Silva could not participate due to his commitments performing with
Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...
. To temporarily fill in for Silva, the band brought in Roman Fleysher and Peter "JR" Wasilewski of
Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Buddy Schaub (trombone), Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxophone) and Matt Yonker ...
to play saxophone on select dates. On January 25, 2021, it was announced that the Mighty Mighty Bosstones had signed a new record contract with
Hellcat Records Hellcat Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label, an offshoot of Epitaph Records, was started as a partnership between Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, the owner of Epitaph, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid ...
. In conjunction with the announcement, the band released a new single titled, "The Final Parade" which features guest appearances by
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
n singer
Stranger Cole Stranger Cole, also known as StrangeJah Cole (born Wilburn Theodore Cole, 26 June 1942)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 335 is a Jamaican singer whose long recording career dates from the early days of sk ...
and members of Rancid, The Interrupters,
Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1979, the band plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative ...
,
Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a Northern Irish punk rock band from Belfast. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the Deep P ...
,
The Suicide Machines The Suicide Machines are an American ska punk band formed in March 1991 in Detroit, Michigan. During the course of their career, the band has released seven full-length albums on the labels Hollywood Records, Side One Dummy Records and Fat Wr ...
,
Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Buddy Schaub (trombone), Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxophone) and Matt Yonker ...
,
Murphy's Law Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Though similar statements and concepts have been made over the course of history, the law itself was coined by, and named after, Americ ...
, H2O, Goldfinger,
Sonic Boom Six Sonic Boom Six (often shortened to SB6) are an English five-piece band from Manchester, United Kingdom. Their eclectic sound combines different elements of several genres and has been described by ''Kerrang!'' as "taking ska, pop, grime, du ...
,
The Toasters The Toasters are one of the original American Third wave ska, third wave of ska bands. Founded in New York City in 1981, the band has released nine studio albums, primarily through Moon Ska Records. History Englishman Robert Hingley relocated ...
,
Bim Skala Bim Bim Skala Bim is a ska band formed in Boston that was influenced by the bands in England's two-tone movement, as well as artists such as the Clash, UB40 and Bob Marley. Their "Boston Blue Beat" sound, a mix of upbeat two-tone ska, rock 'n' roll ...
,
Big D and the Kids Table Big D and the Kids Table is a ska punk band formed in October 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts, when its members converged in college. Their first release was on their own Fork in Hand Records label, but have since teamed with Springman Records a ...
, Doped Up Dollies,
The Aggrolites The Aggrolites are an American reggae band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which formed in 2002. Overview The Aggrolites are an amalgamation of two previous Los Angeles reggae and ska bands, the Vessels and the Rhythm Doctors. Th ...
,
Dance Hall Crashers Dance Hall Crashers (often abbreviated to DHC) is an American ska punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Initially founded by former Operation Ivy members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, the band has had a fluid lineup over its caree ...
,
The Aquabats The Aquabats are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1994. Throughout many fluctuations in the group's line-up, singer Christian Jacobs, the MC Bat Commander and bassist Chad Larson, Crash McLarson have ...
,
Buck-O-Nine Buck-O-Nine is an American ska punk band which was formed in San Diego in 1991. The band has toured internationally and released several albums and EPs, as well as appearing on compilations and film soundtracks. During the mid-to-late 1990s, t ...
,
The Porkers The Porkers are an Australian ska punk band from Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Formed in 1987 as The Pork Hunts, the band was eventually forced to change its name to the less offensive-sounding The Porkers in 1990 after their regular ...
,
The Pietasters The Pietasters are an American eight-piece ska/soul band from Washington, D.C., with additional members from Maryland and Virginia. History In 1990, Stephen Jackson and Chris Watt met at Virginia Tech, through mutual friend Tal Bayer, who was a ...
, Los Skanarles, Buster Shuffle,
Kemuri Kemuri (Japanese for ''smoke'') is a Japanese-American ska punk band formed in Oxnard, California in 1995. They have an upbeat sound with positive lyrics which they refer to as PMA (positive mental attitude). While the majority of their songs ar ...
,
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a contemporary swing revival band from Southern California. Their notable singles include "Go Daddy-O", "You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)", and "Mr. Pinstripe Suit". The band played at the Super Bowl XXXIII h ...
, and
The Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...
. In March 2021, the band announced their first album since signing to Hellcat Records, '' When God Was Great'', would be released on May 7, 2021, and released the album's second single "I Don't Believe in Anything". The album's third single, "The Killing of King Georgie (Part III)", a song about the
murder of George Floyd On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old White police officer. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a c ...
, was released on April 21, 2021. On January 27, 2022, the band announced that they had split up. The statement shared by the band reads: "After decades of brotherhood, touring the world and making great records together we have decided not to continue on as a band. Above all, we want to express our sincere gratitude to every single one of you who have supported us. We could not have done any of it without you. Love Always, The Mighty Mighty BossToneS." Although the band chose to keep their reasoning for the split private, speculation suggested that it was over Barrett's stance on
COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Knowledge about the structure and fun ...
s and his participation in the production of a video promoting the "Defeat the Mandates" anti-vaccination mandate rally held by
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954), also known by his initials RFK Jr., is an American politician, environmental lawyer, author, conspiracy theorist, and anti-vaccine activist serving as the 26th United States secretary of heal ...
In February 2022, Barrett was a guest on ''The Highwire with
Del Bigtree Del Matthew Bigtree is an American television and film producer who is the CEO of the anti-vaccination group Informed Consent Action Network. He produced the film '' Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe'', based on the discredited opinions o ...
'' podcast where he confirmed that it was his anti-vaccination views that had made the rest of the band uncomfortable.


