This is the myspace page for The Beauty School Dropouts, a punk band formed in NYC. The band broke up in 2007, but this page will always be here as a tribute. The BSD youtube promo videos are back up, click the links of the songs to view, they are
Dress Up Like A Girl and
Last Time.
In the late 1980's, before punk rock was accepted as a valid musical form and hair metal bands were still all the rage in rock and roll, New York City's The Beauty School Dropouts were formed.
Taking their cues out of the textbooks from such bands as The Ramones, The Buzzcocks and others, BSD (James "Chee" Cangemi- bass and lead vocals; Steven Fallon - guitar and lead vocals; Salvatore Cangemi - lead guitar' David Blake - drums) exploded onto the New York City scene with their brand of combustive yet melodic punk rock and roll. .
More than just another typical punk rock band, BSD was flashy and flamboyant but with killer punk attitude. Not content to just stand around, BSD were not just players but performers as well, dedicating themselves to putting on an energetic show every time on stage. Mixing such influences as The Ramones, The Undertones and KISS, BSD would give the audience a true show while playing their songs full of hooky melodies and catchy choruses.
However, this kind of punk wasn't universally accepted just yet, and BSD broke up right before the "punk rock emergence" of the early 90's.
During their absence, punk became "accepted" and punk bands (and many pseudo-punk bands) were climbing the charts while countless thousands of punk wanna-bes were ripping holes in their own jeans trying to look like The Ramones. BSD briefly reunited in 1992 with new drummer Gino Thomas, did some great shows and broke up once again.
During the break-up period, Steven and James played in various bands (most notably together in the popular "The Orphans" band in '93) and Steven toured solo with a backing band in 1994. Steven and Chee were playing in bands on and off, while drummer Gino still performed in various outfits and Sal gave music a rest.
In 1999, commercial punk was on the decline and "pop" was rising in popularity again, so James, Steven, Gino and Sal decided to reunite BSD. With an all new refreshing attitude where the main concern was having fun, the band hit the scene again with new energy and with all the old songs (sounding as fresh as when they were written) and the shows were a rousing success.
With some new songs added to the set, and a new show which included smoke and fire, smashing guitars and more, BSD's performances were more inspired than ever. The band proved more popular than ever before as the crowds greeted BSD with incredible enthusiasm at every stop. 1999 ended with a killer show playing with Los Gusanos, the band of CJ Ramone of The Ramones.
From these shows, BSD released their first CD in 2000, "Bootleg: Live in NYC" with all their best songs such as "Dress Up Like A Girl," "Metro-Type Glamour," "News At 11" and "I Ain't Got Time," and also an incredible version of Johnny Thunders' "Too Much Junkie Business." The CD got rave reviews and the band was gaining momentum with every step. But in late 2000, BSD was hit with a big change as guitarist Salvatore decided to leave BSD for personal reasons, and to pursue other musical interests.
The band wished Sal the best and continued onward with three members, with guitarist Steven Fallon adapting to his new role as both rhythm and lead guitar player. Somehow, BSD became even stronger than ever before, putting on killer shows and winning crowds over with many classic performances in NYC and beyond at places such as The Continental, Acme Underground, Chicago Blues, CBGB'S and many more. BSD briefly played the Warped Tour in 2001, and in 2002, BSD finally recorded their first studio CD, "Time For You To Go," which featured such new songs as "Last Time," "Time For You To Go," "Teenage Kicks" and Elvis' "Suspicious Minds." The CD was in limited release but got rave reviews everywhere it was heard, both online, in print and from the fans.
In 2003, however, BSD once again disbanded with the band members going their own ways.
Last year in 2007, James Cangemi, Steven Fallon and Gino Thomas have decided to reform The Beauty School Dropouts and get back together for a reunion show, outside Keyspan Stadium in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, immediately following the legendary annual Mermaid Parade. Thousands of music fans watched BSD's first concert in over four years as the band ripped through a killer set of both originals and covers. If there was any doubt about the power of BSD it was eliminated after the first song, as BSD live featured the same unrelenting punk rock energy the band always had, and the same showmanship and spectacle BSD has been known for, for almost 20 years.
BSD played one more concert at Otto's Shrunken Head on 14th Street in Manhattan, NYC, and called it quits. However, existing recordings both studio and live will forever be a testimony of this amazing punk band.
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