Born: April 1, 1958, in Napa, California
Died: December 22, 1985, on I-10 in Arizona
Bands: The Minutemen, The Reactionaries

Dennes Boon grew up in San Pedro, California, an industrial port town and home to many in the Navy. At 14, he jumped from a tree in the park and landed in front of Mike Watt and they became friends. D listened to Creedence Clearwater Revival, and that group’s political lyrics became a life-long influence on his music.

While still teenagers, Boon and Watt started a cover band, but later, after seeing the punk scene in LA did they think of creating their own music. The duo added George Hurley on drums, called themselves the Minutemen, and helped plow way in the nascent indie scene with Black Flag, the Meat Puppets, Mission of Burma, and Hüsker Dü.

The Minutemen turned most conventions upside down: songs clocked in at around a minute, few songs had choruses, the tunes blended jazz, funk, latin, punk riffs, and rock, and the lyrics were at times enigmatic, but political in a radical and/or blue collar way.

The Minutemen’s most successful album was Double Nickels on the Dime, the title a joke on Sammy Hagar’s “Can’t Drive 55,” and indirectly a joke on the rock establishment at large. To the Minutemen, doing things econo was a lifestyle. Records were cut for less than $1,000, the band traveled in a well-used van, and set up their own gear throughout the long tours. The econo mentality paid off as each tour increased the band’s reputation and produced a small profit. Tragically, the band’s career was cut short when D’s girlfriend fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed the van on a road trip to Arizona. D slid out of the van, hit the pavement, broke his neck, and died on impact.

Mike Watt’s hoot page

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Born: August 2, 1961, in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
Died: June 14, 1989, in England
Bands: Echo & the Bunnymen, The Sex Gods

Pete was recruited as a replacement to Echo and the Bunnymen’s drum machine. De Freitas proved quickly that he was much more than an average drummer. Opting for tribal rhythms and shunning excessive cymbal use, de Freitas established himself as an original rock drummer in the reverb-drenched eighties music scene. He was the backbone of Crocodiles, Porcupine, Heaven Up Here, and the brush-laden Ocean Rain.

In early 1986, Pete de Freitas left for New Orleans where he set a new record in rock ‘n’ excess. He consumed vast quantities of LSD, molly, cocaine, and booze while pretending to create music with his new band The Sex Gods. Instead of creation it was a macabre display of destruction. De Freitas totaled two cars, two motorcycles, and nearly himself. He stayed manically awake for eighteen days straight. The party ended when his money ran out and his compadres-in-excess drifted home. Pete de Freitas returned to Liverpool like a burnt-out shell and asked for a second chance. The Bunnymen took him back in, albeit on a salary, but the Bunnymen never found the way back to its creative glory (not just because of Pete). Vocalist Mac left and the three started recording with a new singer. In 1989, Pete de Freitas died on his Dukati motorcycle on the way to the studio in a head-on accident with a car.

Villiers Terrace
Echo & the Bunnymen

Here’s Julian Cope’s 1989 music video for “China Doll.” Pete de Freitas plays his natural role as the mysterious motorcycle man who rides into town and grabs the girl:

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