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.
|