The 27’s – D. Boon 1958 - 1985

Part 23 in a series on “The 27’s” – notable musicians who have passed away in their 27^th year.

Dennes Dale Boon, aka D. Boon, was a singer, songwriter and guitarist influential in the punk scene of the early 80’s.  He formed is first band, The Reactionaries, with best friend Mike Watt 1978.  In 1980 the band broke up and Boon, along with Watt and Reactionaries drummer George Hurley, formed the punk trio Minutemen.    

The band became part of the punk scene that was emerging on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles and soon signed with Black Flag's SST label.  The Minutemen were one of punk's most politically charged bands and their philosophy of "punk is whatever we make it to be," connected with their young audience.  The band’s sound was characteristic of Boon’s style, he yelled his vocals and played guitar without distortion and most often with the bass turned all the way off and the treble all the way up.  From 1981 through 1985 the Minutemen toured constantly and released a number of albums for SST.  Their most successful album was Double Nickels on the Dime.

Boon's life was tragically cut short on December 22, 1985, when he was killed in an auto accident in the Arizona desert near the Californian border on route I-10.   He had been sick and laid down in the back of the band’s touring van.  Because he was lying down, he was not wearing a seatbelt when the van ran off the road.  Boon was thrown out the back door of the van and died instantly from a broken neck.

Mike Watt was devastated at the loss of his friend and the Minutemen immediately broke up, though Watt and Hurley would later form the band fIREHOSE.  Watt would also later join the Stooges as a replacement bassist.  His solo 1997 release, Contemplating The Engine Room, was inspired by and a tribute to his childhood friend, D. Boon.