Legendary Boston punks, THE PROLETARIAT are back. Famous for their inclusion on the seminal THIS IS BOSTON NOT LA comp the band always stood out from the hardcore crowd with a sound perhaps more akin to peers like Mission of Burma and Art Yard. The fringes of the crowd is where you’ll most often find me and my Hassle brethren, so, suitably, THE PROLETARIAT are among my favorite ever Boston punk bands. Was psyched to get to ask singer Richard Brown a few questions…
THE PROLETARIAT plays @ ONCE in Somerville THIS thursday (11/9) on a killer bill also featuring Funeral Cone and Black Beach.
FB EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/661769170682849/
Dan Shea/Hassle: I’ve been a fan of Ss Records for years, how did their reissuing of the SOMA HOLIDAY record come about? How’s that process been?
Richard Brown: Scott Soriano, head honcho at Ss, contacted us about the reissue in the spring of 2016. Since none of us had been active musically for nearly three decades, we thought it best to ask friends of ours their opinions of Ss/Scott. Every person I spoke to gave Ss high praise and gushed about what a great guy Scott was/is. From there it was pretty easy for us, between Scott and Robert Golden who put it to vinyl, they handled it .
Dan Shea/Hassle: Was the reissuing of the record the driving force behind getting the band back together after a 30 year absence?
Richard Brown: Yes it really was. Peter (Bevilacqua/ bass) was the one really pushing for it. I was on board and so was Tommy (McKnight/ drums), but Frank (Michaels/guitar) declined. With Frank’s blessing we sought a new guitarist and found Don Sanders (Idle Rich/Medicine Ball) , it has been a blast. We initially were going to play just four shows in conjunction with the Soma Holiday reissue, but in the year since then have played all over the place—-Seattle, Portland, Pittsburgh, Philly,NYC, Montreal. QUESTION #3: Whether we are talking about 1982 or 2017 for the most part punks have never lacked for energy or creativity. Art galleries, houses, lofts, abandoned buildings, you name it , have all served as venues. There were/are regular clubs/venues that will book punk bands, but usually only after those bands have attracted an audience.
Dan Shea/Hassle: I was a baby during the band’s initial run. Since I can’t speak to the “then” I’d love to hear your thoughts on how punk/DIY in Boston (and beyond) has changed/stayed through the years?
Richard Brown: Whether we are talking about 1982 or 2017 for the most part punks have never lacked for energy or creativity. Art galleries, houses, lofts, abandoned buildings, you name it , have all served as venues. There were/are regular clubs/venues that will book punk bands, but usually only after those bands have attracted an audience. “Back in the day” hard copy fanzines and fliers were e ssential for getting the word out and while they’re still cool the enormous growth of social media in promoting shows/bands has definitely made it easier to publicize events.
Dan Shea/Hassle: What can you tell us about the “The Murder of Alton Sterling”/ “Push Back” single you all recently recorded?
Richard Brown: During the past summer we talked with producer and friend Lou Giordano (of Radiobeat studio fame) about working together on some new material. We had planned to record an lp of with Lou producing and those plans are still a go, we will be recording it this coming January/February. In the meantime Mike Gitter of xXx Fanzine asked if we would be interested in releasing some new material on a label he and Bridge 9 were collaborating on and we agreed that a single ahead of our lp might be a good idea. We recorded it at Mad Oak in Allston with Benny Grotto tweaking the dials and we are really pleased with the results. Hopefully it will be available this coming spring.
Dan Shea/Hassle: Are these old songs or new songs? When’s it out? What’s on The Proletariat’s horizon?
Richard Brown: In the immediate future we will be playing NJ, NYC, Baltimore, Boston, Fall River and New Haven… We’re recording in Jan, Feb. and are looking to do some more shows in the spring and with the album’s release next summer we will be doing a bunch of shows to support the lp.
