The Bruisers were a punk band that pioneered the American streetpunk/

oi! Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement was ...

movement, formed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1988. The original lineup included:

Al Barr Alexander Barr (born January 21, 1968) is an American musician. He has been the lead singer of the Dropkick Murphys since 1998. He was also a founder and lead singer for The Bruisers, which he helped form in 1988 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. H ...

(

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

, now the lead singer of the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band

Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly (1997– ), singer Al Barr (1 ...

), Scotty Davies (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

), Jeff Morris (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

) and Rodger Shosa ( drums). Morris is now a guitarist and lead vocalist for Death & Taxes, and a former guitarist for

Mark Lind The Ducky Boys are a street punk band from Boston. Since forming in 1995 in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, the band has released six full-length albums and over 80 songs. The band's name is derived from the name of an Irish street gan ...

& the Unloved. Former guitarist Rick Wimert died 1995. The first band members were

skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its nor ...

s (although not

white power skinhead White power skinheads, also known as racist skinheads and neo-Nazi skinheads, are members of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and antisemitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations ...

s). After a few years and lineup changes, the band and their style changed slightly. By 1996, Al Barr was the only remaining original member of The Bruisers. One notable release by the band was a 7" split with Barr's future band

in 1997. After 10 years, the band broke up in 1998. The Bruisers had a reunion concert on September 14, 2005 at The Roxy in Boston. The bill included local acts

The Ducky Boys The Ducky Boys are a street punk band from Boston. Since forming in 1995 in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, the band has released six full-length albums and over 80 songs. The band's name is derived from the name of an Irish street gan ...

and

Tommy & The Terrors Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

, as well as

The Casualties The Casualties are an American hardcore punk band from New York City, founded by vocalist Jorge Herrera, Hank (guitar), Colin Wolf (vocals), Mark Yoshitomi (bass) and Yureesh Hooker (drums) in 1990. In July 2017, it was announced on the band's F ...

from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

.Bruisers (Al Barr of Dropkick Murphys) reunion show details , Punknews.org
/ref> The Bruisers played a second reunion show on August 31, 2012 headlining the first night of the 2000 Tons of TNT Fest at the Webster Theater in Hartford, CT.

Former members

–

(1988–1998, 2005) * Jeff Morris –

(1988–1996, 2005) * Scotty Davies –

(1988–1990) * Rodger Shosa – drums (1988–1989) * Dan Connors – drums (1989–1997, 2005) * Crash – guitar (1989–1990) *Rick Wimert – guitar (1990–1995) * Todd Seely – bass (1990–1991), guitar (1996–1997) * Keith "Ritchie" Richards – bass (1991–1996, guitar (1997–1998, 2005) * Robert Garceau – guitar (1995–1996) * Scott Vierra – guitar (1996–1998, 2005) *

Johnny Rioux Johnny Rioux is a musician primarily known for playing in and working with many punk rock bands. He was initially based in Boston, MA but is now based in Texas. Rioux is most known for his tenure as bass guitarist with the Street Dogs with ...

– bass (1996–1998) * John Dicicco – drums (1997–1998) * Mike Savitkas – bass (2005)

Discography

Albums

* '' Cruisin' for a Bruisin''' (1993) * '' Up in Flames'' (1996)

EPs/singles

* ''

Intimidation Intimidation is to "make timid or make fearful"; or to induce fear. This includes intentional behaviors of forcing another person to experience general discomfort such as humiliation, embarrassment, inferiority, limited freedom, etc and the victi ...

'' (1989) * ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

'' (1990) * '' American Night'' (1991) * ''

Gates of Hell ''The Gates of Hell'' (french: La Porte de l'Enfer) is a monumental bronze sculptural group work by French artist Auguste Rodin that depicts a scene from the '' Inferno'', the first section of Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy''. It stands at ...

'' (1994) * '' Clobberin' Time'' (1995) * '' Mad Parade/Bruisers'' (1995) * '' Still Standing Up'' (1997) * ''

The Bruisers/Charge 69 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things 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 En ...

'' (1998) * '' Molotov'' (1997) * '' Bruisers/Randumbs'' (1998) * '' The Bruisers/Dropkick Murphys'' (1998)

Compilation albums

* '' Society's Fools'' (1996) * '' Anything You Want It's All Right Here...: The Authorized Bruisers 1988–1994'' (1998) * '' One Law For Them...Another One For Us'' (1999) * ''

In The Pit - Live And Rare IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * In ...

(2000) * '' Better Days'' (2000) * ''

Singles Collection 1989–1997 The Bruisers were a punk band that pioneered the American streetpunk/ oi! movement, formed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1988. The original lineup included: Al Barr ( vocals, now the lead singer of the Boston punk band Dropkick Murphys), Sc ...

'' (2004)

References

Rock music groups from New Hampshire American punk rock groups Street punk groups {{US-punk-band-stub