The Pinkerton Thugs

The Pinkerton Thugs were a punk band who formed in Maine but had strong ties to the Boston punk scene of the mid-to-late 90's. Formed in 1996 (at least in name's sake as the band had played in different incarnations with names like Turbo

The Pinkerton Thugs were a punk band who formed in Maine but had strong ties to the Boston punk scene of the mid-to-late 90's. Formed in 1996 (at least in name's sake as the band had played in different incarnations with names like Turbo Kitten previously) the band drew influence from punk bands such as Sham 69 and the Clash as well as Woody Guthrie's political ballads. They were known for their spirited live performances as well as their radical anarchist political views. Attempting to put their ideas to action members of the band formed a collective called the Anarchist Liberty Union which set out to distribute anarchist literature for free and establish better communication between activists. Their first seven inch E.P. was as a three piece featuring vocalist/guitarist Micah Smaldone, bassist James Whitten, and drummer/vocalist Paul Russo, who also played in the Unseen. The record was titled "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit Of Shit" and was self-released on the band's own Police Records in the U.S. and by Nefer Records in Canada.

The Pinkerton Thugs released two full lengths ("The Pain and..." and "End Of an Era") and a split seven inch with the Ducky Boys. The bands later recordings saw Paul Russo playing both drums and guitar in the studio while Tommy "Von" Gatton played drums live. As the band was preparing "End Of An Era" for release Smaldone left the band to concentrate on playing rockabilly with the Racketeers The band played a handful of live gigs with Bill Brown of Crash and Burn and James Lynch of the Ducky Boys before Lynch left to join the Dropkick Murphys and the band fizzled out. "End of an Era" was released posthumously in 2000.