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Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Press Summary"

PRESS: Full features in New England papers and magazines include, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Boston Phoenix, Performer Magazine, Stuff, Providence Phoenix, Worcester Phoenix, Worcester Telegram and Gazette, and Portland Phoenix.
National coverage in LA Weekly, Chicago Sun Times, Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll, Razorcake and a variety of fanzines all gave positive reviews of CD and/or Live shows. - Assorted


"HARP at SXSW: Day 3 (March 16)"

At the Blender Bar, Boston’s Downbeat 5 was kicking out some serious garage jams. Fronted by Joan Jett-like singer/guitarist Jennifer D’Angora and guitarist J.J. Rassler (ex-DMZ/Queers), they deliver cat-scratch classic punk leavened by powerpop and no small dose of blue-eyed soul. Indeed, they brought the latter home when D’Angora casually announced, “Here’s a little tune by Sam Cooke,” and summarily launched into an incendiary “Shake.” Mmm, that’s doing it…”shake,” yeah, you’re looking good now, Downbeat 5. - HARP Magazine


"Hub rockers increase stage presence at SXSW fest"

If you’d walked onto the Sixth Street nightclub strip in Austin, Texas, last Friday night and turned into the cavernous Ritz Blender Bar, you’d have caught a familiar sight: Boston favorites Muck and the Mires were pumping out garage rock onstage, the Downbeat Five were up next, and the crowd was full of recognizable scenesters. For a minute you’d have thought you were at the Abbey Lounge in Somerville. - Boston Herald


"South by Southwest, Day 3"

Hungry for a little straight-ahead Boston-style garage rock, I headed to see the Downbeat 5 at the Blender Bar...D’Angora is a fireball of a singer and adorable to boot, and Rassler is a Boston rock mainstay dating back to his days in DMZ in the mid-’70s. The band mixed spunky originals with perfectly chosen covers — “Dum Dum Ditty” by the Shangri-Las, “Come On Now” by the Kinks, “Shake” by Sam Cooke. - The Mercury News


"SXSW 07: Editor's Blog: Day Three"

The Downbeat 5: Brash, lively, femme-fronted garage rockers from Boston, featuring (full disclosure) my friend Ed, who played my birthday party a few years ago. His pixie-punk girlfriend, Jen, has some voice—a dynamic, shouty rasp that you can't believe is coming from so tiny a package. - Spin Magazine


Discography

- The Downbeat 5, self-titled, full length CD 2001 on Sympathy for the Industry
- Victory Motel, full length CD 2005 on Hi-N-Dry/Abbey Lounge Records
- Smoke & Mirrors, full length live CD 2007 on Steel Cage Records

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Formed in 1999 by lead guitarist JJ Rassler (founding member of influential Boston bands DMZ and The Queers) and singer/rhythm guitarist Jen D'Angora, along with bassist Mike Yocco and drummer Eric Almquist, The Downbeat 5 draws on British invasion bands like the Yardbirds and Animals, spikes the brew with the toughest female vocals this side of a women's prison riot, and tops it all off with decades worth of aggression, attitude and volume. After whetting the appetites of garage punk fans worldwide with their first two releases, Ism and Victory Motel, the band pulls out all the stops for their first live CD, Smoke & Mirrors, released by Steel Cage Records, March 6th, 2007. The result is 12 adrenaline-fueled shots of pure, real, raw rock and roll that grab you by the ears and cut straight to the bone. The Downbeat 5 have played with legends such as The Hoodoo Gurus, Richard Lloyd, The Knitters, the Pretty Things the Surfaris, the Wailers, Sylvain Sylvain & Jayne County, Dick Dale, the Zombies as well as current garage rockers such as The Detroit Cobras, Holly Golightly, the Muffs, Mr. Airplane Man, Demolition Doll Rods, Preachers Kids, the Flaming Stars, and many, many more.