The Bags (Massachusetts band)
| The Bags | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Lexington, Massachusetts |
| Genres | Hard rock, punk rock, heavy metal |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Website | www.thebags.org |
| Members |
Jon Hardy Jim Janota Crispin Wood |
The Bags are a hard rock/punk rock band from Lexington, Massachusetts — formed in 1985 — and are not to be confused with The Bags, a punk rock band formed in 1977. The band is composed of members Jon Hardy, Jim Janota, and Crispin Wood. Though a couple of early recordings were released on the Crawling from Within multi-artist compilation,[1] their debut album, entitled Rock Starve, was released in 1987. An article by Charles M. Young written in Playboy magazine best describes the band's sound: "The Bags fall somewhere among the Ramones, Hüsker Dü, and early KISS. Their debut, Rock Starve, consists of thrilling guitar-bash riffs that pound like the sound of a herd of giant woolly mammoths going over a cliff, just enough melody rasping though shredded vocal cords and lyrics wholly unbesmirched by any panty-waist college-poetry influence."
The band began touring in 1988, releasing an album under the alias of "Swamp Oaf" and later releasing an actual self-titled LP. Their next album, Night of the Corn People, came in 1991, though the band broke up shortly thereafter. Though having gone their separate ways for over a decade (discounting a single reunion show in 1996), they reassembled in 2003 to page their latest achievement, Sharpen Your Sticks, one track of which ("Cavemen Rejoice") eventually found its way onto the PlayStation 2 game, Guitar Hero. Later, in April 2007, The Bags released a follow-up to Sharpen Your Sticks: the 14-track opus, Mount Rockmore. This latest original album was produced by Carl Plaster (Sebadoh, Buffalo Tom, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, etc.).
Discography
Albums
- Rock Starve (Nov. 1987, Restless Records)
- Swamp Oaf (June 1989, Stanton Park)
- The Bags
- (Mar. 1990, Stanton Park) the original, untitled LP
- (2008, Oaf Records) a CD version, entitled The Bags '89, which also features 1989 Stanton Park single ("I Know"/"Hide and Seek"), and a couple of previously unreleased tracks
- Night of the Corn People
- (Aug. 1991, Stanton Park) a CD featuring the main album, the "Waiting for Maloney" opus, and the "Dr. Lb."/"Frilly Underwear" single
- (Jan. 1992, Helter Skelter) a colored-vinyl Double-LP release featuring the above, but with five unreleased tracks added instead of the single's
- Sharpen Your Sticks (Feb. 2005, Oaf Records)
- Mount Rockmore (April 2007, Oaf Records)
Singles
- "I Know" / "Hide and Seek" (Mar. 1989, Stanton Park) 7" vinyl 45
- "L. Frank Baum" / "Max Roach" (June 1991, Stanton Park) 7" vinyl 45
- "Dr. Lb." / "Frilly Underwear" (Aug. 1991, Helter Skelter) 7" vinyl 45
- "2 Songs Live" ("Ivan the Terrible" / "Hide and Seek") (June 2004, Oaf Records) a CD single featuring live versions of the two tracks, recorded at Middle East Downstairs during a comeback tour in Feb., 2004