Artist

La Peste

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Peter Dayton (guitar, vocals), Mark Andreasson (bass, vocals) & Roger Tripp (drums) formed La Peste shortly after Peter saw the Ramones in 1975 at CBGB's in NYC recording the set on a Sony boombox. The recording transfixed the three art school students. The band’s first “official” show was in early 1977 at Boston University’s cafeteria, where Tripp worked. As Dayton puts it, La Peste’s set “alienated everyone in the room instantly.” Boston’s first intentionally “punk” band was on their way.

It was a long time coming in Boston, a proto-punk hotbed since the Velvet Underground’s storied late 60s exile from NYC, through the Modern Lovers’ charting singles in the UK in the late 70s. La Peste was born into into a scene fostered by the likes of DMZ, Willy Alexander and his Boom Boom Band, Nervous Eaters and more bands that often played at the Rathskeller (“The Rat”).

Fitting to their hometown’s collegiate tradition, La Peste’s songs delve into subject matter beyond sniffing glue and hanging out. Named after a Camus novel, their songs explored characters in the midst of existential and moral quandaries. They delved into characters and topics that are complicated without sacrificing the immediacy of early rock that punk up-cycled.

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