The United States Of Mind

The USM was put together in Brighton, England by lead singer / guitarist Rocco Antonelli in late 1999. The original lineup, according to the liner notes for the first USM 7" single (True To Your School b/w Never Grow Up / Ode to Walt) was "2 kids from Boston / 2 kids from Brighton. Boston being Boston, Massachusetts USA and Brighton being Brighton, England, respectively. Original Lineup: Rocco Antonelli: Lead Vocals / Guitars Don 'Donzilla' Schulz: Lead Guitars / Backing Vocals Will 'Bubba' Moore: Drums and Humor Matt Cooper: Bass After True to Your School was played on the infamous DJ John Peel's Radio 1 show in London, The USM attracted the attention of Irish punk legend's Stiff Little Fingers manager and was subsequently asked to being the band's opening act in England, with their debut show at Brighton, UK's Tindle Center. Quite a big first show for The USM. After charting on the college charts in the US, the band did an East Coast US tour which was well received. They rented a house on Cape Cod and recorded a full length CD, '4 Star Desperadoes' which included 10 tracks and was released on Hank Records in 2001. Because of good press and play in America, Rocco Antonelli decided to move back to his native Boston in America, however, the band lineup that had recorded and toured was finished with Will Moore and Matt Cooper returning to the UK and Don Schulz deciding to move on to do his own solo project. 4 Star Desperadoes included the tracks: 1. Your Country 2. True to Your School 3. Falling Down 4. Song of A Generation 5. Nite Out* 6. Armies of the World 7. Peter Pan Song* 8. Nshelsdhf 9. Check Your Head 10. Batman Theme* *Nite Out written by fellow Boston Band, The Fools. *Peter Pan Song is 'Never Grow Up' from the Disney film Peter Pan. *Batman Theme is from the original TV show Batman. American Lineup included: Rocco Antonelli: Lead Vocals / Guitars Mike Gurley: Bass / Vocals Bob Kadlec: Lead Guitar / Vocals John Stone: Drums / Stage Antics Though the American lineup played most of the material that was already written and included on the 4 Star Desperadoes CD, which was received well by fans, Rocco Antonelli was anxious to write and release something that featured the new lineup. The band wrote and recorded 'Got A Reason' and Antonelli penned the classic street punk anthem, 'The Bells of St. Andrews', a song that was written about his time working at St. Andrews Boys Prep School in Barrington, Rhode Island and a couple of kids that he met while there. The song has poignant lyrics about the two boys, Charlie & Matt and what their lives would be like some 20 years later in a chance meeting in a bar, never forgetting their tough early years together. The band remained in this lineup playing many shows on the East Coast until disbanding in 2004 with Rocco Antonelli moving to South Africa. In 2009 Antonelli again moved back to America, this time to Providence, Rhode Island and regrouped The USM, again with Bob Kadlec on Guitar and Backing Vocals but added well known local musicians, D-Robb Wilkinson on bass / vocals and Jonny Redd on drums / vocals. This lineup proved to be a good mix and The USM enjoyed a couple years before disbanding after playing their last show at the Brighton Music Hall in Boston, the largest venue to date for The USM. This lineup also played the infamous Boston based television show Sonic Lobotomy. (episode 29 - Published Nov 16, 2011). 2nd American Lineup: Rocco Antonelli: Lead Vocals/ Guitars Bob Kadle: Lead Guitars / Vocals Jonny Redd: Drums / Vocals D-Robb Wilkinson: Bass / Vocals Band Discography: 7" Single: True to Your School b/w Never Grow Up / Ode to Walt (note: Ode to Walt was only featured on the 7" single, but did not appear on the CD 4 Star Desperadoes. 2000 Hank Records 4 Star Desperadoes - 2002 Hank Records True To Your School was featured on: Various - Fat City Presents Bands We Like Vol. 1 ‎(CD, Comp) Combat Zone Records CZR 001 2003 Got a Reason was featured on: Boston: A Punk And Hardcore Compilation ‎(2xCD, Comp) Rodent Popsicle Records 2003 The Bells of St. Andrews was featured on: 5 Jahre Lost Boyz Flingern - Ein Leben Für Fortuna Düsseldorf ‎(CD, Comp) Conehead Records (2), Teenage Rebel Records 2004 Little Drummer Boy Various - Cashing In On Christmas Volume 3 ‎(LP, Comp, Red + CD, Comp) Black Hole Records (2) 2011