Big Boys

Coming out of the then-overlooked Austin, TX, punk scene of the early '80s, the Big Boys combined two irresistible rock styles into one feverish mix: raging, speedy guitars and fat, funky backbeats. And although they went on to make a few so-so recordings, never really living up to their early promise, it's difficult not to be supportive of what the Big Boys tried to do in the start of the hardcore era, wherein the sexiness of a funky rhythm section disappeared amongst the ultra-fast tempos and sexless pummeling. On their wonderful EP Fun, Fun, Fun, the Boys tore up Kool & the Gang's "Hollywood's Swinging" like it was their birthright, and the transition from speedcore ranting to danceable funk & roll was rarely more eloquently rendered. In 1984, never reaching beyond a loyal but small audience, the Boys split up and provided musicians for a seemingly endless number of early alternative rock bands like Rapeman, Scratch Acid, and Poison 13. Chris Gates hooked up with ex-Minor Threat/Dag Nasty guitarist Brian Baker and formed Junkyard, proof positive that even hardcore purists were capable of an egregious attempt at selling out.