Big Rig Records

Big Rig Records started as a vanity label in 1993 due to the band's desire to release their records on vinyl. While the band wanted to release their albums on vinyl, the label had ceased pressing albums in that format. A partnership between Mercury and the band resulted in the label continuing to handle the conventional CD and cassette versions of the albums while allowing the band's Big Rig label to focus on the vinyl editions. The new label immediately issued re-releases of ''Don't Know How to Party'' and ''Ska-Core, the Devil, and More'' on colored vinyl. Besides the band's own albums, additional releases include the first CD release of Dicky Barrett's previous band Impact Unit, as well as ''Vow of Poverty'' by the Boston punk band Mung, and ''
Half Hour of Power ''Half Hour of Power'' is the debut extended play by Canadian rock band Sum 41. It was released on June 27, 2000, on Big Rig Records, a subsidiary of Island Records (United States), and Aquarius Records (Canada). The cover features the band's t ...
'' by
Sum 41 Sum 41 was a Canadian rock band formed in Ajax, Ontario, in 1996. The band's final lineup consisted of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom T ...
. Additionally, the label also released a benefit compilation featuring various artists titled ''Safe and Sound: A Benefit in Response to the Brookline Clinic Violence'', as well as, ''You Decide: Warped Tour 2000 Sampler'', a sampler of bands featured on the 2000
Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a touring rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music festival in the United S ...
. The first new release under this partnership was ''Question the Answers'' and it continued through ''Pay Attention'', the band's final album with the Island Def Jam Music Group, the label formed after the merger of Mercury Records, Island Records, and Def Jam Recordings. After leaving Mercury, the vinyl release of ''A Jackknife to a Swan'' was handled directly by SideOneDummy, the band's label at the time. Since the band's return from hiatus, Big Rig has been run exclusively by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones as their own independent record label, handling all of their new releases up until 2021's ''When God Was Great'', which was released on
Hellcat Records Hellcat Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label, an offshoot of Epitaph Records, was started as a partnership between Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, the owner of Epitaph, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid ...
.


Musical style

The band has been typically aligned with
ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...
. The ''
L.A. Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', described their sound as "blending the brassy after-beat groove of ska with the uncompromising intensity of hard-core punk". The ''
Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...
'' described it similarly as an "eclectic swirl of good-time music fuses the perky pick-it-up sound of pre-reggae ska with monstrous hard-core guitars."
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
credited them as being "one of the first bands to cross high-energy ska with hardcore punk and hard rock guitars", and "
aying Aying is a municipality in the district of Munich in Bavaria, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the s ...
a great deal of the groundwork for the mid- to late-'90s ska explosion, helping shift its tone toward party music." The ''
Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...
'' said that they "were one of the first bands to cross high-energy ska with hardcore punk and heavy metal.".


