Downtown Boys (band)

Downtown Boys are an American punk rock band formed in 2011 in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. They have received press coverage in Rolling Stone,[1] The New Yorker[2] and Spin.[3]

Downtown Boys
Downtown Boys performing in May 2019
Downtown Boys performing in May 2019
Background information
OriginProvidence, Rhode Island, United States
GenresPunk rock
Years active2012–present
Labels
Members
  • Victoria Ruiz
  • Joey La Neve DeFrancesco
  • Mary Regalado
  • Joe DeGeorge
  • Joey Doubek
Past members
  • Daniel Schleifer
  • Emmett Fitzgerald
  • Will Cioffi
  • Mariel Oliveira
  • Norlan Olivo

History

Downtown Boys formed after What Cheer? Brigade tubaist Joey La Neve DeFrancesco met vocalist Victoria Ruiz while working at the Renaissance Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island.[4] 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.[5][6][7]

In 2014, the band released a 7" single on Washington D.C.-based Sister Polygon Records[8] to wide acclaim.[9][10] Downtown Boys released second LP, Full Communism, on Don Giovanni Records on May 5, 2015.[11][12] The album's lead single, "Monstro", drew critical attention from Pitchfork,[13] Stereogum,[14] 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."[3]

The group performed on news show Democracy Now! and was interviewed by host Amy Goodman.[15]

Rolling Stone featured the group and dubbed them "America's Most Exciting Punk Band".[1]

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."[2]

In 2015, Ruiz and DeFrancesco launched the online magazine Spark Mag in collaboration with grassroots advocacy group Demand Progress.[16] The site aims to feature underground and radical artists and connect fans to organizing work.[17]

In 2017, the band played the Coachella Music and Arts festival. They later released an open letter denouncing the festival's business practices and donated "a portion of the money" paid to them by Coachella to the LGBTQ organizations Prysm and FIERCE.[18] That same year, the band helped lead efforts to pressure the SXSW music festival to remove a contract clause threatening to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport foreign artists who violated contract terms. The campaign was successful, and SXSW removed the contract clause.[19] Later that year, the band released their third LP Cost of Living on Sub Pop Records.[20]

The band composed the original music for the biographical film Miss Marx (2020) by Italian director Susanna Nicchiarelli. Their soundtrack won the David di Donatello award for Best Music, and the Venice Film Festival Soundtrack Stars Award.[21]

Members of the band were central to the founding of the musician advocacy organization United Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW), which has run campaigns around issues such as streaming royalties, increased compensation at the SXSW music festival, and more.[22]

Discography

References
  1. "Downtown Boys: Meet America's Most Exciting Punk Band". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  2. "Goings On About Town". The New Yorker. No. February 29, 2016. Condé Nast. p. 4. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  3. Brodsky, Rachel. "Stream Downtown Boys' Thrashing Feminist Anthem, 'Monstro'". Spin. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  4. Exposito, Suzy. "Wonder Twins of the Working Class: Downtown Boys' Victoria Ruiz and Joey De Francesco". Impose. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  5. Grinberg, Emanuella (24 October 2011). "'Joey' becomes recession hero after using marching band to quit job". CNN. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  6. Schwabel, Dan. "Why the 'Joey Quits' Video Is A Seriously Bad Career Move". Time. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  7. Jamieson, Dave (19 October 2011). "Joey Quits: Hotel Worker Tells Story Behind Viral Resignation Video". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  8. "Sister Polygon Records — Downtown Boys". Sister Polygon Records. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  9. Vozick-Levinson, Simon. "15 Great Albums You Didn't Hear in 2014". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  10. Ozzi, Dan. "Downtown Boys' New Video Makes Smashing the Police State Fun". Vice Media. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  11. "Downtown Boys - Full Communism (Don Giovanni )". Punknews.org. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  12. "Downtown Boys - Full Communism pre-orders!". Don Giovanni Records. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  13. Powell, Mike. "Downtown Boys' Monstro". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  14. White, Caitlin (9 March 2015). "Downtown Boys – "Monstro"". Stereogum. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  15. "Downtown Boys: 'America's Most Exciting Punk Band' Performs & Discusses Making Change Through Music". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  16. "Members Of Downtown Boys Launch Radical Arts Webzine". Stereogum. 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  17. "Downtown Boys: The Best of What's Next". Paste. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  18. "Downtown Boys Are Here to Make You Uncomfortable – and You Should Let Them". Remezcla. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  19. "SXSW concedes to artist pressure, agrees to remove controversial "immigration clause"". Mic. 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  20. "Downtown Boys". Sub Pop Records. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  21. "Tarantula". www.tarantula.be (in French). Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  22. Terry, Josh (2020-05-04). "These Artists Are Organizing a Musicians' Union to Demand COVID-19 Aid". Vice. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
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