D. Boon: Difference between revisions

| name = D. Boon

| image = Minutemen,D. Boon 1982 (cropped).jpg

| caption = Boon in 1982

| alt = D. Boon smiling

| birth_name = Dennes Dale Boon

| alias =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1958|4|1}}

| birth_place = [[San Pedro, California]], U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1985|12|22|1958|4|1}}

| death_place = [[TucsonCentennial, [[Arizona]], U.S.

| instruments = Guitar, vocals

| genre = [[Punk rock]], [[alternative rock]]

| occupations = Musician

| years_active = 1978–1985

| label = [[SST Records|SST]], [[New Alliance Records|New Alliance]]

| associated_actspast_member_of = [[Minutemen (band)|Minutemen]], [[The Reactionaries]], [[The Nig-Heist]]

| website =

'''Dennes Dale Boon''' (April 1, 1958 – December 22, 1985), also known as '''D. Boon''', was an American musician, best known as the [[guitarist]], [[vocalist|singer]] and vocalist[[songwriter]] of the [[punk rock]] trio [[Minutemen (band)|Minutemen]] (formed by previous members of [[The Reactionaries]]).

===YouthEarly Years===

Dennes Dale Boon was born in [[San Pedro, California]], on April 1, 1958.<ref name="Strong">Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, {{ISBN|1-84195-335-0}}, p. 419-420</ref> His father, a navy veteran, worked installing radios in [[Buick]] cars, and the Boons lived in former [[World War II]] barracks that had been converted into public housing.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Michael|last1=Azerrad|title=[[Our Band Could Be Your Life|Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981–1991]]|location=USA|publisher=[[Little Brown]]|year=2001|page=63|isbn=0-316-78753-1}}</ref>

{{blockquote|"Our first guitars were pawnshop,", Watt says. "I think D. Boon had a Melody Plus. His cost $15 and mine was $13. Mine was a [[Teisco]]."<ref name="Gluckin"/>}}

Boon's mother taught D. to play the guitar and suggested Watt learn to play bass.<ref>{{Cite web |title=mike watt's bio(s) |url=http://www.hootpage.com/hoot_wattbio.html |access-date=2024-02-09 |website=www.hootpage.com}}</ref> They learned to play by copying songs from their favorite bands' records.<ref name="Gluckin"/> Boon took a few lessons from local teacher Roy Mendez Lopez who taught him rock as well as flamenco and classical.<ref name="Gluckin"/>

As a teenager, Boon began painting and signed his works "D. Boon,", partly because "D" was his slang for [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]], partly after [[Daniel Boone]], but mostly because it was similar to [[Eric Bloom|E. Bloom]], Blue Öyster Cult's vocalist and guitarist.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Michael|last1=Azerrad|title=[[Our Band Could Be Your Life|Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981–1991]]|location=USA|publisher=[[Little Brown]]|year=2001|page=64|isbn=0-316-78753-1}}</ref>

Boon formed his first band, [[The Reactionaries]], with Watt in 1978.<ref name="ibarra">{{cite book|last=Ibarra|first=Craig|author-link=Craig Ibarra|title=[[A Wailing of a Town|A Wailing Of A Town: An Oral History of Early San Pedro Punk And More 1977-1985]]|publisher=END FWY|year=2015|pages=32–38|isbn=978-0-9860971-0-2}}</ref> The band's members were lead vocalist [[Martin Tamburovich]], Boon on guitar, bassist Watt, and drummer [[George Hurley]]. The Reactionaries existed for most of 1978 and 1979, practicing regularly but rarely if ever performing live.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gnerre|first=Same|title=30 years later, D. Boon of the Minutemen remains a San Pedro legend|url=http://blogs.dailybreeze.com/history/2015/12/19/30-years-later-d-boon-of-the-minutemen-remains-a-san-pedro-legend/|publisher=[[Daily Breeze]]|date=December 19, 2015|access-date=March 30, 2019}}</ref>

After only seven months, Boon and Watt broke the band up feeling that the traditional [[frontman]]-style band was "[[bourgeois]].".<ref>{{cite book|last=Azerrad|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Azerrad|title=[[Our Band Could Be Your Life|Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991]]|publisher=[[Little Brown and Company|Back Bay Books]]|year=2001|pages=66–67|isbn=978-0-316-78753-6}}</ref>

Boon formed Minutemen in January 1980 with former Reactionaries Mike Watt on bass and Frank Tonche on drums.<ref name="azerrad68">{{cite book|last=Azerrad|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Azerrad|title=[[Our Band Could Be Your Life|Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991]]|publisher=[[Little Brown and Company|Back Bay Books]]|year=2001|pages=68|isbn=978-0-316-78753-6}}</ref> Tonche was soon replaced by former Reactionaries drummer [[George Hurley]].<ref name="azerrad68" /> Their best-known album is ''[[Double Nickels on the Dime]],'' an album that in 2012 was listed at number 77 by [[Slant Magazine]] on their list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/van-halen-van-halen-70636/|title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=May 31, 2012|access-date=September 4, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Best Albums of the 1980s |url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-albums-of-the-1980s/308/page_3 |date= March 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314063404/http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-albums-of-the-1980s/308/page_3|archive-date=March 14, 2012|magazine=[[Slant Magazine]]|access-date=June 7, 2019}}</ref> Their first live gig was as an opening band for [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]], and released records for labels such as [[SST Records]], [[New Alliance Records]], and [[Enigma Records]].

