Downtown Boys (band)

Downtown Boys
Origin Providence, USA
Genres Punk rock
Years active 2012–present
Labels Don Giovanni
Sister Polygon Records
Associated acts Malportado Kids, What Cheer? Brigade, La Neve
Members Victoria Ruiz
Joey La Neve DeFrancesco
Norlan Olivo
Mary Regalado
Past members Adrienne Berry
Daniel Schleifer
Emmett Fitzgerald
Will Cioffi
Mariel Oliveira

Downtown Boys are an American punk band formed in 2011. The band describes itself as a "bi bilingual political dance sax punk party from Providence."[1]

History

Downtown Boys formed after What Cheer? Brigade tubaist Joey La Neve DeFrancesco met vocalist Victoria Ruiz while working at the Renaissance Providence Hotel.[2] DeFrancesco famously quit the hotel by handing in his letter of resignation accompanied by his What Cheer? bandmates. The footage of the resignation went viral.[3][4][5]

In 2014, the band released a 7" single on Washington D.C.-based Sister Polygon Records[6] to wide acclaim.[7][8] Downtown Boys released second LP, Full Communism, on Don Giovanni Records on May 5, 2015.[9][10] The album's lead single, "Monstro", drew critical attention from Pitchfork,[11] Stereogum,[12] and the broader music press. Rachel Brodsky of Spin wrote of the single: "Bravely combating, as their press release reads, “the prison-industrial complex, racism, queerphobia, capitalism, fascism, boredom, and all things people use to try to close our minds, eyes and hearts,” Downtown Boys do what their finest punk-rock forefathers did before them: challenge long-held ideas."[13]

The group performed on news show Democracy Now! and was interviewed by host Amy Goodman[14]

Rolling Stone featured the group and dubbed them "America's Most Exciting Punk Band" [15]

The New Yorker described the group's live performances, noting that "[t]he tracks speed by with hardcore kineticism, but Ruiz’s lyrics squeeze your hand through the pit: she’s lucid and blunt, shouting down cops, traders, and any other impediment to justice that she can spot. There’s something distinctly post-punk about the Boys, ... [i]t could be the saxophone, but it’s probably the spirit."[16]

In 2015, Ruiz and DeFrancesco launched the online magazine Spark Mag in collaboration with grassroots advocacy group Demand Progress.[17] The site aims to feature underground and radical artists and connect fans to organizing work.[18]

Discography

References

  1. ↑ "Music | Downtown Boys". downtownboys.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Exposito, Suzy. "Wonder Twins of the Working Class: Downtown Boys' Victoria Ruiz and Joey De Francesco". Impose Magazine. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  3. ↑ Grinberg, Emanuella. "'Joey' becomes recession hero after using marching band to quit job". CNN. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  4. ↑ Schwabel, Dan. "Why the 'Joey Quits' Video Is A Seriously Bad Career Move". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Jamieson, Dave. "Joey Quits: Hotel Worker Tells Story Behind Viral Resignation Video". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Sister Polygon Records — Downtown Boys". sisterpolygonrecords.bigcartel.com. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Vozick-Levinson, Simon. "15 Great Albums You Didn't Hear in 2014". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  8. ↑ Ozzi, Dan. "DOWNTOWN BOYS' NEW VIDEO MAKES SMASHING THE POLICE STATE FUN". Vice Media. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Downtown Boys - Full Communism (Don Giovanni ) | Punknews.org". punknews.org. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "Downtown Boys - Full Communism pre-orders! | Don Giovanni Records". dongiovannirecords.com. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  11. ↑ Powell, Mike. "Downtown Boys' Monstro". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  12. ↑ White, Caitlin. "Downtown Boys – "Monstro"". Stereogum. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  13. ↑ Brodsky, Rachel. "Stream Downtown Boys' Thrashing Feminist Anthem, 'Monstro'". Spin Magazine. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Downtown Boys: "America's Most Exciting Punk Band" Performs & Discusses Making Change Through Music". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  15. ↑ "Downtown Boys: Meet America's Most Exciting Punk Band". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  16. ↑ "Goings On About Town" (February 29, 2016). The New Yorker/Condé Nast. p. 4. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  17. ↑ "Members Of Downtown Boys Launch Radical Arts Webzine". Stereogum. 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  18. ↑ "Downtown Boys: The Best of What's Next". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2016-06-21.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.