If you’re a fan of ska, you probably know who the Mighty Mighty Bosstones are. And if you’re a fan of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, you definitely know who Dicky Barrett is. He’s been the band’s frontman since their inception and, though he has become a household name in the ska/punk scene, there are still a lot of interesting facts you may not know about Mr. Barrett.
Test your knowledge here.
1. Prior to the formation of the Bosstones, Dicky was a member of Boston-based bands the Cheapskates, Toxic Toast (also a great MMB song), and Impact Unit.
2. He met Joe Sirois, who has been the drummer for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones since 1991, while attending Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
3. He has made numerous guest appearances on songs by other punk bands, including Rancid’s Cash, Culture and Violence, Street Dogs’ Justifiable Fisticuffs, The Gaslight Anthem’s The Patient Ferris Wheel, and H2O’s tracks Force Field and Faster Than The World.
4. Though he and the Bosstones take great pride in being from Boston, Dicky has been a citizen of Los Angeles, California, since 2004.
5. Dicky has made many appearances on TV and in movies. He played the role of a campus police officer in 2003’s “Freshman Orientation” (also known as “Home of Phobia”) and, after the Bosstones went on hiatus, he became the announcer for Jimmy Kimmel Live! – a job he has held to this day.
6. In 2003, he began working on an untitled solo album said to be “more somber” and “darker” than the Bosstones’ music. The album has yet to see the light of day.
7. From 2005 through 2006, Dicky hosted his own radio show called the “Mighty Morning Show” on Los Angeles radio’s Indie 103.1 FM. He was allegedly fired due to his unwillingness to make the show “more mainstream.”
8. A character in a comic strip called “Monroe,” which was written by one of Dicky’s associates on Jimmy Kimmel’s show and appeared in the April, 2007 edition of Mad Magazine, was named after him.
9. Cops were once called to ESPN’s Bill “The Sports Guy” Simmons’ Los Angeles house because neighbors thought they saw an intruder. When they arrived…well, it was just Dicky watching football and eating a bagel. In his socks.
10. Dicky drew the artwork for the legendary Boston band Stranglehold’s “Leisure Tour 84” 7-inch…way before you were born.