Saturday night on April 2, Disengaged, a Boston-based punk-metal band notorious for inciting riots, took the stage at Dee Dee’s Lounge on Newport Avenue in Quincy to play their final show to a full house. And they went out on top of their game. The tall and wiry front man, simply known as Beakey, quickly captivated the head-banging crowd with his lung-splitting shrieks in the first song “Open Wound,” from their latest CD The Ocean. The heavily-tattooed crowd consisted of beer-swigging men and women wrapped in ripped jeans, heavy metal shirts, and studded belts. It was a perfect marriage of punk and metal. They began the show with a song off their latest CD and then made a smooth transition into the intoxicating melody of “Decomposing Pile of Ex-Girlfriends.” But this wasn’t your basic onslaught of metal power chords or simple three-note punk tunes. The elaborate chord changes arranged by lead guitarist Charlie Lyons and rhythm guitarist John Moran sang like sirens as members of the band thrashed about on stage, occasionally spilling into the crowd.
Some hardcore fans of Disengaged simply stood in the corners of the bar double-fisted, steadily rocking their bodies gently in unison to the pulsating rhythm of Jamie “Curbkick” Fortado’s drums and Eddy McNamara’s bass while lip-synching the lyrics in a steady and sad chant to the band’s last performance. The next song “Murder the World” sent the walls and attendees into frenzy as several TVs displayed constant images of people from all over the world mourning the death of Pope John Paul II. The contrast between the band and the Pope no doubt sent chills through the crowd, as it truly exposed the dark side of punk. They also played a few songs from their self-titled first EP, “Less Talk-More Rock” and “Rerun.” The set ended at 1:00 a.m., to everyone’s dismay, as the band was forced to play one last song: the band decided on the theme from Beverly Hills 90210.
The origins of Disengaged are in the autumn of 1999 in Fortado’s basement. They started out as a punk band that was a spoof on the early 90s television show “Full House.” They even called themselves F.H.C. (Full House Crew) and dedicated their songs to John Stamos’ talent for solving family issues and most importantly: his mullet. They were rooted in punk but slowly progressed to thrash metal, and then a healthy mix of punk and metal. Since F.H.C. didn’t exactly take themselves seriously, the band didn’t last long and they split the following year. But from the ashes of their Stamosian aggression came Disengaged, which officially formed in 2001 after a couple of replacements. “We’re still very much infatuated with mullets and John Stamos, but we really matured. Now our songs tend to touch upon the themes of dead ex-girlfriends and the Apocalypse,” said Beakey. Disengaged released their self-titled EP a few months later with the help of Not Common Records, owned and managed by Joe McNamara. Not Common Records represents several other notorious local punk and metal bands such as Abhorred, Raising Kubrick, Conifer, and Phantom Limb.
Many fans viewed Disengaged as the epitome of a die-hard punk-metal band, and well established within the local punk-metal scene. They also brought their own special brand of theatrical performances to the scene; something that has gotten them thrown out of pubs all over New England for inciting riots. Disengaged has been kicked out of too many clubs and bars to count, all the way from Portland, Maine, to O’Brien’s in Allston, Jarrod’s Place in Attleboro, and the Middle East in Cambridge for their “unruly” behavior. “But they always seem to let us back in and play,” said Ed McNamara. “It’s like they can’t get enough; it’s a love/hate relationship.”
For information on Not Common Records and Disengaged go to www.notcommonrecords.com.