Text by Mike Gitter
Nobody expected them to form a band
They weren't exactly part of the Boston
"crew-a close-knit circle of friends and
musicians behind Bean core powerhouses
like SS Decontrol, DYS, the PU's and Impact
Unit. They were faces in the crowd, guys
you'd see at every gig.
Ralph Dinunzio and Keith Bennett called
their band Wrecking Crew after the hand-
painted t-shirt Springa (the singer for SSD)
used to wear. Their sound was a surprising
departure from straight-edge Boston ultra-
core. They were hard-edged and uncompro
mising, consciously influenced by Brit-core
faves Discharge and Conflict. "That was just
a bunch of drunk fifteen-year-olds living out
some big English fantasy," laughs Ralph
referring to the Crew's initial incarnation.
Eventually, everyone from the first outfit
except Ralph and Keith (guitar and bass
respectively) went separate ways. They
recruited guitarist John Darga, who was
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RECKING
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attending Boston University and looking for
a band. Glen Dudley, a familiar face because
of his high-profile job scooping cones at
Steve's Ice Cream, was a natural frontman.
Taras Hrabec (ex-Vacant Authority) stepped
up to fill the drummer's throne.
"There was nothing happening two years
back," recalls Ralph. "There was Slapshot,
who had more in common with the old
Boston crew, Psycho, who were an outright
thrash band, Gang Green had turned into a
rock and roll band and didn't have a lot to
do with the Boston scene There just weren't
a lot of alternatives for kids who wanted hard,
aggressive music.
"We saw how powerful Boston was at one
Point and we decided to simply get off our
asses and do something. People like Al from
SSD really motivate me now. They got their
scene together, had a good relationship with
all the kids around them and inspired Boston
to the point where it was once one of the
Photos by Kristin Callahan
greatest hardcore scenes in the country. I
think we're motivating a lot of people around
us in much the same way."
Wrecking Crew has changed things in
Boston. In the wake of their success, a whole
new generation of bands has sprung up. Out-
fits like Eve for an Eye, Point Blank,
Crossface and others are recapturing the
sense of community" Boston was once
known for. The Crew's live shows are marked
by wildly enthusiastic mass singalongs and
stage-diving. The action on stage is unre-
lenting, the sound is aggressive and yes, the
kids relate!
"We've all been around lang before this
band even started says Keith. "The kids
know we're for real. We've inspired a lot of
younger bands to get off the ground We'll
go so far as to help them out, lend them.
equipment, get them on shows, y'know, just
do whatever we can."
"I think the main difference between us.
and a band like Slapshot is that none of us
are really from the old school of Boston hard-
core," adds John. "They were the old faves
with members from bands like Negative FX,
Last Rights and SSD When we started doing
our thing, kids were like, 'I know that joker.
If he can be in a band, so can That's the
most important thing-if someone sees
someone of equal status playing in a band,
they'll believe in themselves enough to start
something of their own."
Despite somewhat spotty production their
long-awaited debut Lp "Balance of Terror"
unleashes cataclysmic thrash fury. Don't try
to tag them with clumsy references to just
one of their many influences; Wrecking Crew
dely categorization.
"None of us are standard cliches in
ourselves," says Keith. "We all have different
outlooks, musical favorites, philosophies,
whatever. Wrecking Crew is just an extension
of that. We aren't a formula band with a form-
ula outlook."
"I guess one of the best things about us
is that you can't really put Wrecking Crew
into any given slot," adds Ralph. "Sure, there
are political bands that sound like Discharge,
straight-edge bands that insist on sounding
exactly like Youth of Today or SSD, but very
few of them are interested in doing
something original. You can progress and
remain a hardcore band without what a lot
of people refer to as selling out."
message out to more people
I watched the Grammy
awards, and it seemed like a
lot of people saw Metallica as
some stupid metal band. At
least they were getting their
message out to the general
audience, most of whom
don't even realize what the
song "One" is about. I think
it's important just to say
something; that's why people
start hardcore bands instead
of playing completely lame
rock and roll."
Wrecking Crew's lyrics are
as uncompromising as their
music. Glen's wolfish vocals
snarl through the sonic
musical torrent with genuine
anger and frustration. They
are hardly banner-waving
politicos, but Wrecking Crew
always speak their minds
with a ferocity reminiscent of
Discharge or Crucifix.
"It's been said before, but
there's no denying all it takes
is a glance at the news to piss
you off," steams Ralph.
"Look at what's happening now with the
Satanic Verses. A guy just writes a fictional
book and now there's a price on his head.
"There's a sense of frustration we can't
help but feel, adds Keith. "There's too much
that we know is completely fucked, but we
also know that there's not a lot we can do
about it. Sometimes it feels like we're living
"People say you're selling out if you sign
to a non-independent label like we did with
Hawker Records, who are a subsidiary of
Roadrunner, or if you play a metal show,"
adds Glen. "It's just a matter of getting your
Previous Page (Left to Right): John Darga, Keith Bennett,
Ralphie, Taras Hrabec and Glenn Dudley, the men in the crew.
Below: Massive hair-mosh by Keith.
a death sentence. You can't
help but say something
against that. With us, that
comes out in a whole lot of
frustration and anger."
"We're not the only ones
feeling this way," says Glen.
"Explain why a band like
Metallica has gotten so big
Even in the pop world Tracy
Chapman sings about having
a revolution. You think there
isn't anything going on with our
generation? Think again."
"In the sixties, people never
solved their problems," an-
nounces Keith "I think a lot of
people our age feel sold out by
that generation and we're
angry about it."
"Kill the hippies, jokes
John with a sneer and a snar
Despite metal influences
(Keith is probably Motorhead's
biggest fan) Wrecking Crew
are decidedly a hardcore
band. They're part of Boston's
long heritage of harder and
heavier sounds.
"Don't call us a metal cross-
over band," says Ralph. "As
Ralphie has no surname, but he can still wail.
long as we're Wrecking Crew, we'll always
be an extremely heavy hardcore band, a lot
like the Cro-Mags when they first started."
"We aren't about to change our sound just
to suit the whims of some record company."
adds Keith. "But we can appeal to kids who
like aggressive music. I've had long hair all
my life, but that's never dictated the kind of
music I play. Even when I was younger and
considered a metal head, I was never one
to shy away from listening to everything from
Motorhead to Discharge to Marillion to early
Boston hardcore. It all had the same basic
attitude and power.
"Nowadays you see slamming in Bon Jovi
videos," says Keith. "All that amounts to is
a bunch of idiot kids jumping all over each
other. Stuff like that's going to ruin any
chance for people to understand what hard-
core's about In too many instances, the
media simply uses aesthetics like stage-
diving or slam dancing. They never take the
lyrics or thought behind it into account."
"There's an attitude to what we're doing."
says Ralph, "and what keeps bands like us
distinct A lot of people compare us to New
York bands like Agnostic Front, Raw Deal or
Sick of It All. think what we have in com-
mon with them is an honest reality sound.
The world isn't always pretty, and bands like
us are a reflection of that."
Wrecking Crew is the sound of hardcore
in 1989. They have both the raw talent and
the street-level attitude to surpass and outlive
the competition. They're proof positive that
hardcore continues to develop, feeding off
the same anger and frustration that gave it
so much vitality so many years ago, while
constantly improving musically.
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