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Hotbox was formed from the ashes of the Dogmatics/Matweeds/Last Stand and Left Nut. Guitar and vocal duties would be handled by Jerry Lehane, Peter Mulford would rip incredible leads on his Strat, Frank Pagliughi playing high energy bass and Pete Sisco pummeling the skins in the summer of 1990. Jerry Lehane had a handful of songs so they hit the legendary Fort Apache in Roxbury MA. and recorded 5 gems with the grammy award winning Tim O’Heir behind the board. They immediately starting playing shows around the New England area supporting acts such as Uncle Tupelo, The Meat Puppets, The Reducers and many others. 1991 would find Hotbox back in the studio, this time @ Sychro Sound with local ace Tom Hamilton behind the board.
Hotbox played the WBCN Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble in 1992 losing to local stalwarts Letters to Cleo. 1992 would also have them opening for future President Bill Clinton at his primary rally in New Hampshire to a packed house, getting personally thanked by Hillary and rewarded with 2 cases of beer which were hustled into the van by the security team. This noteworthy show would gain them national recognition. Vagrant Records would come calling and they recorded a 2 song single with the California label. However, this would be their swan song as drummer Peter Sisco moved to California and the band dissolved. What we have here is 8 rocking songs for your delicate ears. Enjoy!
From the driving opening track “Stay” through the blistering album closer “Kiss,” the band are relentless, mixing pounding drums and sleezy guitars with a remarkable horn section, all punctuated by the gruff but brilliant vocals of Keough on all but two songs. Lehane, who takes the mic on “Your Love Is Worn” (the only slow tempo track here) and “What’s Your Name,” is just as effective a singer.
Before recording these songs, the MATWEEDS would tour around the Northeast opening for punk icons like The Ramones and Stiff Little Fingers, which begs the question why this album—which is nearly flawless from start to finish—never got a proper release in the ‘80s.
Behold a veritable unearthed treasure from the heyday of Boston punk rock n' roll! Matweeds formed in 1987 from the ashes of two legendary bands: The Dogmatics and Stranglehold. This band was co-fronted by Jerry Lehane and Jim Keough and featured a star-studded cast of players from Boston's garage/punk scene.
This EP is exactly what you'd expect it to be based on the title and cover art, and it's hard to believe it went unreleased for so long. Clearly this was a band that was on to something good. No doubt, Hooligans In The Vestibule is a time capsule of the later '80s Boston rock underground. But the songs more than hold up to the passing of three and a half decades.
