Doughboys | |
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Origin | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Genres | Alternative rock |
Years active | 1987 | –1997
Labels | Restless Records, A&M |
Associated acts | The Asexuals, All Systems Go!, Jellyfishbabies, Rusty, Bionic, Ipanema, The Forgotten Rebels |
Past members |
John Kastner Jonathan Cummins Scott McCullough Jon Bond Head Brock Pytel Paul Newman Peter Arsenault Wiz |
Doughboys were a Canadian alternative rock band founded in 1987 that were active in the late 1980s and early/mid-1990s. The band was renowned for its musical blend of punk and pop-style melodies.
The band was formed in Montreal by John Kastner in 1987 following his departure from The Asexuals. That year the Doughboys released their debut album Whatever on the Pipeline Records label. In 1996 and 2000 Chart Magazine ranked Whatever as the 28th greatest Canadian album of all time.
Throughout their existence the band was characterized by frequent lineup changes. Original guitarist Scott McCullough went on to form Rusty, so Kastner recruited Jonathan Cummins from the punk band Circus Lupus after Cummins had moved to Montreal from Toronto. Jon Asencio (aka John Bondhead) played bass and Brock Pytel was the band's drummer. The band began working with Manager/Producer Dan McConomy who was working for a film by producer Robin Spry that needed a song for a skateboard scene. McConomy asked the band to re-record the guitar solos with Jonathan Cummins. Even though the original label Restless Records had gone bankrupt a deal was arranged so that Electric Distribution in Canada and Malaco in the United States could release the album. The band opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers on their Canadian tour after attaining the No. 1 spot on Independent Retail Sales and College Radio Chart.
Their second album Home Again was released in 1988 on Restless Records.
Pytel left the band in 1990 and moved to India to study meditation. He was replaced by Paul Newman on the band's third album, Happy Accidents. After that album's release and tour Asencio left and was replaced by bassist John Deslaurier, who appeared on the subsequent 5-song EP When Up Turns to Down that features a cover of The B-52s "Private Idaho". The EP was released without the band's consent by Enigma/Restless.