The Boom was formed in 1997 in Washington D.C. by Fred Erskine. Looking to explore a musical vocabulary different from his current band at the time, June of 44, and his previous band Hoover, Fred and the members of The Boom drew heavily from their influences of soul and 60’s era Blue Note recordings, while maintaining their punk and post-hardcore roots.
They recorded three albums Movin’ Out (Slowdime Records, 1998), Any Day of the Night (Slowdime Records, 1999), and The Life of a Star (Unreleased). Over the course of these albums you can hear the steady trajectory towards their ambitious goal of creating a tough and soulful sound.
Whereas Movin’ Out documents a time in which the band was most firmly planted in the punk music aesthetic they were most familiar with, Any Day of the Night was a clear departure. They wrote music without vocals and Fred added his skills as a trumpet player creating a two horn frontline. Members of The Sorts contributed to the band’s evolution further by adding trombone, electric piano, and additional percussion. You can hear this all clearly in the track “Honey on a Biscuit” where Booker T Sessoms’s bass is deep, the rhythm section driving, and the horns carve out aggressive lines.
The band’s third and final record, The Life of a Star, was never released and thought to be lost until recently. It further documented The Boom’s progression with a more focused exploration of their Bluenote influences.
In 2025 Solid Brass began working with The Boom to help get their music streaming for others to remember and enjoy. Any Day of the Night will be available to stream everywhere on 8/15/25. Follow @the_boom_dc on Instagram and stay tuned for more news.
