The Bruisers

The Bruisers were pioneers of the American streetpunk/oi! movement, formed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1988.The original lineup included: Al Barr (vocals, now the lead singer of the Boston Punk band Dropkick Murphys), Scotty Davies (bass), Jeff Morris (guitar) and Rodger Shosa (drums).Morris is now a guitarist and lead vocalist for Death & Taxes, and a former guitarist for Mark Lind & the Unloved.Former guitarist Rick Wimert died in the mid-1990s. The first band members were skinheads (although not white power skinheads).After a few years and lineup changes, the band and their style changed slightly.By 1996, Al Barr was the only remaining original member of The Bruisers.One notable release by the band was a 7" split with Barr's future band Dropkick Murphys in 1997. After 10 years, the band broke up in 1998. The Bruisers had a reunion concert on September 14, 2005 at The Roxy in Boston. The bill included local acts The Ducky Boys and Tommy & The Terrors, as well as The Casualties from New York City. The Bruisers played a second reunion show on August 31, 2012 headlining the first night of the 2000 Tons of TNT Fest at the Webster Theater in Hartford, CT.