Before Jeff "Monoman" Connolly formed Boston's seminal garage rock terrorists the Lyres, he was in a
late-'70s prototype known as DMZ. With the exception of a few musicians, DMZ and the Lyres were essentially same-sounding bands; DMZ just played with a little more speed and punk verve. Oddly enough, during the late-'70s signing frenzy of any band even remotely associated with the punk scenes in Boston and New York City, DMZ got a shot with Sire Records.
The label, exhibiting near-total artistic myopia, teamed the band up with goofball has-beens Flo and
Eddie as producers. While the resulting record was panned, it's far from a disaster, due mainly to DMZ's ferocity and trashy ebullience. Fans of mid-'60s rock such as the Seeds, ? and the Mysterians, and the Kinks, and who have an unending jones for speedy trash-rock and whiny Farfisa organs, will love DMZ.
DMZ was a first-wave American punk rock/garage rock bands from Boston, Massachusetts, strongly
influenced by 1960s garage rock. In early 1976, Jeff Conolly (sometimes credited as J. Connally, Mono Mann, Monoman, Pokemonoman, etc.) stole the lead vocalist position in the nascent band by out-performing their singer at one of the band's practices. Along with his vocals he brought two things the band lacked: keyboards (an electric piano) and original songs.
Just over one year later, in April 1977, the band went into the recording studio with Craig Leon (who
had produced the Ramones' first album). Four songs from that session were released by Bomp! on a seven-inch vinyl EP. One of the best known photographs of Bomp! founder Greg Shaw shows him holding this disc. DMZ was later signed by Sire Records and went to New York City to record their debut album, produced by Flo & Eddie.
The album was released in 1978 without much success and by the end of the year the group had splintered. Guitarists J. J. Rassler and Preston Wayne left to start the Odds, and Conolly, bassist Rick
Coraccio and drummer Paul Murphy formed Lyres. DMZ has re-formed periodically; a 1993 set appears on the Live at the Rat album (along with eight tracks from a 1976 show). Early drummer David Robinson (who had previously been in The Modern Lovers) left DMZ to join The Cars. Bassist Mike Lewis later joined the Lyres and later recorded with The A-Bones and Yo La Tengo. Guitarist Peter Greenberg later joined Lyres and went on to found Barrence Whitfield and the Savages.
DMZ - DMZ 1978
DMZ – DMZ
Label: Sepia Tone – STONE 12
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 2004
Country: US
Released: 1978
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Rock & Roll, Punk
TRAXS
01. Mighty Idy 2:28
02. Bad Attitude 3:00
03. Watch For Me Girl 2:22
04. Cinderella 2:43
05. Don't Jump Me Mother 3:22
06. Destroyer 2:16
07. Baby Boom 2:19
08. Out Of Our Tree 3:00
09. Border Line 2:37
10. Do Not Enter 2:15
11. From Home 1:35
LINE - UP
Bass – Rick Corraccio
Drums – Paul Murphy
Guitar – JJ Rassler
Guitar - Peter Greenberg
Vocals, Organ – Mono Mann
NOTES
Originally released as Sire LP SRK6051.
Recorded and mixed at Kingston Sound Studios, Syosset, Long Island, N.Y.
Mastered at Masterdisk, N.Y.C.
Flac Size: 189 MB
DMZ - LIFT UP YOUR HOOD 1977
Label: Bomp 111-EP
Format: Vinyl, 7", 33 ⅓ RPM, EP
Country: USA
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Punk
Year: 1977
SIDE A.
A1. Lift Up Your Hood 1:40
A2. Busy Man 3:13
SIDE B.
B1. You're Gonna Miss Me
Written-By – Roky Erickson
2:27
B2. When I Get Off
LINE - UP
Bass – Rick Corraccio
Drums – Paul Murphy
Guitar, Vocals – J.J. Rassler
Lead Guitar – Peter Greenberg
Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion [Misc.] – Mono Mann
Other [Wires, Plugs, Speakers, Flat Tires & Cheeseburgers] – Eric Smith
Written-By – J. Connally (tracks: A1, A2, B2)
NOTES
"You're Gonna Miss Me" originally performed by 13th Floor Elevators and published by Tapier Music Corporation (BMI).
