The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are an American
third wave ska band from
Boston,
Massachusetts.
Formed in 1983,[1] the Bosstones are credited with the creation of the ska-core genre, a form of music that mixes elements of third wave ska and hardcore punk. The band released seven full-length albums, three EPs and a live album while touring continuously before their announcement of a hiatus in December 2003. They reunited in the fall of 2007 and performed together for the first time in four years at Boston's Middle East club. The band has continued to tour and record since.
In December 2007, the band released a compilation album, Medium Rare, their first release since the band reunited earlier that year. The band is scheduled to release their first studio album, in seven years, in late 2009.
The band's roots lay in the hardcore scene of the early 1980s along with a strong influence from the British 2 Tone ska scene of the 1970s. Bassist Joe Gittleman played with local hardcore band Gang Green, while vocalist Dicky Barrett was a member of Impact Unit and, later on, the Cheap Skates. The Cheap Skates lineup changed continually and would feature members of Gang Green on occasion. It was through the Cheap Skates that a lineup coalesced around a core of Barrett, Gittleman, Tim Burton (saxophone), Nate Albert (guitar), Josh Dalsimer (drums), Tim Brideswell (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 their hometown. While some of the band members were influenced by bands such as AC/DC,Social Distortion, Motörhead, The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers, Barrett had become enthralled with 2 Tone ska, which was in the tail end of its existence.
