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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Death / Classic Minutemen's D. Boon Died 26 Years Ago Today

Posted by on Thu, Dec 22, 2011 at 12:46 PM

And some people still haven't recovered from the great guitarist/vocalist's tragically early passing in a van accident on Dec. 22, 1985. Boon's death at age 27 ended Minutemen's reign as one of the American underground's most important and exciting bands.

At their best (Double Nickels on the Dime, What Makes a Man Start Fires?), Minutemen sounded like a fearless, fearsome union of the Pop Group and Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band—all highly torqued rhythms, rusty, stabbing guitar, spazz-jazz bass, and ruggedly poetic lyrics. Both live and on record, they were a punk-funk tornado of brilliance. I was lucky enough to catch Minutemen live in ’85 at a Detroit club called Traxx (Laughing Hyenas and Die Kreuzen opened). D. Boon was a whirlwind of energy; he moved with surprising agility for a chubby dude. His early exit has been a huge blow to American music. RIP, D. Boon.

 

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Estey 1
This was the death of a musician I didn't know personally which bummed me out the most, for a very long time. It truly seemed like the end of an era, and not in a good way.
Posted by Estey on December 22, 2011 at 12:51 PM

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