The Proletariat
After a 33 year hiatus, legendary Boston punk rock band The Proletariat has decided to reunite for a few select shows . Original members Richard Brown, Peter Bevilacqua and Tom McKnight will be joined by guitarist Dan Sanders(from the Providence band Idle Rich) and will reunite for a series of shows in Fall 16. The reunion comes on the heels of the vinyl rerelease of the bands groundbreaking debut “Soma Holiday” on SS Records.The band played together almost five years. From 2/14/81- 7/1/85 they played 115 shows with 124 different bands. During that time they played with many of the best punk bands of this era (Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Bad Brains, Misfits, Flipper, Crucifix, Minor Threat, Dead Kennedy’s, Gang Green, Mission Of Burma, The Effigies, Stiff Little Fingers, Angry Samoans, Husker Du, Jerry’s Kids, Channel 3, SSD, Jody Fosters Army, Negative Approach, The Freeze, The F.U.’s, Volcano Suns, Etc.), young upcoming punk bands (Deep Wound, Sorry & Neutral Nation), punk pioneers (Richard Hell & the Voidoids, Johnny Thunders, Dead Boys & G.G. Allin) and other distinguished bands (Native Tongue, Dangerous Birds, Del Fuegos, 007, Plan 9, The Lyres, Boys Life, Prime Movers, Alien Sex Fiend, The Neats & Wild Kingdom). While not a hardcore band they often played on the same bills……….admiring their youthful energy & bonded in their rebelliousness. They made their mark by combining various styles into a unique sound while floating their political ideals above the din. Not wanting to preach they rarely forced these beliefs on people & kept the lyrics fairly cryptic and sparse to leave the thoughts open for some interpretation. Since their demise other bands have tried to emulate their sound but they still remain highly original and difficult to duplicate.
