About the Brigands:
The Brigand brothers started playing the rock and roll in Malden MA, USA in the early
1980s. Rusty and Brian teamed up with brothers Bart and Chris to form the Bouncers.
Yes, the Brigands were known as the Bouncers back in the day, reflecting both their
employment of choice as well as their favorite pastime.
Their first gig was at Jaspers in Somerville, MA, where the Bouncers opened a
homecoming for Robert Ellis Oral. Their early shows featured the band playing Sex Pistols
covers and stage diving at terribly inappropriate times. Over the years the brothers
have suffered three chipped teeth, five broken noses, a cracked jaw and four broken
knuckles, mostly at each others hands. Amazingly, this foolishness led to a stretch
of Boston-area shows at Jaspers, Jumbos, Storyville, Chets Last Call, the
Rathskellar (aka The Rat!), the Channel and the Paradise.
The brothers decided to take on the family name in the latest incarnation of the band,
and out of the ashes of the Bouncers, the Brigands were formed in the late 1990s, delivering
a pulverizing mix of 70's and 80's Boston Mass Ave scene covers, as well as Brigands
originals. Not much has changed since the early days, however. The brothers clearly
enjoy playing together, but also wary of their inclination toward nasty disagreements.
They often spend their entire nights receipts on bar tabs, emergency room fees
and sterile gauze.
Rustys equipment of choice:
Fender Jazz upgraded with; neck from USA Custom Guitars, Schaller tuners, Gotoh bridge,
DiMarzio pickups and Ritter Swordsteel strings
Fender Jazz is played through an Ampeg 610-HLF cabinet with an Ampeg SVT3-PRO head
The Brigands at the Abbey Lounge in Cambridge, MA USA February 2008
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