THE NEIGHBORHOODS - No Place Like Home 7'' 1980

The Neighborhoods came out of Boston around 1976-77 while the whole punk scene was going on at the Rathskeller (The Rat) in Kenmore Square. The Hoods were an excellent rock group playing Mod punk-type music a-la early Who and much like the Jam and Generation X in their early days. David Minehan was the lead singer and guitar player who from the very beginning had a great stage presence and played guitar like it was his last night on earth. In the back was Mike Quaglia keeping the rock steady beat and Jim Bowman keeping the bass lines strong so Dave could weave in and out. By 1979 the band changed bass players and John Hartcorn was there to add more bass rhythm and energy to the mix. The band was now on fire and easily won the WBCN Rock'N Roll Rumble held at the Rat. The Hoods power-rock was infectious with songs like “Monday Morning”, “Teachers Pet”, “Flavors”, “She’s So Good” and “Think It Over.” In 1980 they released a single on Ace Of Hearts label called “Prettiest Girl” & “No Place like Home” which got a lot of airplay in the local New England area. Soon the Hoods were a favorite local attraction in RI and especially at the Living Room with sell-out crowds. The Hoods were on the verge of going nationally but based on stories we later learned, mismanagement caused the band to split for a brief moment in July 1981 but as it turned out, it was the end of an era in the early Hood history. It’s a shame they never got to release an album from that time frame to capture that great raw power era...

 After the Hoods regrouped they decided to go in a different direction. Gone was John Hartcorn on bass and he was replaced with Tim Green who added a more funky style playing to the new music. The band material now was based more on higher energy and less on bright melodies. In 1984 they finally released their first mini-LP "Fire Is Coming" with another new bass player named Lee Harrington who had joined the year before. That was followed by a full record for Restless record label in 1986, "...the high hard one...." and "Reptile Men," in 1987. The band also did a national tour with the Ramones in 1988.....

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