Hagfish

by Ed RivadaviaHagfish is one of the missing links between punk rock's first invasion of the mainstream at the hands of Green Day and the Offspring, and the genre's mass acceptance via sugary-sweet punk rockers like Blink-182 and Lit a few years later. Formed in Dallas, TX, by vocalist George Reagan III, guitarist Zach Blair, his bassist brother Doni, and drummer Tony Barsotti, the band quickly became press darlings, rising through the ranks of the local club scene and being voted Best Local Live Band. After introducing their powerful Ramones-derived minimalist punk rock sound with 1993's Buick Men (issued through independent Dragon Street Records), Hagfish was handpicked as the "next big thing" by author George Gimarc in his best-selling book Punk Diary 1970-1979. Signing with London Records, the band retooled much of their debut into 1995's wonderfully obnoxious Hagfish...Rocks Your Lame Ass!, which had many enthusiastic critics jumping on board and touting them as next in line for Green Day's punk rock crown. But their promise never translated into album sales, and after being rejected by London (which subsequently dropped the group), 1997's simply titled Hagfish was eventually released independently. The band never recovered their original impetus, but has continued to tour sporadically between breakups and makeups, releasing 1999's Caught Live and 2001's That Was Then, This Is Then.