Flac (24/96) Size: 301 MB
DMZ - RADIO DEMOS 1976 + LYRES LIVE AT CANTONES BOSTON MASSACHUSETTS MARCH 26, 1982
Two essential documents of Boston's underground compiled on one CD. First, an incredible collection of tapes recently discovered in Peter Greenberg's garage, featuring radio station recordings from 1976. A great example of Boston rock & roll that sees the light of day after 35 years! As if that wasn't enough,
| DMZ |
a furious live set by Lyres at a tiny Italian restaurant that became the home of Boston's underground punk and rock & roll movement. The 1970s garage punk band from Boston, DMZ, had dissolved in a 1978 train wreck. Jeff "Mono Mann" Conolly, DMZ's inspired singer and songwriter, decided to take a Vox organ-driven direction next in his Lyres. Lyres evolved into an amorphous group of players moving in and out of the band over the years with certain mainstays like Paul Murphy and Ricky Coraccio, DMZ's drummer and bass player respectively, hanging in longer than most.
| DMZ |
Ricky "Little Man" Carmel was the original guitarist for Lyres and was with Conolly, Murphy and Coraccio when they recorded the classic 1979 45 Don't Give It Up Now/How Do You Know? By the
| LYRES |
time Peter Greenberg, DMZ's lead guitarist, returned to Boston from Cincinnati in the summer of 1980 to join Lyres, the original line-up had also dissolved and Conolly was filling in players on an ad hoc basis. The next iteration of Lyres had some staying power and included, along with Conolly and Greenberg, Michael Lewis, DMZ's original bass player, and Howie Ferguson, who had been the drummer for the Real Kids.
| LYRES |
This band recorded Lyres' first two releases for Ace of Hearts Records, the EP AHS1005 and the 45 Help You Ann/I Really Want You Right Now. This batch of Lyres collapsed at the end of 1981. Conolly
| LYRES |
re-recruited Murphy and Phil Lenker (ex-21-645) and kept Greenberg for the 1982 Lyres after Mike Lewis split. However, for the recording at hand, Live At Cantone, Boston 1982, Coraccio got "the call" from Conolly to fill in the night of the show. From a historical perspective, this night at Cantone's is reported to be the only night where Conolly, Murphy, Coraccio, and Greenberg -- four-fifths of DMZ -- played together as Lyres -- except for a much later Spanish tour in 2009.
Cantones was an Italian restaurant in Boston's financial district by day. By night, the suits were gone
and left those cold and empty streets to the kids. This particular show is an energetic and raucous representation of the many, many nights Lyres cranked it out at Cantones. It was commonplace for the night to end at 2:30am with brawls that spilled out through broken windows into the street.
DMZ / Lyres – Radio Demos + Lyres Live At Cantones
Label: Munster Records – MR CD 313
Format: CD, Compilation
Country: Spain
Released: 8/2/2011
Genre: Rock
Style: Rock & Roll, Punk, Garage Rock
TRAXS
01. DMZ – Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight
02. DMZ – Til The Ebd Of The Day
03. DMZ – Lift Up Your Hood
04. DMZ – Glad All Over
05. DMZ – Ball Me Out
06. DMZ – Heart Of Stone
07. DMZ – First Time
08. DMZ – Teenage Head
09. DMZ – Go To School
10. DMZ – Are You Gonna Be There?
11. DMZ – Boy From Nowhere
12. DMZ – Search And Destroy
13. Lyres – I Really Want You Right Now
14. Lyres – Lily
15. Lyres – Help You Ann
16. Lyres – Come On Up
17. Lyres – Don't Give It Up Now
18. Lyres – Mighty Idy
19. Lyres – Let's Have A Party
20. Lyres – 100 CCs
21. Lyres – Since You've Been Gone
22. Lyres – Hang Up
23. Lyres – Cinderella
24. Lyres – Dirty Robber
25. Lyres – Journey To Thyme
LINE - UP
Bass – Michael Lewis (tracks: 1 to 12), Rick Coraccio (tracks: 13 to 25)
Drums – David Robinson (tracks: 1 to 7, 9 to 12), Michael Lewis (tracks: 8), Paul Murphy (tracks: 13 to 25)
Guitar – JJ Rassler (tracks: 1 to 12), Peter Greenberg (tracks: 13 to 25)
Lead Guitar – Peter Greenberg (tracks: 1 to 12)
Organ [Vox] – Jeff Conolly (tracks: 13 to 25)
Piano – Jeff Conolly (tracks: 1 to 12)
Vocals – Jeff Conolly
NOTES
DMZ: All songs were recorded summer of '76 at WTBS/Cambridge, Massachusetts except for Teenage Head, which was recorded in March '76 at Intermedia Studio, Boston, Massachusetts.
LYRES: Recorded March 26, 1982 at Cantones, Boston, Massachusetts.