Downtown Boys (band)
| Downtown Boys | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Providence, USA |
| Genres | Punk rock |
| Years active | 2011–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 Adrienne Berry Mary Regalado |
| Past members | 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 an 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]
References
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