DYS (band)

DYS
Origin	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	Straight edge hardcore, heavy metal
Years active	1981-1985, 2010-present
Labels	Bridge 9
Associated acts	ALL, Dag Nasty, Down By Law, Foo Fighters, Jerry's Kids, Powerman 5000, Scream, Slapshot
Website	www.facebook.com/dysboston
Members	Dave Smalley Jonathan Anastas Franz Stahl Al Pahanish Jr. Adam Porris
Past members	Steve Bielski Andy Strachan Ross Luongo Dave Collins Chris Foley Bobby Frankenheim Jack Clark

DYS is an American straight edge hardcore band from Boston, Massachusetts who were part of the notorious "Boston Crew" in the 1980s, along with contemporaries such as SSD and Negative FX. The group later expanded their sound, becoming one of the first hardcore bands to veer into heavy metal.

DYS was founded in the 1980s by singer Dave Smalley and bassist Jonathan Anastas. At the time, Smalley was a freshman at Boston College, while Anastas had previously founded the short-lived band Decadence, whose song "Slam" was featured on "This Is Boston, Not LA", and later adopted for a long-running MTV advertising campaign titled "Santa, the Man, the Myth, the Slam Dancer."

DYS took its name from the Department of Youth Services, a Massachusetts governmental organization where delinquent youth were housed, as well as the Alice Cooper teen power anthem "Department of Youth." Smalley and Anastas were joined by guitarist Andy Strachan and drummer Dave Collins. In 1983, the band released their debut album Brotherhood, produced by punk recording legend Lou Giordano. In 1985, they added lead guitar player Ross Luongo and released their second self-titled album, DYS, which took them in a metal direction and included the first power ballad ever attempted by a hardcore band. During their metal period, live sound was handled by noted hard rock producer Andrew Murdock, who works under the professional name "Mudrock."

After DYS broke up. Anastas became a founding member of Slapshot. Dave Smalley went on to sing for Dag Nasty, ALL and Down By Law, before founding The Jam-influenced band The Sharpshooters. Strachan co-founded the more rock-focused band Slaughter Shack, before quitting music and converting to Sikhism. Ross Luongo went on to play guitar for the reformed Jerry's Kids. Both of DYS's 1980s albums were re-issued together on CD and in digital formats by Taang! Records (titled Fire and Ice). Brotherhood has also been reissued on CD and on iTunes in early 2005 by Taang! Records with the addition of the Wolfpack demo tape, featuring Hüsker Dü singing back-up vocals.

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