The Minutemen continued until December 22, 1985, when Boon was killed in a van accident in the Arizona desert on [[Interstate 10]]. He was killed on a desolate stretch of road just west of a small town called Centennial Arizona <ref name="Strong" /><ref name="Rees">Rees, David (2005) "[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-rees/what-would-d-boon-do_b_12785.html What Would D. Boon Do?]", ''[[Huffington Post]]'', December 23, 2005, retrieved December 29, 2010</ref> Because he had been sick with fever, Boon was lying down in the rear of the van without a seatbelt, whenwhile thehis longtime girlfriend Linda Kite drove. The van's rear axle broke<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xdLsQBjl0-IC&q=d+boon+mike+watt+broken+axle&pg=PA43|title=SPIN|first=SPIN Media|last=LLC|date=April 1, 1986|publisher=SPIN Media LLC|access-date=November 26, 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=kiteKite|first=Linda|title=D. Boon The Day the Music Died: Linda Kite in her Own Words|url=http://thelosangelesbeat.com/2014/12/d-boon-the-day-the-music-died/|publisher=LA Beat|date=December 23, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Gnerre|first=Same|title=30 years later, D. Boon of the Minutemen remains a San Pedro legend|url=http://blogs.dailybreeze.com/history/2015/12/19/30-years-later-d-boon-of-the-minutemen-remains-a-san-pedro-legend/|publisher=[[Daily Breeze]]|date=December 19, 2015}}</ref> and the van ran off the road. Boon was thrown out the back door of the van and died instantly from a broken neck.<ref name="Segalstad">Segalstad, Eric & Hunter, Josh (2009) ''The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock and Roll'', North Atlantic Books, {{ISBN|978-0-615-18964-2}}, p. 214, 217</ref> He [[27 club|was 27 years old]].

Boon's death caused the band to immediately dissolve, though Watt and Hurley would form the band [[Firehose (band)|Firehose]] soon after. The live album ''[[Ballot Result]]'' was released in 1987, two years after Boon's death.

Boon's guitar stylesound is very distinctive;: he rarely used distortion and frequently set the [[equalization (audio)|equalization]] on his amplifier so that only the [[Trebletreble (sound)|treble]] frequencies were heard – the bass and midrangemid range frequencies would be turned off completely.<ref name="Segalstad" /> His stylefavorite hadelectric aguitar heavywas funk/bluesthe feel[[Fender whichTelecaster]] was(he veryowned differentat fromleast otherthree), though he also used a [[hardcore punkStratocaster]] bandsor in[[Gibson theES-125]] 1980s.<ref>{{citeor book|first1=Michael|last1=Azerrad|title=[[OurGibson BandMelody CouldMaker]] Beat Yourvarious Life|Ourpoints, Bandand Couldhis Bepreferred Youramplifier Life:was Scenesa From[[Fender theTwin AmericanReverb]].<ref Indiename=Gluckin2017>{{cite Undergroundweb 1981–1991]]|locationlast1=USAGluckin |publisherfirst1=[[LittleTzvi Brown]]|yeartitle=2001Forgotten Heroes: D. Boon |isbnurl=0https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/25046-316forgotten-78753heroes-1d-boon |website=Premier Guitar |date=10 January 2017 |access-date=7 June 2020}}</ref>

Boon is responsible for the writing and composition of the Minutemen's most anthemic songs, (in contrast to Watt's more abstract or [[stream of consciousness]] lyrics),. includingSongs composed by Boon include "[[This Ain't No Picnic]],", "[[Corona (song)|Corona]],", "The Price of Paradise,", and "Courage.". A lifelong visual artist, Boon also created drawings or paintings for the Minutemen releases ''[[Joy (EP)|Joy]]'', ''[[The Punch Line]]'', ''[[The Politics of Time]]'', ''[[Project Mersh|Project: Mersh]]'' and ''[[3-Way Tie (For Last)]]''.

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;<ref>{{cite web|last=Chonin|first=Neva|title=Q&A: Mike Watt |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/qa-mike-watt-101362/|publisher=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=November 27, 1997|access-date=March 28, 2019}}</ref> on the recording itself, guitarist [[Nels Cline]] plays one of Boon's last Telecaster guitars, which Watt is in possession of.<ref>We Jam Econo – full-length Minutemen documentary (2005)</ref> Watt also mentions his fallen friend in Firehose's "Disciples of the 3-Way" (''[[Mr. Machinery Operator]]'') and his own "Burstedman" (''[[The Secondman's Middle Stand]]'').

Boon has been paid tribute by American alternative band Stigmata-A-Go-Go with the song "D. Boon,", from its 1994 album ''It's All True,'' [[Uncle Tupelo]] with a different song "D. Boon" from its 1991 album ''[[Still Feel Gone]],'' and [[Centro-matic]]'s song "D.Boon-Free (A Ninth Grade Crime)" off ''The Static vs. The Strings Vol. 1''.{{citation needed|date=February 2011}} His story is also told in the documentary ''[[We Jam Econo]]''.

In his review of the band's last album, music critic [[Robert Christgau]] described the death of Boon as "a rock death that for wasted potential has Lennon and Hendrix for company,", adding that "after seven fairly amazing years he was just getting started. Shit, shit, shit."<ref>{{cite web|title=3-Way Tie (for Last) [SST, 1985]|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=5481|publisher=[[Robert Christgau]]|access-date=May 29, 2013}}</ref>

[[Category:LeadAmerican lead guitarists]]