Bosco, a Brooklyn native, was involved in several Beastie Boys side-projects and had a rich musical history, including playing in the West Coast punk band UXA and the French Foreign Legion band.
Bosco, who is another Brooklyn native, has been in several Beastie Boys related side-projects over the years; as well as some side projects of his own. If you own the Big Fat Love Hell House album, which Grand Royal released in 1997, you have heard Bosco's vocals. In addition to Big Fat Love, he also supplied vocals in another one of Mike D's side projects, The Flophaus Society Orchestra. But before all of that, Bosco played bass in the now legendary West Coast punk band UXA. Stranded in Los Angeles, CA by UXA, Bosco began playing in 'The Darby Crash Band.' At this point it should be noted that one of Boscos band mates was Pat Smear, who went on to play in the Circle Jerks, Nirvana, and the Foo Fighters.
The small New York City punk rock scene led to Boscos first meeting with the Beastie Boys. "When I first met Dave Scilken and Adam Horovitz they were insufferable, I mean inseparable and very funny. They would hang out at the Ratcage store on 9th Street. This was a very important place where many paths crossed. Actually Dave Parsons introduced Michael Diamond to me at his store. At the time we just spoke, he knew me from seeing UXA perform. Later though, Cliff and I were hanging out and I met John Berry. We started to jam a lot. Mike D would come over to hang and party, and that is how BFL got started."
In November of 1990, Bosco was beaten, lonely, destitute, and unable to reach any friends. Tragically he accepted a post in the French Foreign Legion and was commissioned to the small French island of Martinique. He found himself far from home and far from talented, so he played trumpet in the foreign legion band "mostly functions and funerals." At night he stole away from the barracks to jam with the local musicians learned the lilting, swinging styles of the mazurka, beguine, cadence and zouk. Discharged from the legion because of rum induced hallucinations, Bosco supported himself as a stevedore and by playing in local bands such as Les Pyramides, La Sauss, and the Terre San Ville FanFare.
Upon returning to New York in the fall of 1995, Bosco was determined to release the old Big Fat Love recordings. He swiftly contacted his fashion mentor Adam Yauch and a recording session was scheduled in order to record 4 songs from the 1983 period, which were used to fill out the album. Erik Talbert filled in for Mike D, who couldn't make it due to an important jog he had scheduled that day. A few months later, the Hell House lp was released became GR041. "We did a few gigs just for the fun of it, but we werent really into it anymore especially without Mike.
Over the years, Bosco composed numerous solo songs that finally were formally put out on the Dave & Confused Records 2001 release Boscos Tales of Greenpernt Fiddlin. The limited pressing features fellow Big Fat Love member Eric Hubel on slide guitar and mandolin. Upon first listen a person can miss some of the subtleties that make the album so irresistible. A Miners Dream, the first song, has a country feel to it that plays nicely in rotation behind Country Mikes Greatest Hits. Then almost unexpectedly Bosco flips the page into two very hip hop oriented tracks Ego Trip and Love Mother. The album closes with a song entitled Meeting, which sampled the Bee Gees Stayin Alive and set it to rhymes years before Wyclef ever thought of doing it. Meeting is so catchy that upon a second listen youre likely to find yourself singing along with Bosco. Fortunately for the curious, Ratcage Records has decided to take the best songs from Boscos solo album and put them out on a five track EP which is properly named Egocentric 2002, Fans can place orders online at the Ratcage Records website and pay either by mail order or by using PayPal.
Sadly, Bosco passed away on the 28th of June 2005 following a lengthy illness. Check the links to the left for a Bosco tribute page, and also an Obituary written by his friend Gregory Robinson.
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