Hagfish

Emerging from Dallas, Texas, Hagfish bridged the gap between punk's initial mainstream surge led by Green Day and the Offspring and its wider embrace by sweeter-leaning acts such as Blink-182 and Lit. Vocalist George Reagan III assembled the lineup with guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Doni Blair, and drummer Tony Barsotti. The quartet quickly drew press attention, advancing through the local club circuit before being named Best Local Live Band. Their Ramones-derived minimalist punk rock first appeared on the 1993 independent album Buick Men, issued by Dragon Street Records. Author George Gimarc designated them the "next big thing" in his best-selling book Punk Diary 1970-1979. London Records subsequently signed the band, resulting in a substantial reworking of earlier songs for the 1995 release Hagfish...Rocks Your Lame Ass!, whose wonderfully obnoxious character prompted numerous critics to cast them as heirs to Green Day's punk rock throne. Album sales failed to match the acclaim, however, and after London rejected the group and dropped them, the simply titled Hagfish surfaced independently in 1997. The band never regained its early momentum yet persisted with sporadic touring amid repeated breakups and reunions, delivering the 1999 live set Caught Live and the 2001 collection That Was Then, This Is Then.