www.TheImmigrants.com

About Us

The Immigrants - Band History

The Immigrants are an underground band consisting of lead vocalist Bill Sheridan on guitar and his brother Dan on drums.

Friday, St. Patrick's Night 1995 — At The Causeway, a rock club across the street from the Boston Garden, The Immigrants take the stage. Outside, on the elevated train tracks, a green line trolley car rumbles by the window of The Causeway as The Immigrants launch into a song called "Subway Station" with the refrain, “Platform pacing on the yellow line, stand clear of the yellow line. I'm just a rat in a habitrail. I'm just a rat, can't you see my tail. Subway Station, Destiny, Destination.”

Music Press Review
The Noise, Rock around Boston

"These Charlestown-based newcomers sport an intriguing sound with an incantatory edge not too far short of compelling."

"Their melodic instincts are quite keen and the vocalist's phrasing is original and chuck full of irresistible hooks. The next Morphine? Watch this space. Pick hit: "Subway Station." Tape of the month.

The Early Years

On a rainy evening in 1983, The Immigrants came to be — shooting bottlerockets out a bedroom window with an ex-member of the local band, Rat Salad.

"We don't need 'The Salad', we can form our own band. Danny can be the drummer."
"You think my brother, Bill could join?"
"Sure, if you buy a drumset, he can be the rhythm guitarist."

And so Bill and Dan were in a band before they had instruments or could even play. Dan bought his first drumkit with the money he earned broiling hot dogs at Nathan's Famous. His brother Bill also worked at Nathan's and bought an old imitation Vox guitar for fifty bucks.

They set up in the basement of their house of seven brothers & sisters, three dogs, two cats, and their World War II Veteran Dad who raised all the kids by himself and cooked their dinners. He was awarded two-Purple Hearts and a Bronze-Star medal with the 90th Infantry Division. Visit: www.savingprivatesheridan.com. (Their mother, Kathleen Sheridan, passed away at a young age when Bill was 5, and Dan 6-years-old.)

Together they started out from scratch. Bit by bit, they learned to play their first cover song by U2, "I Will Follow." The first in a long list of covers by bands like The Replacements, The Kinks, The Jam, The Pogues, The Who, The Clash, Buddy Holly, The Wipers, The Lazy Cowgirls and the usual list of covers a basement band plays. Next came the talent show at their high school, where they performed a new song by U2, "Pride in the Name of Love," before a crowd of 500.

Boston

"Can you cough it up loud and strong? The Immigrants, they want to sing all night long."
— Joe Strummer "Straight to Hell" of The Clash

From 1987-1990, Bill studied songwriting and guitar at the Berklee College of Music in Boston while Dan studied photography and journalism at NYU. After their father passed away in 1989, the band relocated to Boston in June of 1990. Like a Rolling Stone, with no direction home, the band set about finishing what they started - working on originals with a four-track recorder at their rehearsal studio, a little railway-house in Charlestown, located in a junk-yard right next to the train tracks near the Mystic River.

Bill came up with the name of the band and took inspiration from Joe Strummer's line in The Clash song Straight to Hell — "Can you cough it up loud and strong? The Immigrants, they want to sing all night long." At NYU, Dan wrote a magazine article about illegal Irish immigrants in NYC and took the photo of Sean from County Mayo, Ireland. The photo was taken on the Staten Island Ferry in 1988 around 5:30am with a 28mm wide-angle lens and timed exposure on a tripod.

The Immigrants played their first gig at The Bog in Jamaica Plain on April Fool's Night 1992. From 1992-1997, The Immigrants played out at clubs around Boston: The Middle East, TT the Bear's Place, Club Bohemia, The Rat, Club III, The Sea Note at Nantasket Beach, The Philly in Salem, and, last but not least, The Causeway where The Immigrants became a regular fixture and played a lot of shows on the weekends — located on Causeway Street across from the old Boston Garden.

Listen to The Immigrants Live at The Causeway - 1996

Special thanks to Martin Doyle club manager of The Causeway from The Immigrants.

Railway House Records — Charlestown CD

The Immigrants released their first cassette tape, Fourtunes, in June of 1993 on Railway House Records to favorable reviews in the Boston Music Press.

The Noise, Rock Around Boston —
"These newcomers sport an intriguing sound with an incantatory edge not too far short of compelling. Their melodic instincts are quite keen and the vocalist's phrasing is original and chuck full of irresistible hooks. The next Morphine? Watch this space. Pick hit: "Subway Station." Tape of the month.

Pit Report, ~ Boston, Massachusetts ~
The Immigrants check in with "four tunes" (clever title) that recall the early workings of The Smiths and The Cure...Lyrics possess a certain weirdness.... "Murray & Sadie" is a tale of travel companions, "Enterprise Ride" and "Subway Station" add depth and dimension due to their dissimilarity.The Immigrants are young but unusual. Please keep us up to date.

On Guy Fawke's Night, November 5th, 1994, The Immigrants released their 16-song CD entitled Charlestown on Railway House Records. The songs were written at their rehearsal studio — the little railway-house in Charlestown, located in a junk-yard right next to the train tracks near Sullivan Square. The CD was produced by Jack McMahon at Ryansong Studios, a 24-track studio in Pepperell, Massachusetts.

"How cool underground music really can be."

Baby Sue Music Review,
~ Atlanta, Georgia ~ Summer, 1995

Amazingly unpretentious music from this duo. If you're looking for busy arrangements and mountains of studio tricks, you can skip to the next review. But if you like smart pop delivered in a straight forward fashion with no frills or gimmicks, you'll want to check out the Immigrants. My favorite tunes here are "Jackie Boy," "Changemaker," and "Shot to Pieces." This here thing goes to show how cool underground music really can be.

FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions

1. What's with the name, The Immigrants?

Bill came up with the name and took inspiration from Joe Strummer's line in The Clash song Straight to Hell— "Can you cough it up loud and strong? The Immigrants, they want to sing all night long."

Jack Kennedy's last book: A Nation of Immigrants.

2. What's with the cover photo?

Dan wrote a magazine article about illegal Irish immigrants in NYC and took the photo of Sean from County Mayo, Ireland. The photo was taken on the Staten Island Ferry in 1988 around 5:30am with a 28mm wide-angle lens and timed exposure on a tripod.

3. Where's the bass?

The Immigrants are a duo, guitar and drums. Bill plays a 6 & 12-string Rickenbacker, and his Gretsch guitars through his Leslie and Vox Amps. Dan plays Gretsch Drums.

Listen to The Immigrants Live at The Causeway - 1996