D. Boon

D. Boon, born Dennes Dale Boon (April 1, 1958 – December 22, 1985) was the guitarist and lead singer of punk rock group The Minutemen.

Biography

Born in Napa, California, Boon formed the band in January 1980 with childhood friend Mike Watt on bass from the remnants of their previous band, The Reactionaries, later adding former Reactionaries drummer George Hurley, to form The Minutemen Their most noted recording was Double Nickels on the Dime, which is considered by many to be D.Boon at his best in both songwriting and guitar playing. The Minutemen continued until December 22, 1985, when Boon was killed in a van accident in Tucson, Arizona. Because he had been sick with a fever, Boon was lying down in the rear of the van without a seatbelt when the van ran off the road. Boon was thrown out the back door of the van and died instantly from a broken neck. He was only twenty-seven years old, an age at which many other singers (such as Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, etc.) have died. The band immediately dissolved, though Watt and Hurley would form the band fIREHOSE soon after. The live album Ballot Result was released in 1987, two years after Boon's death.

Guitar Style

Boon's guitar style is very distinct; he rarely used distortion and frequently set the equalization on his amplifier so that only the treble frequencies were heard - the bass and midrange frequencies would be turned off completely. His style had a heavy Funk\Blues feel which was very different from other Hardcore Punk bands in the 80's.

Songwriting and Artwork

Boon is responsible for the writing and composition of the Minutemen's most anthemic songs (in contrast to Watt's stream of consciousness lyrics), including This Ain't No Picnic, Corona, The Price Of Paradise, and Courage. A lifelong artist, Boon also created drawings or paintings for the Minutemen releases Joy, The Punch Line, What Makes a Man Start Fires?, The Politics of Time, Project: Mersh and 3-Way Tie (For Last).

Legacy

Since the first fIREHOSE album, Mike Watt has dedicated every record he has worked on - be it fIREHOSE, solo, or otherwise - to D. Boon's memory. A song on Watt's semi-autobiographical 1997 album Contemplating the Engine Room, "The Boilerman", is about D. Boon; on the recording itself, guitarist Nels Cline plays one of Boon's last Telecaster guitars, which Watt is in possession of.

Boon has been paid tribute by American alternative band Stigmata-A-Go-Go with the song "D. Boon", from their 1994 album It's All True, and by American band Uncle Tupelo with a different song "D. Boon" from their 1991 album 'Still Feel Gone'.

In 2003, former D. Boon roommate Richard Derrick released the CD D. Boon And Friends, a collection of jam session tapes he did with D. Boon, and rare Boon solo performances, as the first release on his Box-O-Plenty Records label. Mike Watt authorized the release and provided technical assistance and liner notes.

He is number 89 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.[1]

References

Michael Azerrad, Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 (USA: Little Brown, 2001).
Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.[2]