The Queers are a pop punk band from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, formed in 1982. Singer/Guitarist/Songwriter Joe King has been the principal member of the group, with a vast number of musicians cycling in and out of the band over the years. Supposedly, the band name ‘Queers’ was used simply to poke fun at what he called the “Art Fag” community in NH. That same brand of humor and inanity has become a staple of The Queers music, who have produced songs such as “Can’t Stop Farting”, “PlayBorn to Do Dishes”, and “PlayI Didn’t Get Invited To The Prom” in their own Ramones-esque style. While some punk rock bands attempt to use their music to impart a social or political message, King has made it clear that The Queers exist simply to play punk rock for the fun of it.
The Queers play a Ramones style of pop punk with songs about girls and beer.
The Ataris story reads like a punk-rock fairy tale: teenager lives in boring mid-western town (Anderson, Indiana); goes to a Vandals show and gives the band a tape; weeks later gets a call from Vandals bassist (and owner of Kung Fu Records) Joe Escalante asking him to record for his label; moves to California and puts band together with drummer Derrick Plourde (ex-Lagwagon); makes record "Anywhere But Here" (produced by Vandals' guitarist, Warren Fitzgerald); gets invited to tour with some of his favorite bands (see below); puts together solid new line-up; becomes Fat Mike's (NOFX) favorite new band, who then releases their EP, "Look Forward to Failure" (Fat Wreck Chords), produced by members of the Descendents. The saga continues with "Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits" (produced by Lagwagon singer/producer, Joey Cape), for Kung Fu Records, which has sold an average of over 600 copies per week worldwide since its April 1999 release, and still growing.
FAR FROM FINISHED took shape the way most bands do - they formed as a result of common teenage angst. In a town that had been tarnished with drugs, suicide, and a steadily increasing death rate among adolescents, playing in a punk band was one of the safest choices you could make.
The band's first full-length record, Eastside of Nowhere was released on GMM Records in April of 2005. This record featured a great cast of musicians including: Rob Guidotti, formerly of the Street Dogs, Mark Lind, Ducky Boys front man, and Spike Katz, formerly of the Kings Of Nuthin'.
"Young punks have no business writing songs this good. While other so-called street rockers are busy scrawling "pub" and "mates" into every verse, Far From Finished shoots straight to the head of the pack with a much needed injection of honesty, integrity and -gasp!- melody. East Side of Nowhere may just be the album that kick starts Boston's sluggish punk scene." - Jay Hale, Fat City Magazine
