The Unband

The Unband came into being in 1988 when bassist Mike Ruffino teamed up with guitarist/vocalist Matt Pierce and drummer Eugene Ferrari. Their approach fused the hard-edged guitar attack associated with AC/DC and Motorhead together with the vintage garage punk stance of the Dead Boys and the Stooges. The Northampton, MA, trio soon earned notoriety for wildly excessive concerts that repeatedly led to ejections from Boston-area venues after episodes of vomiting, igniting objects, and full nudity. Their material matched that lifestyle, extolling nonstop indulgence in drinking, drugs, and girls. Chunk records issued the group’s first album, Chung Wayne Lo Mein, in 1996. TVT handled the major-label successor, Retarder, which appeared in 2000.