The Broadways

The Broadways were a short-lived punk band from Chicago, Illinois. The group formed in 1996 after the dissolution of the influential ska-punk band Slapstick, with their vocalist Brendan Kelly and trumpet player Dan Hanaway combining with Rob DePaola and Tricky Dick guitarist (and long-time friend of Brendan) Chris McCaughan.

History

The Broadways acknowledged influence from and drew comparisons to Crimpshrine, Fifteen and Jawbreaker^{[citation needed]} and are notable for their socio-policital lyrics and less traditional song structures.

The band released one full album, Broken Star, in 1998 on Asian Man Records, before breaking up later that year, with Kelly stating a reason of "all of us growing out of where we were in our lives when we started the band".^{[citation needed]} Later, Kelly and McCaughan formed The Lawrence Arms, while Hanaway and DePaola formed The Honor System.

A collection of unreleased material and songs from their EPs was released in 2000, as Broken Van.

In 2007 and 2008, Asian Man Records announced plans to reissue both of the band's albums on vinyl and CD. Broken Star had long since sold out on vinyl, while Broken Van had been CD-only; both had for some time been out of stock on CD. [1] In late 2007, Mike Park posted a topic on the label's forum stating that he could not find a copy of Broken Van and would need a fan to provide one in order to go ahead. [2] Broken Van went on sale in July 2008 and Broken Star shortly after.

Members

• Brendan Kelly: bass, vocals
• Dan Hanaway: guitar, vocals
• Chris McCaughan: guitar, vocals
• Rob DePaola: drums

Discography

EPs, etc.

• We All Know That You Can Do It 7" (Bicycle Records, 1997)
• Where's The Beef? compilation (Drive Thru Records, 1997) (contains the unreleased song "Fuck The Church")
• Big City Life EP (Asian Man Records, 1998)

Albums

• Broken Star (Asian Man Records, 1998)
• Broken Van (Asian Man Records, 2000)

Legacy

Despite having claimed that they never would [3], The Lawrence Arms performed songs by The Broadways during their late 2007 tour: "15 Minutes" and "The Kitchen Floor". Notably, Brendan sang "15 Minutes", which was originally sung by Dan; its inclusion is probably due to its popularity. They also performed Slapstick's "Broken Down".

The likely reason for the songs' inclusion is that, since the tour was something of a family tree, incorporating Brendan and Chris' side projects, The Falcon and Sundowner, the songs were added for the sake of completion and to please die-hard fans. It is unknown whether the songs will see future performances.

See also

• The Honor System
• The Lawrence Arms
• Slapstick Family Tree

References

• Allmusic