D. Boon: Difference between revisions

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

'''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 [[songwriter]] of the [[punk rock]] trio [[Minutemen (band)|Minutemen]] (formed by previous members of [[The Reactionaries]]).

He was born on April 1, 1958, in San Pedro, California, and formed Minutemen in 1980 with bassist [[Mike Watt]] and drummer [[George Hurley]]. Minutemen were known for their politically-charged lyrics and energetic, fast-paced music, and they released several influential records during their career.

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 band would come to an abrupt end with Boon's death, but have left a lasting impact on the punk scene. They were described by [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard magazine]] as "provocative art-punk minimalists",<ref>{{Citation |last=Doyle |first=Barbara Freedman |title=Will Anybody Ever See My Movie? |date=2012 |work=Make Your Movie |pages=243–259 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-240-82155-9.00034-5 |access-date=2024-02-09 |publisher=Elsevier|doi=10.1016/b978-0-240-82155-9.00034-5 |isbn=978-0-240-82155-9 }}</ref> and have also inspired punk and rock bands such as [[Wire (band)|Wire]], [[Gang of Four (band)|Gang of Four]], [[The Pop Group]], [[Richard Hell and the Voidoids]], and [[Urinals (band)|Urinals]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Manchester |first=Guy |date=2014-04-22 |title=Mike Watt On... Brother Mike Shares Words of Wisdom About Punk, The Minutemen, The Stooges and much more... |url=https://louderthanwar.com/mike-watt-on-brother-mike-shares-words-of-wisdom-about-punk-the-minutemen-the-stooges-and-much-more/ |access-date=2024-02-09 |website=Louder Than War |language=en-GB}}</ref>

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, while his 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 guitar sound is very distinctive: he rarely used distortion and frequently set the [[equalization (audio)|equalization]] on his amplifier so that only the [[treble (sound)|treble]] frequencies were heard – the bass and mid range frequencies would be turned off completely.<ref name="Segalstad" /> His favorite electric guitar was the [[Fender Telecaster]] (he owned at least three), though he also used a [[Stratocaster]] or [[Gibson ES-125]] or [[Gibson Melody Maker]] at various points, and his preferred amplifier was a [[Fender Twin Reverb]].<ref name=Gluckin2017>{{cite web |last1=Gluckin |first1=Tzvi |title=Forgotten Heroes: D. Boon |url=https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/25046-forgotten-heroes-d-boon |website=Premier Guitar |date=10 January 2017 |access-date=7 June 2020}}</ref>