Where Are They Now? (Wonderdrug Records edition)

Various Artists
Up The Dosage! compilation
Wonderdrug Records

Welcome to 2014. I've hit the ground running and I'm ready to roll last year's momentum right on over into this year. What do I mean? Earlier today, I added the full album stream to the review of the Wonderdrug Records compilation CD titled Up The Dosage (an ongoing project for this year is to repair all the broken links in the older posts) that was originally written back in 2009. Read the review and hear the record by clicking here. This CD was originally released back 1998. That was 16 years ago! A lot of things have changed since then.

So, instead of getting bummed about time slipping through our collective fingers in our inevitable march towards death, I thought it would be fun to check out what the bands on this comp have been up to between then and now. As you're about to see, this particuar comp had an incredibly strong lineup that covered a wide variety of rock musics. The common denominator here is the city of Boston, MA. Wonderdrug was and still based in Boston and the label focuses largely on the bands from the Northeast. Up The Dosage is a snapshot of the New England scene in the late 1990s.

Boston has traditionally been a stronghold for heavy rock and roll in the United States. With that in mind, how did the class of 1998 fair? Let's take a look...


Bands are listed in the same order as the tracklist. Each band has its Facebook page or homepage linked.

Non Compos Mentis: Vermont psychos formed in 1997, released two albums for Wonderdrug, and broke up in 1999.

Scissorfight: New Hampshire psychos are still at it and are still signed to Wonderdrug. Greatest hits album came out last year.

Tree (Boston Hardwood): Never hit the big time but still active in the Northeast. Tree played a NORML rally in Boston back in September.

Honkeyball: Existing from 1992-99, Honkeyball was notable for NOT playing moshcore during Boston's toughguy era.

Anal Cunt: Somewhere between Pee Wee Herman and John Wayne Gacy lies Seth Putnam, the John Belushi figure of grindcore. Band ended abruptly in 2011 following his fatal heart attack.

Roadsaw: Boss stoner band is still active having released its latest album on Smallstone Records in 2011.

6L6: Early Boston metalcore band existed from 1993-97 and released three albums.

Porn Star: Man, you've got me. As far as I can tell, this is the only song this Boston band ever released. Get in touch if you know what happened to these dudes.

Sam Black Church: One of the local legends in Boston. Existed from 1988-2000 and released seven albums. One of New England's most popular bands during the 1990s. Have played two reunions shows since breaking up.

Reach The Sky: Long-time Victory Records signees existed from 1997-2003. Fun fact: the band's guitarist is now the tour manager for Sick Of It All and the Dropkick Murphys.

Diecast: Prototypical toughguy Boston metalcore band is still active and still touring after a long stint on Century Media. Hit "Hot Topic" level popularity with Ozzfest appearances, videos on Headbanger's Ball, etc... These guys almost hit the big time but still did very well.

Blood For Blood: FSU flag-wavers and kick-ass hardcore band abruptly ended in 2012 following the arrest of singer Eric "Buddha" Medina on rape charges.

Miltown: Formed in the late 1990s by former ONLY LIVING WITNESS singer Jonah Jenkins, fell victim to a botched major label deal with Giant/Revolution/Warner Bros., and morphed into RAW RADAR WAR.

Staind: Hit the big time after changing its sound and signing with Fred Durst. Mega-hit Break The Cycle is one of the best-selling albums of the 2000s.

OHM: The only digital trace of this long-forgotten Boston band is an old Myspace page.

Claymore: Even more obscure Boston noisecore band from the 1990s.

Humans Being: The further we go down this list, the more forgotten the bands get. No one remembers these guys either.

Feces Pieces: Tasteless metalcore existing in a local band time warp.

Quintaine Americana: Transplanted Southern rockers moved to Boston from Mississippi in the 1980s and have been at it ever since. The band curates the annual Redneck Fest in Massachusetts.

Insult: There are at least six signed bands named Insult. This Insult is the Boston thrash punks who are still a full-time band and released their last record in 2010.

Slughog: ...And we close with another obscure, short-lived,generically-named Boston punk band. This one hung in there from 1996-98.


That was fun. Look forward to more of these in the future.







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