Band members


Final lineup

*
Dicky Barrett Richard Michael Barrett (born June 22, 1964), better known as Dicky Barrett, is an American singer who was the frontman of ska punk band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He was the announcer for ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' from 2004 until 2022. Barrett is ...
 –
lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
(1983–2004, 2007–2022) *
Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton Tim Burton (born John Timothy Burton; 1963), known professionally as Johnny Vegas, is an American musician who played saxophone for the band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Burton was one of the four remaining founding band members when the Bosstone ...
 –
tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...
,
backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...
(1983–2004, 2007–2022) * Ben Carr –
dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
, backing vocals, percussion, tour manager and "Bosstone" (1983–2004, 2007–2022) *
Joe Gittleman Joe Gittleman (born April 6, 1968, in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American musician, best known as the bass guitar player for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. His proficiency on bass earned him the nickname "the Bass Fiddleman." Career Gittlem ...
 –
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
, backing vocals (1983–2004, 2007–2022) *
Joe Sirois Joe Sirois (born January 25, 1972) is an American drummer who is best known for having been a member of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He also played drums for the Boston-based band Street Dogs from 2004 to 2007. Life and career Sirois, who grew u ...
 –
drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
,
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
(1991–2004, 2007–2022) * Lawrence Katz –
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
, backing vocals (2000–2004, 2007–2022) *
Chris Rhodes Chris Rhodes is a trombone player from New Haven, Connecticut best known for playing trombone in several notable ska bands including Spring Heeled Jack, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Bim Skala Bim and the Toasters as well as Connecticut funk band, ...
 –
trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...
, backing vocals (2000–2004, 2007–2022) * John Goetchius – keyboards (2008–2022) * Leon Silva –
tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...
, backing vocals (2016–2022)


Former members

* Tim Bridewell – trombone (1983–1991) * Josh Dalsimer – drums (1983–1991) *
Dennis Brockenborough Dennis Brockenborough is an American musician who played trombone in The Mighty Mighty Bosstones for ten years and was an important contributor to the band's brass instrument-driven skacore sound. Brockenborough joined the Mighty Mighty Bosstones ...
 – trombone (1991–2000) * Kevin Lenear – alto, tenor, and
baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...
s (1991–1998; 2008–2016) *
Nate Albert Nathan Robert Albert (born November 26, 1970) is an American music executive, songwriter, producer and guitar player. He is currently the President oGiant Music a division of The Azoff Company. He was previously the Executive Vice President of A ...
 – guitar, backing vocals (1983–2000, 2015 live only, 2020–2022 studio only) * Roman Fleysher – tenor saxophone (1998–2004, 2007–2008; sporadic appearances 2018–2021)


Additional personnel

* Peter Wasilewski – saxophone (touring member) *
Davey Holmes Davey Holmes (born October 4, 1969, in Massachusetts) is an Americans, American screenwriter, Television producer, producer and Television director, director. He is the creator and executive producer of the television show ''Get Shorty (TV series ...
 – keyboards * Brian Dwyer – trumpet * Kevin P. Stevenson – guitar * Dave Aaronoff – keyboards * Sledge Burton – trumpet * Jon Nash – guitar


Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:26 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:120 top:0 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1983 till:01/27/2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:4 start:1983 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1983 Colors = id:lvocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:bvocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums,_percussion id:tenor value:tan2 legend:Tenor_saxophone id:sax value:skyblue legend:Alto_&_baritone_saxophone id:trombone value:coral legend:Trombone id:manager value:lavender legend:Tour_manager,_dancer id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_Albums id:Lines2 value:gray(0.5) legend:Other_Releases id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars LineData = at:08/22/1989 color:black layer:back at:08/13/1992 color:black layer:back at:05/18/1993 color:black layer:back at:10/04/1994 color:black layer:back at:03/11/1997 color:black layer:back at:05/02/2000 color:black layer:back at:07/09/2002 color:black layer:back at:12/08/2009 color:black layer:back at:12/06/2011 color:black layer:back at:06/15/2018 color:black layer:back at:07/01/1997 color:lines2 layer:back at:07/01/1998 color:lines2 layer:back at:05/07/2021 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:dicky text:Dicky Barrett bar:burton text:Tim Burton bar:kevin text:Kevin Lenear bar:roman text:Roman Fleysher bar:leon text:Leon Silva bar:tim text:Tim Bridewell bar:dennis text:Dennis Brockenborough bar:chris text:Chris Rhodes bar:nate text:Nate Albert bar:katz text:Lawrence Katz bar:goetchius text:John Goetchius bar:joe text:Joe Gittleman bar:josh text:Josh Dalsimer bar:sirois text:Joe Sirois bar:ben text:Ben Carr PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:dicky from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:lvocals bar:dicky from:10/11/2007 till:end color:lvocals bar:nate from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/2000 color:guitar bar:nate from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2022 color:guitar bar:katz from:01/01/2000 till:09/12/2004 color:guitar bar:katz from:10/11/2007 till:end color:guitar bar:goetchius from:01/01/2008 till:end color:keys bar:joe from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:bass bar:joe from:10/11/2007 till:end color:bass bar:josh from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1991 color:drums bar:sirois from:01/01/1991 till:09/12/2004 color:drums bar:sirois from:10/11/2007 till:end color:drums bar:burton from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:tenor bar:burton from:10/11/2007 till:end color:tenor bar:kevin from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1998 color:tenor bar:kevin from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1998 color:sax width:3 bar:kevin from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2016 color:tenor bar:kevin from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2016 color:sax width:3 bar:roman from:01/01/1998 till:09/12/2004 color:tenor bar:roman from:10/11/2007 till:01/01/2008 color:tenor bar:leon from:01/01/2016 till:end color:tenor bar:tim from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1991 color:trombone bar:dennis from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/2000 color:trombone bar:chris from:01/01/2000 till:09/12/2004 color:trombone bar:chris from:10/11/2007 till:end color:trombone bar:ben from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:manager bar:ben from:10/11/2007 till:end color:manager width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:nate from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/2000 color:bvocals bar:nate from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2022 color:guitar bar:nate from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2022 color:bvocals bar:katz from:01/01/2000 till:09/12/2004 color:bvocals bar:katz from:10/11/2007 till:end color:bvocals bar:joe from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:bvocals bar:joe from:10/11/2007 till:end color:bvocals bar:burton from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:bvocals bar:burton from:10/11/2007 till:end color:bvocals bar:leon from:01/01/2016 till:end color:bvocals bar:chris from:01/01/2000 till:09/12/2004 color:bvocals bar:chris from:10/11/2007 till:end color:bvocals bar:ben from:01/01/1983 till:09/12/2004 color:bvocals bar:ben from:10/11/2007 till:end color:bvocals


Discography

* ''
Devil's Night Out ''Devil's Night Out'' is the debut studio album by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1989 by Taang! Records. It was one of the first albums to mix ska and hardcore punk. Production The album was produced by Paul Kolderie. Jimmy Ge ...
'' (1990) * ''
More Noise and Other Disturbances '' More Noise and Other Disturbances'' is the second studio album by the American band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released in 1992 by Taang! Records. It was a hit on college radio. "Where'd You Go" was released as a single. Critical rec ...
'' (1992) * '' Don't Know How to Party'' (1993) * '' Question the Answers'' (1994) * ''
Let's Face It '' Let's Face It'' is the fifth studio album by American ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. It was released on March 11, 1997, by Mercury Records and Big Rig Records. The album sold very well due to the success of its single "The Impr ...
'' (1997) * '' Pay Attention'' (2000) * '' A Jackknife to a Swan'' (2002) * '' Pin Points and Gin Joints'' (2009) * ''
The Magic of Youth ''The Magic of Youth'' is the ninth studio album from Boston ska punk band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, released on December 6, 2011 on Big Rig Records. The album was released in whole mainland Europe on December 6 via Rude Records. One of t ...
'' (2011) * '' While We're at It'' (2018) * '' When God Was Great'' (2021)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The 1983 establishments in Massachusetts 2022 disestablishments in Massachusetts Musical groups from Boston American ska musical groups Third-wave ska groups Punk rock groups from Massachusetts American ska punk musical groups Hellcat Records artists Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Musical groups disestablished in 2022 Musical groups disestablished due to the COVID-19 pandemic Mercury Records artists SideOneDummy Records artists American punk rock groups