Lyres are a

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 ...

-area

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

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

. Their most popular songs include "Don't Give It Up Now," "She Pays The Rent" and "Help You Ann".

History

The original lineup of the band featured Conolly (organ and vocals), Rick Coraccio (bass), Ricky Carmel (guitar), and Paul Murphy (drums). By 1981, ''

The Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the now defunct ''Boston Phoenix'', '' ...

'' was calling Lyres "the city's reigning garage band." In December of that year, the ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' (''NME'') praised the band's first EP, ''AHS 1005'', and its "infectious rhythms". ''NME''s Richard Grabel wrote that Lyres had "an understanding of the dynamics of interplay between

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

and cheesy organ that borders on the remarkable" and that "what they do is too perfect to ever be out of fashion." Former DMZ members Coraccio, Murphy, Peter Greenberg, and Mike Lewis all rejoined Conolly in Lyres at some point from 1979 to the early 2000s.

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 ...

drummer

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

(a former drummer for

the Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2009. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...

) and the A-Bones 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 ...

bass player Mike Lewis filled in with Lyres for a show in 1986.

Stiv Bators Steven John Bator (October 22, 1949 – June 4, 1990), known professionally as Stiv Bator and later as Stiv Bators, was an American punk rock vocalist and guitarist from Youngstown, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands Dead Boys and the L ...

of the

Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv Bators, rhythm gui ...

and Lords of the New Church, and

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

the Outsiders The Outsiders may refer to: Literature and stage * ''The Outsiders'' (novel), a 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton * ''The Outsiders'' (musical), a 2023 musical based on S. E. Hinton's novel * ''The Outsiders'' (play), a 1911 play by Charles Klein * ...

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

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 ...

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

"Help You Ann" and "She Pays The Rent"

The song "Help You Ann" was released as a single in 1983 and as the second track of Lyres' debut LP, ''

On Fyre ''On Fyre'' is the first full-length studio album by American garage rock band Lyres. It was released in 1984 by the label Ace of Hearts and reissued in 1998 by Matador Records. It features "Help You Ann", arguably the band's signature song and t ...

'', in 1984. It was named number 13 on the list of the greatest Boston songs of all time published by ''

'' magazine in 2006. The single ranked number 24 on ''

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

'' annual

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

critics' poll for 1983. ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

'' magazine placed it at number 360 on their list of the 500 best songs from 1980 to 2005. The song was recorded by the Chesterfield Kings on a 1998 single and covered by

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, Love has had a career spanning four decades. She rose to promi ...

on her live shows in the early 2000s. Love has expressed her admiration for the Lyres a number of times. Swedish band the Nomads released a version of the Lyres' tune "She Pays The Rent" in 1985 as the A-side of a single. Music critics highlighted the horn section, which is unusual for garage rock bands.

Current line-up

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

Discography (incomplete)

LP albums

*''

'' (1984) *'' Lyres Lyres'' (1986) *'' Recorded Live At Cantones'' (Pryct PR-1003, 1987) *'' A Promise Is a Promise'' (1988) *'' She Pays the Rent Live'' (1988) *'' Live 1983 Let's Have A Party!!'' (Pryct PR-1004, 1989) *''

Happy Now Happy Now or Happy Now? may refer to: Film and theatre *Happy Now? (play), ''Happy Now?'' (play), a play by Lucinda Coxon *Happy Now? (film), ''Happy Now?'' (film), a British film starring Ioan Gruffudd Music Albums * Happy Now (Gang of Four alb ...

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

EPs

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

Taang! Records Taang! Records is an independent record label with a roster of hardcore punk, punk rock, Oi!, power pop, ska, indie rock, psychedelic, and ambient artists and bands founded by Curtis Casella in Boston, Massachusetts in 1983. History Taang! ...

, 1992)

Singles

*"How Do You Know?" b/w "Don't Give It Up Now" (Sounds Interesting S145-002A/B, 1979) *"Help You Ann" b/w "I Really Want You Right Now" ( Ace of Hearts, 1983) *"Here's a Heart (w/Stiv)" b/w "Touch" and "She's Got Eyes That Tell Lies" ( Ace of Hearts, AHS 2015, 1988) *"Self Centered Girl" (Telstar Records, 1993) *"We Sell Soul" b/w "Busy Body" (

, 62 NR 18682-1, 2006) *"Don't Give It Up Now" c/w "How Do You Know?" ( Dirty Water Records, 2007)

Compact Discs

*''

'' + 8 Bonus Tracks (New Rose 35 CD, 1984) *'' A Promise Is a Promise'' (Ace Of Hearts, AHS 325, 1988)

Compilations

* '' Hotel Massachusetts''

In other media

The song "Help You Ann" was featured on the game ''

Destroy All Humans! 2 ''Destroy All Humans! 2'' is a 2006 action-adventure video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game is the sequel to '' Destroy All Humans!'' and the second installment in the '' Destroy All H ...

'' and on the TV show '' Rescue Me''.

Related bands

* Barrence Whitfield and the Savages – Howard Ferguson, Peter Greenberg, Phil Lenker *

– Jeff Conolly, Mike Lewis, Peter Greenberg, Paul Murphy * The Real Kids – Howard Ferguson *The Zantees – Mike Lewis *

– Mike Lewis *

– Mike Lewis * Darker My Love – Jared Everett *Orange Rooftops – T.J. O'Brien, Jeff Gregory, Jeff Phelps, Jason Eaton

References

External links

* {{Authority control Garage rock groups from Massachusetts Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups from Boston