The Unband
Encyclopedia
The Unband was a hard rock
band composed of drummer Eugene Ferrari, lead singer and guitarist Matthew Pierce, and Mike Ruffino (bass, guitars, vocals, keyboards
).
.
The Unband has been cited as a musical inspiration by some rock bands.
sometime around 1987/88, originally with drummer (and future ABC News
correspondent) Dan Harris
, who departed shortly after the maiden gig, well before the band had any tangible definition, purpose, or a complete set of bass strings. Harris was replaced by Eugene Ferrari, previously Pierce's bandmate in the locally storied punk band Afghanistan Spoon Festival. Ferrari, Pierce, and Ruffino called themselves "The Un-band" temporarily for lack of a name. With the passage of time, the name stuck.
As their music owed equally to Black Flag
, The Rolling Stones
and Ratt
, their casually unapologetic stage show used alcohol, sacks of "prop" drugs, frontal nudity and projectile vomiting. According to The Boston Globe
they occasionally “lit stages on fire”, and consequently few Boston venues invited the band back, while many banned them outright, such as Kenmore Square's now defunct Rathskeller
(aka The Rat). Mink Rockmoore made an appearance in the band as Shotgunn Johnny on lead guitar but quickly left the group to pursue a solo career. He became a radio personality in Boston and CEO of 'Rockmoore Records'.
by the early 1990s, The Unband quickly drew provincial renown/ire for their repertoire of shamefully “inane” (The Valley Advocate) hard rock songs, their sound unacceptable to the indie rock
ethos
of the period. The band did manage to mobilize local press and considerable police attention due their increasingly chaotic live shows; most famously inciting a small scale riot at Northampton
’s Bay State Hotel in 1994.
in search of inspiration and venues. The band performed at any club that would have them, such as the Whisky a Go Go
. Though the band's West Coast
performances were not usually as volatile as those that preceded, they had neglected to bring instruments with them and so performed on found items (kazoos, car parts, toilets) or surruptitiously borrowed musical equipment.
Eventually bookings ran dry and the band went back East.
and played gigs in Alphabet City
.
In the Spring of 1998 the band signed a nominal contract with Royalty Records (NYC) and regrouped in Massachusetts to record a collection of songs with Mark Alan Miller, to be called "Retarder
". The band delivered the album complete with artwork several weeks later. The label refused to release the album.
But the band attracted interest from TVT Records
A&R man Lenny Johnson and he signed them. The band recovered their master tapes from Royalty Records.
Within weeks the band began touring, scouring the U.S. with Motörhead and Nashville Pussy
, and Europe and the UK with SoCal stoner-rockers Fu Manchu
. In between these more major tours the group traveled on their own playing small clubs concentrated in the Midwestern United States, often finding themselves attached to heavy metal bills opening for the likes of Dokken
, Great White
and Sebastian Bach
.
Where the Motörhead and European audiences had been more than receptive, the metal crowds almost invariably booed or threw things, or turned their backs to the stage. The band's usual response was to escalate, and on more than one occasion they were physically attacked on stage.
.
The recording had been tracked earlier that year with Mark Alan Miller and Jon Marshall Smith at Miller's Slaughterhouse Studio in Hadley, Massachusetts. It was remixed by Kevin ‘Caveman’ Shirley and the songs "Too Much is Never Enough" and "We Like to Drink and We Like to Play Rock and Roll" were added.
Three tracks from Retarder were used in soundtracks. A cover of Billy Squier
's "Everybody Wants You
" was used for Scary Movie
and "Geez Louise" and "Pink Slip" were used for Super Troopers
.
, Anthrax
, Def Leppard
and others. When asked in 2004 to comment on The Unband’s pre-show intake, Joe Elliott
of Def Leppard recalled: “Nice lads. Fucking crazy.”
.
2000 Scary Movie (Soundtrack) TVT
2000 Rock Hard: TVT Rock 2000 (Compilation) TVT
2000 Retarder
(Full length) TVT
1994 Chung Wayne Lo Mein (Full length) Moonpig/Chunk
1993 Hotel Massachusetts (compilation) Chunk
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band composed of drummer Eugene Ferrari, lead singer and guitarist Matthew Pierce, and Mike Ruffino (bass, guitars, vocals, keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
).
.
The Unband has been cited as a musical inspiration by some rock bands.
