D. Boon
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D. Boon, born Dennes Dale Boon (April 1, 1958 - December 22, 1985) was the guitarist and lead singer of punk rock group The Minutemen.
Born in San Pedro, California, Boon formed the band in January 1980 with childhood friend Mike Watt on bass from the remnants of their previous band, The Reactionaries, later adding former Reactionaries drummer George Hurley.
Boon's guitar style is very distinct; he frequently set the equalization on his amplifier so that only the treble frequencies were heard - the bass and midrange frequencies would be turned off completely.
Boon is responsible for the writing and composition of the Minutemen's most anthemic songs, including This Ain't No Picnic, Corona, The Price Of Paradise, and Courage. A lifelong artist, Boon also created drawings or paintings for the Minutemen releases Joy, The Punch Line, What Makes a Man Start Fires?, The Politics of Time, Project: Mersh and 3-Way Tie (For Last).
The Minutemen continued until December 22, 1985, when Boon was killed in a van accident in Tucson, Arizona. Because he had been sick with a fever, Boon was lying down in the rear of the van without a seatbelt when the van ran off the road. Boon was thrown out the back door of the van and died instantly from a broken neck. He was only twenty-seven years old, an age at which many other singers (such as Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, etc.) had died. The band immediately dissolved, though Watt and Hurley would form the band fIREHOSE soon after. The live album Ballot Result was released in 1987, two years after Boon's death.
Since the first fIREHOSE album, Mike Watt has dedicated every record he has worked on - be it fIREHOSE, solo, or otherwise - to D. Boon's memory.
In 2003, former D. Boon roommate Richard Derrick released the CD D. Boon And Friends, a collection of jam session tapes he did with D. Boon, and rare Boon solo performances, as the first release on his Box-O-Plenty Records label. Mike Watt authorized the release and provided technical assistance and liner notes.
He is number 89 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.[link]
References
- Michael Azerrad, Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 (USA: Little Brown, 2001).
- Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.[link]
| The Minutemen |
|---|
| D. Boon | Mike Watt | George Hurley |
| Discography |
| Albums: The Punch Line | What Makes a Man Start Fires? | Double Nickels on the Dime | 3-Way Tie (For Last) | Ballot Result |
| Extended plays: Paranoid Time | Joy | Bean-Spill | Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat | Tour-Spiel | Project: Mersh | Georgeless E.P. |
| Compilations: The Politics of Time | My First Bells | Post-Mersh Vol. 1 | Post-Mersh Vol. 2 | Post-Mersh Vol. 3 | Introducing the Minutemen |
| Other releases: Minuteflag | D. Boon and Friends |
| Bootlegs: ...just a Minute Men | Jam "Schtik" To Do For Gigs | | Acoustic Blowout | Live At Flynn's Ocean 71 |
| Related articles |
| The Reactionaries | New Alliance Records | Martin Tamburovich | George Hurley and Mike Watt |
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