You would think—given 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue’s current inhabitants—that there would be more bands out there raising hell about the Trump administration’s divisive policies. But this isn’t the 1960s, and sadly, most folks would rather not mix their music with their politics. Obviously, this hasn’t stopped bands like Rise Against or Public Enemy from espousing their beliefs, but a larger movement of furious, vitriolic rockers—one many anticipated Trump’s presidency would inspire—has yet to manifest itself.

Perhaps Rhode Island’s Downtown Boys can lead the charge. They’ve already been touring the country for months, bringing their unique brand of politically-charged, socially-conscious punk rock to venues both big and small, and inspiring Rolling Stone to declare them one of America’s “most exciting” punk bands.

Downtown Boys formed in late 2011 in Providence, and this summer, issued their third full-length record, Cost of Living, which was produced by Guy Piccioto, guitarist for post-hardcore legends Fugazi. “We were searching for a producer fairly last minute for this record,” explains Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, who plays guitar and sings in Downtown Boys. “Our bassist Mary (Regalado) originally reached out to Allison Wolfe to produce, but she was unavailable, but she recommended Guy to us. Originally, it didn’t seem it was going to work with his schedule, but just a few weeks before, he decided to go for it and it was a wonderful experience to work with him.”

Downtown Boys/. Photo courtesy of Sub Pop Records

The members of Downtown Boys are all self-taught musicians, who’ve come from far and wide, for myriad reasons, and ended up settling in Providence. Only La Neve DeFrancesco and saxophonist Joe DeGeorge are lifelong New Englanders.

“We’re on tour pretty constantly right now so we mostly live in a van,” La Neve DeFrancesco says. “I think wherever you are right now, whatever job you’re in, the goal is destroying white supremacy, tearing down the structures that have been in the process of destroying humanity for a long time and are only ramping up the effort at the moment.”

Singer Victoria Ruiz is the face of the band, which is rounded out by drummer Norlan Olivo and bassist Mary Regalado. On the Downtown Boys’ latest for Sub Pop Records, Ruiz uses her powerful voice to promote Chicana, queer, and Latino issues.

The new offering opens up with “A Wall,” which scoffs at the notion a wall could ever shatter the spirits of those it is being designed to suppress.

“Providence has a long and full music history and that seeps into what we do,” La Neve DeFrancesco says. “There is also a long political history of violence and resistance here, and that comes in as well. So much of Providence’s musical and political past, including our band’s, is centered around the mill buildings in the city and the accompanying history of industrial capitalism and slavery, and the resistance movements to those two systems, and so whatever you’re doing here, there’s that weight you have to take seriously.”

Want to know what’s on Joey La Neve DeFrancesco’s playlist? Check out our Take a Listen Spotify channel. While you’re there, take a listen to the playlists of other musicians we’ve interviewed.

Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, guitarist and singer for Downtown Boys
Providence, Rhode Island
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Top image: Downtown Boys. Photo by Miguel Rosario

The post Joey La Neve DeFrancesco Heads Downtown appeared first on Take Magazine.

Kevin Broccoli might be the busiest person in New England. The 33-year-old Rhode Island native writes, acts, directs, and works as artistic director of the ambitiously titled Epic Theatre Company.

“Epic is a small—very small—company that focuses on work that is story-driven,” says Broccoli. (Yes, his name is pronounced like the vegetable.) With minimal sets and barely any costume budget, Epic is about to kick off its sixth full season, one that features a whopping ten shows over ten months.

Kevin Broccoli, image courtesy of the actor

The season includes Red Speedo, Lucas Hnath’s 2013 drama about Olympic hopefuls and performance enhancing drugs. Set at an actual swimming pool, the play will be performed poolside at the Pawtucket Boys & Girls Club. Another highlight is season closer Wolf Hall, based on Hilary Mantel’s historical epic, which will be staged in a large warehouse with a cast of 35 actors.

“People are disillusioned with theatre right now,” Broccoli says. “People like Netflix. I can’t blame them, I like Netflix too.” That’s why he selects plays that will make people sit up and pay attention, plays he hopes will provoke strong reactions.

Broccoli also acts and writes, in addition to working days in his hometown public library. “I usually start writing at midnight and go until 3 a.m. I revise during the day, but I write late at night. If a first draft takes longer than a week I’m not going to finish it.” Epic just wrapped up a world premiere run of Dorothy, Rose, Sophia and Blanche, a comedy about four women who wake up to find themselves cast in a reboot of The Golden Girls. “People thought we were just doing scenes from The Golden Girls,” he says.

Broccoli’s summer has been dominated by a legal kerfuffle related to another of his plays. James Franco and Me is a two-man show where a character named Kevin Broccoli meets the actor James Franco in a hospital waiting room as Broccoli’s father lies dying nearby. It premiered last fall in a predictably quirky way: Broccoli played himself and a different actor played Franco every night.

James Franco and Me was successful enough that it a second staging was scheduled in New York, now with two actors playing Broccoli and two others playing Franco. “We planned a three-performance run, and it was all good to go until the venue got a cease-and-desist letter from Franco’s lawyers,” Broccoli says. The venue bailed, so Broccoli wrote a strongly worded press release. Within days, the news was featured everywhere from Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly to People.com and the New York Times.

The biggest surprise to Broccoli is that the letter didn’t come earlier. “We did the show 30 times in Rhode Island,” he says. “They didn’t care; they thought it didn’t matter. Judging by the letter, they only cared because we were bringing it to New York.”

Broccoli says he reached out to Franco’s agent, publicist, and even an ex-girlfriend, but hasn’t yet reached the actor himself. How could Franco, a RISD graduate, disapprove of the show when so much of his own work mines the same material?

Earlier this month Broccoli performed a reworked, redacted version of the show in Rhode Island for one night only. _______ and Me removed all references to the actor. “Who knows,” Broccoli said before the altered show debuted. “It might be funnier that way.”

Kevin Broccoli–actor/writer/artistic director, Epic Theatre Company
Providence, Rhode Island
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Top image from Dorothy, Rose, Sophia and Blanche, image courtesy of Kevin Broccoli

The post Watch Your Broccoli appeared first on Take Magazine.