Beginnings; Banned In Boston
Matt Pierce and Mike Ruffino began playing together in suburban BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
sometime around 1987/88, originally with drummer (and future ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
correspondent) Dan Harris
Dan Harris (television reporter)
Dan Harris is a correspondent for ABC News and the co-anchor for the weekend edition of Good Morning America.-Career:...
, who departed shortly after the maiden gig, well before the band had any tangible definition, purpose, or a complete set of bass strings. Harris was replaced by Eugene Ferrari, previously Pierce's bandmate in the locally storied punk band Afghanistan Spoon Festival. Ferrari, Pierce, and Ruffino called themselves "The Un-band" temporarily for lack of a name. With the passage of time, the name stuck.
As their music owed equally to Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and Ratt
Ratt
Ratt is an American heavy metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s. The band is best known for songs such as "Round and Round," "Wanted Man," "Lay It Down," "You're in Love", "Slip of the Lip", "Back For More", "Dance", "Body Talk", "I Want a Woman", and "Way Cool Jr." Ratt...
, their casually unapologetic stage show used alcohol, sacks of "prop" drugs, frontal nudity and projectile vomiting. According to The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
they occasionally “lit stages on fire”, and consequently few Boston venues invited the band back, while many banned them outright, such as Kenmore Square's now defunct Rathskeller
Rathskeller
Ratskeller is a name in German-speaking countries for a bar or restaurant located in the basement of a city hall or nearby...
(aka The Rat). Mink Rockmoore made an appearance in the band as Shotgunn Johnny on lead guitar but quickly left the group to pursue a solo career. He became a radio personality in Boston and CEO of 'Rockmoore Records'.
Roots & uprooting
Having relocated to Western Massachusetts’ pastoral Pioneer ValleyPioneer Valley
The Pioneer Valley is the colloquial name for the U.S. Commonwealth of Massachusetts's portion of the Connecticut River Valley. The Pioneer Valley consists of three counties in Massachusetts which collectively feature much of New England's most fertile farmland...
by the early 1990s, The Unband quickly drew provincial renown/ire for their repertoire of shamefully “inane” (The Valley Advocate) hard rock songs, their sound unacceptable to the indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
ethos
Ethos
Ethos is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the power of music to influence its hearer's emotions, behaviors, and even morals. Early Greek stories of...
of the period. The band did manage to mobilize local press and considerable police attention due their increasingly chaotic live shows; most famously inciting a small scale riot at Northampton
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
’s Bay State Hotel in 1994.
Go West, Unband
In 1995, The Unband acquired one-way airline tickets to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in search of inspiration and venues. The band performed at any club that would have them, such as the Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
. Though the band's West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
performances were not usually as volatile as those that preceded, they had neglected to bring instruments with them and so performed on found items (kazoos, car parts, toilets) or surruptitiously borrowed musical equipment.
Eventually bookings ran dry and the band went back East.
Recording Contract
In 1996, they took up residence on Manhattan's Lower East SideLower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
and played gigs in Alphabet City
Alphabet City, Manhattan
Alphabet City is a neighborhood located within the Lower East Side and East Village in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is also known as Loisaida, a Spanglish adaptation of 'Lower East Side'. Its name comes from Avenues A, B, C, and D, the only avenues in Manhattan to have single-letter...
.
In the Spring of 1998 the band signed a nominal contract with Royalty Records (NYC) and regrouped in Massachusetts to record a collection of songs with Mark Alan Miller, to be called "Retarder
Retarder
Retarder can mean:* Acrylic retarder, a chemical agent added to fine art acrylic paint to slow its short drying time* Retarder , a chemical agent that slows down a chemical reaction...
". The band delivered the album complete with artwork several weeks later. The label refused to release the album.
But the band attracted interest from TVT Records
TVT Records
TVT Records was an independent US record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 25 year history the label released some 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, Underworld, The KLF, Sevendust, Brian Jonestown Massacre and...
A&R man Lenny Johnson and he signed them. The band recovered their master tapes from Royalty Records.
Within weeks the band began touring, scouring the U.S. with Motörhead and Nashville Pussy
Nashville Pussy
Nashville Pussy is an American hard rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. Their musical style mixes boogie rock, Southern metal and psychobilly. Much of the band's lyrical themes mostly revolve around sex, drugs, drinking, fighting, and rock 'n' roll...
