The Bags are an American

hard Hard means something that is difficult to do. It may also refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * Hard (TV series), ''Hard'' (TV ser ...

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 ...

band from Lexington, Massachusetts, formed in 1985. The band is composed of members Jon Hardy, Jim Janota, and Crispin Wood. Though a couple of early recordings were released on the ''Crawling from Within'' multi-artist compilation, their debut album, entitled ''

Rock Starve ''Rock Starve'' is The Bags' debut album, released in 1987 by Restless Records. Though preceded by early releases of "Try It" and "Egg" — songs found on the multiple-artist compilation, ''Crawling from Within'' — the album features re-recor ...

'', was released in 1987. An article by Charles M. Young written in Playboy magazine best describes the band's sound: "The Bags fall somewhere among 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 ...

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardc ...

, and early

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 ...

. Their debut, Rock Starve, consists of thrilling guitar-bash riffs that pound like the sound of a herd of giant woolly mammoths going over a cliff, just enough melody rasping though shredded vocal cords and lyrics wholly unbesmirched by any panty-waist college-poetry influence." The band began touring in 1988, releasing an album under the alias of "Swamp Oaf" and later releasing an actual self-titled LP. The Bags won the WBCN Rock 'n' Roll Rumble in 1989. Their next album, ''Night of the Corn People'', came in 1991, though the band broke up shortly thereafter. Though having gone their separate ways for over a decade (discounting a single reunion show in 1996), they reassembled in 2003 to page their latest achievement, ''

Sharpen Your Sticks ''Sharpen Your Sticks'' is the fifth album by The Bags. The album's title track, "Cavemen Rejoice", is also featured as a playable track on PlayStation 2 music game, ''Guitar Hero ''Guitar Hero'' is a series of rhythm games first released i ...

'', one track of which ("Cavemen Rejoice") eventually found its way onto the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

game, ''

Guitar Hero ''Guitar Hero'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2005, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing primarily lead guitar, lead, bass guitar, bass, and rhythm guitar across numerous songs. Players match ...

''. Later, in April 2007, The Bags released a follow-up to Sharpen Your Sticks: the 14-track opus, ''

Mount Rockmore The Bags are an American hard/punk rock band from Lexington, Massachusetts, formed in 1985. The band is composed of members Jon Hardy, Jim Janota, and Crispin Wood. Though a couple of early recordings were released on the ''Crawling from Withi ...

''. This latest original album was produced by Carl Plaster (

Sebadoh Sebadoh () is an American indie rock band formed in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Eric Gaffney and Lou Barlow, with multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein completing the line-up in 1989. Barlow co-created Sebadoh as an outlet for his ...

Buffalo Tom Buffalo Tom is an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986. Its principal members are guitarist Bill Janovitz who also sings the majority of lead vocals, bassist and singer Chris Colbourn, and drummer Tom Maginn ...

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (informally referred to as The Bosstones and often stylized as The Mighty Mighty BossToneS) were an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky ...

, etc.). Jim Janota (aka Jackie Kickassis) is also a member of the Hard Rocque outfit

The Upper Crust The Upper Crust is an American hard rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. The members adopt the personae of 18th-century aristocratic fops and sing songs from that perspective. They use titles of nobility, wear powdered wigs and period costumes, ...

Discography

Singles

*"I Know" / "Hide and Seek" (Mar. 1989, Stanton Park) 7" vinyl 45 *"L. Frank Baum" / "Max Roach" (June 1991, Stanton Park) 7" vinyl 45 *"Dr. Lb." / "Frilly Underwear" (Aug. 1991, Helter Skelter) 7" vinyl 45 *"2 Songs Live" ("Ivan the Terrible" / "Hide and Seek") (June 2004, Oaf Records) a CD single featuring live versions of the two tracks, recorded at Middle East Downstairs during a comeback tour in Feb., 2004

Albums

*''

'' (Nov. 1987,

Restless Records Restless Records was started in El Segundo, California in 1986 by Enigma Records and primarily released alternative, metal and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blade Records and Mute R ...

) *''Swamp Oaf'' (June 1989,

Stanton Park Stanton Park, previously known as Stanton Square, is a national park in Washington D.C.Stanton Park

) *''The Bags'' **(Mar. 1990, Stanton Park) the original, untitled LP **(2008, Oaf Records) a CD version, entitled ''The Bags '89'', which also features 1989 Stanton Park single ("I Know"/"Hide and Seek"), and a couple of previously unreleased tracks *''

Night of the Corn People ''Night of the Corn People '' is the fourth album by The Bags. It was first released on CD by the Stanton Park music label. A yellow & green color-vinyl Double LP edition was released the following year by the Italian Helter Skelter Records. It w ...

'' **(Aug. 1991, Stanton Park) a CD featuring the main album, the "Waiting for Maloney" opus, and the "Dr. Lb."/"Frilly Underwear" single **(Jan. 1992, Helter Skelter) a colored-vinyl Double-LP release featuring the above, but with five unreleased tracks added instead of the single's *''

'' (Feb. 2005, Oaf Records) *''Mount Rockmore'' (April 2007, Oaf Records)

References

External links

The Bags' Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bags, The Hard rock musical groups from Massachusetts Musical groups established in 1985 Restless Records artists 1985 establishments in Massachusetts