BOATS!

The name Boats! is used by two distinctly different bands:

1. A pop punk band from Sacramento, California
2. An indie-pop band from Winnipeg, Manitoba

1. The Boats! play punk that has influences of everything from 70's bands like Buzzcocks to more current bands like The Briefs. They keep it short, simple and snappy with most songs clocking in at around two minutes. They have toured relentlessly since their first show in August 2007 (they played nearly 100 shows in 2008 alone.) The band’s strong work ethic seems to be paying off this year with a 2009 SAMMIE nomination for "Outsanding Punk/Hardcore Band" and an upcoming release on No Front Teeth Records/May Cause Dizziness. The band hopes to release their 10" album in June.

Boats from Sacramento are:
Matt Leonardo (vocals/guitar), David Hayden (bass), and Jeff Melendez (drums)

2. Boats play music songs in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada with lyrics about dismemberment (the good kind), excellent posture, and orthodontic surgery. A junky indie-pop band with high-end hopes but low-end equipment (total net worth of keyboard section: $40, all thrift store finds), Boats started playing in Winnipeg sporadically as just "Boat" in 2001. Since then they have shared stages with bands like The Waking Eyes, Novillero, The Acorn, and Art Brut, which isn't too shabby considering until recently they only averaged roughly 2 shows a year.

Over the years there has been a rotating cast of Winnipeg musicians who have played in Boats, but the current version has a pack of Winnipeg all-stars surrounding singer-songwriter Mat Klachefsky. These can include, but are not limited to, members of The Western States, Half Court Prayer, The Details, and Transistor Sound & Lighting Co.

And now... a metaphor:

If music was exactly like regrettable experiences when you were seven years old then Boats would be the time you went to the farm and your older cousin let you ride his mini-motor bike all by yourself against your parent's better judgment; it was fun for the first few seconds but then you crashed into a steel wire fence and cut your knee. Whatever. It was still pretty fun.

Boat released their very first full length CD called "Intercontinental Champion" in May 2007.

P.S. I am aware that that was a simile, not a metaphor. - pc-pdx.com

Boats! just blast out four perfect pogo punk pop songs on this 7”. Think Cute Lepers with more emphasis on the fun. It can be a risky endeavor for bands trying to turn innocuous themes such as pool parties into punk anthems but Boats! do it without a hitch with the track, “Pool Party.” Overall, this record reminds me of one those ‘80s National Lampoon movies for its perfect recipe of self-deprecation mixed with funny and served with just the right amount of edge to hold the whole thing together. Ahhh, this is such precious vinyl. –N.L. Dewart (No Front Teeth, May Cause Dizziness, mcdrecords.com) - Razorcake/Gorsky Press, Inc. Razorcake/Gorsky Press, Inc.