, and Europe and the UK with SoCal stoner-rockers Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu (band)
Fu Manchu is a Southern Californian stoner rock band, who released their debut single "Kept Between Trees" in 1990. They have been featured on compilations put together by Tony Hawk and ESPN's X Games, and invited to perform on the US television program Monster Garage...
. In between these more major tours the group traveled on their own playing small clubs concentrated in the Midwestern United States, often finding themselves attached to heavy metal bills opening for the likes of Dokken
Dokken
Dokken is an American heavy metal and hard rock band formed in 1978. They split up in 1989 but reformed four years later. The group accumulated numerous charting singles and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide...
, Great White
Great White
Great White is an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1978. The band gained popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s. The band released several albums in the late 1980s and gained airplay on MTV with music videos for songs like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy"...
and Sebastian Bach
Sebastian Bach
Sebastian Bach is a Canadian heavy metal singer who achieved mainstream success as frontman of Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. Since his departure from Skid Row, he has had many television roles, acted within Broadway plays, and leads a successful solo career.-Early life:Bach was born Sebastian...
.
Where the Motörhead and European audiences had been more than receptive, the metal crowds almost invariably booed or threw things, or turned their backs to the stage. The band's usual response was to escalate, and on more than one occasion they were physically attacked on stage.
Major release
Their major release for TVT was RetarderRetarder (album)
Retarder is The Unband's first major label release.-In Brief:"Every number is a testament to the might and stamina of the power chord."-Las Vegas Weekly...
.
The recording had been tracked earlier that year with Mark Alan Miller and Jon Marshall Smith at Miller's Slaughterhouse Studio in Hadley, Massachusetts. It was remixed by Kevin ‘Caveman’ Shirley and the songs "Too Much is Never Enough" and "We Like to Drink and We Like to Play Rock and Roll" were added.
Three tracks from Retarder were used in soundtracks. A cover of Billy Squier
Billy Squier
William Haislip "Billy" Squier is an American rock musician. Squier had a string of arena rock hits in the 1980s. He is best known for the song "The Stroke" on his 1981 album release Don't Say No...
's "Everybody Wants You
Everybody Wants You
"Everybody Wants You" is a song written and performed by American rock singer and guitarist Billy Squier. It appeared as the first track of his 1982 album Emotions in Motion, and was released as the first single from that album, reaching number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...
" was used for Scary Movie
Scary Movie
Scary Movie is a 2000 comedy-parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, as part of Warner Bros. Entertainment. It is an American dark comedy which heavily parodies the horror, slasher, and mystery genres...
and "Geez Louise" and "Pink Slip" were used for Super Troopers
Super Troopers
Super Troopers is a 2001 crime-comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, written by and starring the Broken Lizard comedy group . Marisa Coughlan, Daniel von Bargen and Brian Cox co-star while Lynda Carter has a cameo appearance...
.
Tours
The band spent nearly three-years touring as an opening act for DioDio (band)
Dio was an American heavy metal band from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio, after he left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath member, drummer Vinny Appice. Naming the band Dio made sense from a commercial...
, Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
, Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
and others. When asked in 2004 to comment on The Unband’s pre-show intake, Joe Elliott
Joe Elliott
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott Jr is an English singer-songwriter, and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of the British rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of David Bowie cover band, the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band, Down...
of Def Leppard recalled: “Nice lads. Fucking crazy.”
Recent
In November 2004, Kensington Books published Mike Ruffino's Gentlemanly Repose: Confessions Of A Debauched Rock & Roller, a document of the band's risings and fallings. A full length documentary feature about the band, Gringa Productions We Like To Drink We Like To Play Rock 'N Roll premiered in June at the 2006 Modern Drunkard Convention in Las VegasLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
Discography
2001 Supertroopers (Soundtrack) TVT2000 Scary Movie (Soundtrack) TVT
2000 Rock Hard: TVT Rock 2000 (Compilation) TVT
2000 Retarder
Retarder (album)
Retarder is The Unband's first major label release.-In Brief:"Every number is a testament to the might and stamina of the power chord."-Las Vegas Weekly...
(Full length) TVT
1994 Chung Wayne Lo Mein (Full length) Moonpig/Chunk
1993 Hotel Massachusetts (compilation) Chunk