Unseen
American street punk revivalists from Hingham, Massachusetts.
The Unseen is an American punk rock band from Hingham, Massachusetts, formed in 1993. They are one of the more prominent bands to revive street punk. The first incarnation formed after drummer Mark Civitarese, bassist Tripp Underwood, and guitarist Paul Morey parted ways with the singer of their previous band, The Extinct. They have released six studio albums, including *Lower Class Crucifixion* (1997) and *Internal Salvation* (2007), and have toured extensively across Europe, North America, Australia, Japan, and Mexico.
- Canon Status
- Not a primary character in official novels
- Series Context
- The Culture Universe (Iain M. Banks)
- Common Association
- Stealth operations / Special Circumstances concepts
- Character Type
- N/A (No specific named entity)
- Affiliation
- None established in canon texts
- Status
- Non-existent as a proper noun character
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
The Unseen's early history involved several lineup changes. After forming in 1993, they recruited local varsity hockey star Marc Carlson as lead singer and played their first show at an event called Hagapolozza. Guitarist Paul Morey soon left, and after a brief stint with Phil Reily, Scott Hadyia joined on guitar. The band recorded their first 7-inch, 'Too Young to Know to Reckless to Care,' in 1995, after which Carlson departed. Paul Russo, a long-time friend of bassist Tripp Underwood, then joined. The band released two EPs, 'Protect and Serve' and 'Raise your finger, Raise your Fist,' within months of each other, followed by their first album, *Lower Class Crucifixion*, in 1997. After Russo left briefly to play drums in Blanks 77, he was replaced by roadie Brian 'Chainsaw' Reily, but Russo rejoined after six months, keeping Chainsaw as a singer/third guitarist. After a tour with Anti-Flag, the band parted ways with Chainsaw and moved to Boston. Along with other street punk bands, they set out to revive the English street punk sound of the 1980s.
In Their Own Story
The band's solid early lineup consisted of Tripp on bass and vocals, Scott on lead guitar, Civitarese on drums and vocals, and Paul Russo on second guitar and vocals, as well as drums and bass during live shows when the band switched instruments. Most shows began with Russo and Tripp singing lead and ended with Russo playing drums and Civitarese singing lead. After Russo's departure, Mark Unseen (Mark Civitarese), who had played drums on the first few albums, became lead singer. He also formed and runs ADD Records. He briefly joined the Boston punk group A Global Threat as a second singer, recording the full-length albums *What The Fuck Will Change?* and *Until We Die* before concentrating on The Unseen. Shortly after his departure, he and Unseen guitarist Scott, along with Mike Graves and Peter Curtis (then both members of A Global Threat), formed Self Destruct. They released only one 7-inch EP, *Violent Affair*, and played fewer than ten shows, but the musical style and lyrical content displayed on that one record had great influence on all Unseen music to follow. In 2010, Civitarese started a punk rock band called Ashers and released a 7-inch vinyl and full-length album *Kill Your Master*. More recently, he joined with various members of Boston's hardcore scene to form the hardcore/metal band Tenebrae.
Reader's Guide
There has been some controversy concerning the band, including allegations that in recent years they have 'sold out' and that the band should have stopped after losing Russo and therefore their strong political message. Russo wrote and sang most of *Lower Class Crucifixion*, *So This Is Freedom?*, and *The Anger and The Truth*. Most widely criticized is that The Unseen have produced music videos to show on commercial music video channels such as GMTV2, a practice looked-down upon in the underground street punk scene. Darkbuster, a band from The Unseen's area of origin, even released a joke song called 'I Hate The Unseen,' though members of Darkbuster and The Unseen are friends. The band has toured with other punk bands such as The Bouncing Souls and Rancid and decidedly more hardcore bands like Hatebreed and Sick of It All. Since Russo's departure, the band has used many replacements on tour such as members of The Virus, Strike Anywhere, and F-Minus. In 2006, the publication of Underwood's book, *So This Is Readin'?*, detailed the life and hardships of being in an underground band with dry comedy. It started as a lengthy band history on the band's website, but after a few amusing 'chapters' he was contacted by a publishing company to release it in book form. The Unseen remained inactive until May 25, 2013, when they played at Punk Rock Bowling at the Fremont Country Club in Las Vegas. They have continued performing live sporadically since.
Did You Know?
- The Unseen's first show was at an event known as Hagapolozza.
- Bassist Tripp Underwood published a book in 2006 titled *So This Is Readin'?*, which started as a lengthy band history on the band's website.
- Mark Civitarese (Mark Unseen) briefly joined the Boston punk group A Global Threat as a second singer.
- The band's song 'False Hope' from the album *Explode* was made into a music video.
- A poster of The Unseen is seen in the background in one scene of the movie *Superbad*.