The rock band The Proletariat isn't’t in the music business for the money. Initially they weren’t particularly in it for the music either. Guitarist Frank Michael’s says the reason the band was formed in the fall of 1980 was as a vehicle to espouse its members political beliefs. It mattered little that he and fellow founding members Richard Brown, bassist Peter Bevilacqua and drummer Tom McKnight had little musical training either. "It’s good not to know how to play (the instrument) when you first start out," Michael’s offers. "You tend to be more original instead of trying to emulate your idol. "Since you don’t sound like Jeff Beck, you don’t try to." The Proletariat doesn’t sound like any of Beck’s bands. That’s an understatement. Neither do they sound just like a lot of Boston's hardcore(punk) bands with whom they are often compared. The Proletariat, whose members are from Freetown, Assonet & Fall River, and The Freeze, Cape Cod band, stand out on the "This is Boston, Not L.A. hardcore compilation album released on the modern Method Records label in May (List price is $5.98). Shipments of the 3rd Modern Method Boston compilation (the first containing hardcore music) have already exceeded expectations, according to owner Mike Dreese. Over 5000 have been shipped in a little over a month, and Dreese says the exposure helps the bands on the records get airplay, as well as bookings out of town.
The Proletariat's contribution to the 30-song album (songs that last anywhere between 20 seconds and 2:49 minutes) is three songs: "Options" is their view of the career choices of working class America (military service, factory employment, welfare assistance); "Religion is the Opium of the Masses" slams organized religion; "Allegiance" condemns those who blindly accept and follow national leaders and America's code of ethics that promote bedlam. The message is non-too-subtle, and The Proletariat breaks from the hardcore bands in the way they get it across. Brown's lyrics are intelligible and the band's rhythms, while typically relentless and loud, are toned down just enough. Unexpected breaks are thrown in (as in "Religion"), without losing the sound's edge. Most punk bands are content to shock and offend with their music: The Proletariat uses its jackhammer approach to persuade. It's little surprise that three members of the band are college educated. It's an act that has gone over well in Boston-theirs was the only hardcore band chosen to participate in the WBCN-FM Rock and Roll Rumble competition at Spit the last week in June. "The way things are going", Michaels says, "People are angry, and a lot of them agree with what we're saying." On New Bedford audiences, Michaels says, "We'd be a little hard for those people to take." And there is no outlet near home to play to the young (15-20) audiences that pack the all-ages shows The Proletariat likes to perform. The band is scheduled to appear on another soon-to-be-released Modern Method disc, and has had financial offers, say Michael's, but is unsure of it's direction. He says the members agreed to record some songs for Modern Method in return for regional exposure, but they're unwilling to change for the sake of becoming more commercially acceptable. "We will continue to do what we want to do", says Michaels. "We're doing it (playing music) for ourselves. If we have to change in order to "make it", it's not worth it." "Our lives aren't going to be destroyed if Warner Brothers doesn't sign us to a contract."
-Steve Varnum, The Standard Times, Circa 1982