DMZ was an American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

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

Boston 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 ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, strongly influenced by 1960s garage rock.

Background

In early 1976, Jeff Conolly (sometimes credited as J. Connally, Mono Mann, Monoman, Pokemonoman, etc.) stole the lead vocalist position in the nascent band by out-performing their singer at one of the band's practices. Along with his vocals he brought two things the band lacked: keyboards (an electric piano) and original songs. Just over one year later, in April 1977, the band went into 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 ...

with

Craig Leon Craig Leon (born 7 January 1952) is an American-born record producer, composer and arranger currently living in England.''International Who's Who in Classical Music 2005'', Routledge, 2005. Leon was instrumental in launching the careers of many ...

(who had produced the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

' first album). Four songs from that session were released by Bomp! on a seven-inch vinyl EP. One of the best known photographs of Bomp! founder

Greg Shaw Greg Shaw (January 1949 – October 19, 2004) was an American writer, publisher, magazine editor, music historian and record executive. Biography Shaw was born in San Francisco, California. He began writing about rock and roll music as a yo ...

shows him holding this disc. DMZ was later signed by

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

and went to New York City to record their debut album, produced by

Flo & Eddie Flo & Eddie is a comedy rock duo consisting of Mark Volman (Flo, short for Phlorescent Leech) and Howard Kaylan (Eddie). Kaylan and Volman were founding members of the mid-to late 1960s rock and pop band the Turtles. After the Turtles dis ...

. The album was released in 1978 without much success and by the end of the year the group had splintered. Guitarists J. J. Rassler and Preston Wayne left to start the Odds, and Conolly, bassist Rick Coraccio and drummer Paul Murphy formed

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 ...

.The Lyres to set Toast on fyre Aug. 20
Nancy L. Foster, Somerville News, August 18, 2004 DMZ has re-formed periodically; a 1993 set appears on the ''Live at the Rat''

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

(along with eight tracks from a 1976 show). Early drummer David Robinson (who had previously been in

the Modern Lovers The Modern Lovers were an American rock band formed in Natick, Massachusetts in 1970 by Jonathan Richman. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist ...

) left DMZ to join

the Cars The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave Subculture, scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (l ...

. Bassist Mike Lewis later joined the Lyres and later recorded with

the A-Bones The A-Bones was an American garage rock band from Brooklyn, New York. Their name was derived from a 1964 song by the Trashmen. The A-Bones was formed in 1984 by vocalist Billy Miller and his wife, drummer and co-vocalist Miriam Linna, soon afte ...

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 ...

. Guitarist Peter Greenberg later joined Lyres and went on to found Barrence Whitfield and the Savages.

Members

* Jeff Conolly – vocals, keyboards * Rick Coraccio – bass guitar * Peter Greenberg – lead guitar * Jack Hickey – guitar * Mike Lewis – bass guitar * Mike "Drums" Lewis – drums * Paul Murphy – drums * J. J. Rassler – guitar * David Robinson – drums * Adam Schwartz – lead singer * John Smith (Bernardo) – drums * Preston Wayne – guitar

Partial discography

_ DMZ Telstar Records 45 RPM Produced by DMZ March/April, 1976 Released in 1986 with Mike Lewis bass, Jay Jay Rassler- rhythm guitar *First Time Is The Best Time * Teenage Head (originally recorded by

the Flamin' Groovies ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

) *''DMZ'' EP (1977, Bomp!) #"Lift Up Your Hood" #"Busy Man" #"You're Gonna Miss Me" (originally recorded by the

13th Floor Elevators The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969, an ...

) #"When I Get Off" *''

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

'' LP (1978,

Sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...

) #"Mighty Idy" #"Bad Attitude" #"Watch for Me Girl" #"Cinderella" (originally recorded by

the Sonics The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, that formed in 1960. Their aggressive, hard-edged sound has been a major influence on Punk rock, punk and Garage rock, garage music worldwide, and they have been named inspir ...

) #"Don't Jump Me Mother" #"Destroyer" #"Baby Boom" #"Out of Our Tree" (originally recorded by

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 ...

) #"Border Line" #"Do Not Enter" #"From Home" (originally recorded by

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 ...

) *''Relics'' LP (1981, Voxx/Bomp!) **Includes the complete ''DMZ EP'', as well as five previously unreleased four-track demos recorded April 1977: #"Can't Stand the Pain" (originally recorded by

the Pretty Things ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

) #"Do Not Enter" #"Shirt Loop" #"Guilty Child" #"Barracuda" (originally recorded by

the Standells The Standells are an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as a "punk band of the 1960s", and are said to have inspired such groups as the Sex Pistols and ...

) *''"Live at Barnaby's - 1978"'' LP (1986,

Crypt Records Crypt Records is an independent record label founded by American-born Tim Warren in 1983. The label has been headquartered variously in Hamburg, Germany and in several locations in the United States. Crypt is perhaps best known for issuing the ten ...

) **Recorded live at Barnaby's, Methuen, Massachusetts, on June 2, 1978: #"Watch For Me Girl" #"Come On Now" #"Raw Power" #"Don't Jump Me Mother" #"Frenzy" #"From Home" #"When I Get Off" #"Destroyer" #"In Motion" #"Nobody But Me" #"Cinderella" #"Out Of Our Tree" #"Mighty Idy" #"It's All Right" #"He's Waiting" #"You Left The Water Running" #"You're Gonna Miss Me" *''"When I Get Off"—The Classic Originals'' CD (1993, Voxx/Bomp!) **Includes same five demos as on ''Relics'', plus live radio recordings (July 1976, WTBS, Cambridge, Massachusetts): #"Busy Man" #"You're Gonna Miss Me" #"When I Get Off" #"Lift Up Your Hood" #"Comin' After Me" (originally recorded by 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 ...

) #"Bloody Englishmen" #"First Time" #"Oedipus Show" #"Rosalyn" (originally recorded by the Pretty Things) #"Mighty Idy" #"From Home" #"Are You Gonna Be There" (originally recorded by

the Chocolate Watch Band The Chocolate Watchband is an American garage rock band that formed in 1965 in Los Altos, California. The band went through several lineup changes during its existence. Combining psychedelic and garage rock components, their sound was marked by D ...

) #"Pretty Girl" *''Live at the Rat'' CD (2001, Bomp!) **Recorded in 1976 + 1993 #"Intro by Oedipus" #"First Time (Is the Best Time)" #"Boy from Nowhere" #"Ball Me Out" #"Lift Up Your Hood" #"Go to School" #"Watch for Me Girl" #"Boy from Nowhere" #"Raw Power" (originally recorded by

Iggy and the Stooges The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...

) #"Cinderella" #"He's Waitin'" #"Don't Jump Me Mother" #"Frenzy" (originally recorded by

the Fugs The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver (musician), Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of the Holy ...

) #"When I Get Off" #"Out of Our Tree" #"Mighty Idy" #"You're Gonna Miss Me" #"Don't Start Cryin' Now" (originally recorded by

Slim Harpo Slim Harpo (born Isiah Moore or James Isaac Moore; February 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970)Martin Hawkins, "Slim Harpo at 100", ''Blues & Rhythm'', No.384, June 2024, p.23 was an American blues musician, a leading exponent of the swamp blues styl ...

; also recorded by

Them Them or THEM, a third-person singular or plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fict ...

) #"Ball Me Out" #"Boy from Nowhere"

References

Sources

Grunnen Rocks
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dmz (Band) Punk rock groups from Massachusetts American garage punk groups Musical groups from Boston Musical groups established in 1976 1976 establishments in Massachusetts