The various versions of Mick Divven's great band, the Boys From Nowhere, have all managed to show that he's one of those rare people who can put together a group that burns with that kind of flame...one listen to a few of their records will make that obvious. Divven's approach blends a sixties garage sound that will remind some people of bands like the Lyres or Stems with a harder, nastier element that owes a debt to the Stooges or even late 70s punk bands. It's a sound that hasn't won him or his band a lot of success in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, despite the fact that Boys From Nowhere have records out in four different countries and are generally adored everywhere anyone has heard of them. Like fellow Ohio natives Sister Ray, the Boys From Nowhere find themselves struggling to get gigs and draw people at home and unable to assemble a tour away from home. But Mick has an even bigger problem than Sister Ray, because he barely has a band together behind him...
The Boys From Nowhere have been going since about 1984. The first three Boys From Nowhere records were singles; "Beg"/"@@@@@", "Jungle Boy"/"1966" and "Goin' Too Far"/"I Don't Bother". All three are a blast of garage punk with a real hard edge to them...much tougher than almost any band you can think of in this kind of thing. Top of the stack is "Goin' Too Far", which has a feeling like the hardest edge of the British invasion with a terrific tune and irresistible chorus.
If you can't find the singles, you can get most of the tracks through the three import eps. I asked Mick how these came to be. He started by discussing the origins of the German ep Cyclone Death Machine.
