Doughboys

Doughboys were a Canadian alternative rock band 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.

Early Years

The band, from Montreal, was formed by John Kastner in 1987, following his departure from The Asexuals.^[1] The Doughboys released their debut album, Whatever, that year, although the original lineup of musicians shortly disbanded. In 1996 and 2000 Chart Magazine ranked Whatever as the 28th greatest Canadian album of all time.^[2][3]

The band subsequently coalesced around the lineup of Kastner on vocals and guitar, who recruited Toronto's Jonathan Cummins from the punk band Circus Lupus on guitar after Cummins moved to Montreal.^[4]. Cummins replaced original guitarist Scott McCullough, who went on to form Rusty. John Asencio (aka Jon Bond Head) played bass and Brock Pytel was the bands drummer.^[5] The band hooked up with Manager/Producer, Dan McConomy, who was working on a Film by Robin Spry called "Hit and Run" and needed a song for a skateboard scene. The band was asked to re-record the guitar solos with Jonathan Cummins, by McConomy. Even with the original label gone bankrupt a deal was arranged so that Electric Distribution in Canada and Malaco in the states could release the album. The band opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers on the Canadian tour after attaining the #1 spot on Independent Retail Sales and College Radio Chart.

They released their second album, Home Again, in 1988.

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 John Deslaurier, who appeared on When Up Turns to Down, a 5-song E.P. that features a humorous cover of the B-52's "Private Idaho". The EP was released without the bands consent by Enigma/Restless.^[6]

Major Label Signing and Mainstream Success

Deslaurier left in 1992, and was replaced by Peter Arsenault. The band subsequently signed to A&M Records, and used their $10,000 advance from A&M to buy out their contract with Enigma.^[7] They then recruited Daniel Rey and Dave Ogilvie to produce their major label debut, Crush, which was released in August of 1993.

That album's lead single, "Shine", was the band's biggest Top 40 hit, although "Neighbourhood Villain" and "Fix Me" were also notable singles from the album. Crush went gold in Canada.^[8] "Shine" meanwhile was voted in 2000 as the 26th "Top Canadian Single of All Time" by Chart Magazine,^[9] and was used by Canadian music channel Much Music as the theme song for their alternative rock show called "The Wedge".

Their next album, 1996's Turn Me On, was coproduced by Ted Niceley and Daniel Rey, and spawned the singles "I Never Liked You" and "Everything and After". The album continued the band's pop punk style, and Cummins subsequently left the band, citing the band's "lack of edge" and commercial sellout. He was replaced by Wiz, the former singer/guitarist for Mega City Four, for the remainder of the band's tour. Wiz co-wrote two songs each on Turn Me On and Crush, including "Shine". However, following the end of that tour (as the opening act for The Offspring) the band broke up before releasing another album, save for the 2003 re-issue of their first demo La Majuere.

Post Doughboys

Kastner subsequently formed All Systems Go! with Marc Arnold and Frank Daly of Big Drill Car. He is married to Nicole de Boer and now lives in Silverlake, California. They have a new daughter, Summer Lee. His first solo album entitled Have You Seen Lucky was released in June 2006. He has also composed a number of film and TV soundtracks, including work on Phil the Alien, Universal Soldier and B.R.A.T.S of the Lost Nebula. In 2000, Kastner (along with Jon Bond Head) made a guest appearance of Brock Pytel's second album, Second Choice. In 2008 he toured with Bran Van 3000 and is currently recording a new album with them.^[10]

Cummins formed the band Bionic. He also wrote a music colomn for the The Montreal Mirror, produced a number of albums, and also spent six-month stint playing with the Besnard Lakes.

Arsenault later did a stint in All Systems Go! replacing Frank Daly. Wiz formed Serpico and Ipanema, but died in London, England on December 6, 2006 from a blood clot on the brain.^[11] Paul Newman started work as a road manager after the Doughboys broke up. Later he joined The Forgotten Rebels.^[12] He currently plays in Big Rude Jake's band Blue Mercury Coupe.^[13]

Discography

• La Majuere (1987/2003)
• Whatever (1987)
• Home Again (1988)
• Happy Accidents (1990)
• When Up Turns to Down (1991)
• Crush (1993)
• Turn Me On (1996)

References

External links

• Unofficial Doughboys website
• "You're Related" Video
• "Fix Me" Video
• John Kastner on Twitter