Alone they stand, together they’re Dock Street Fight Club. The promising Island band has been playing together for three summers now, and have been playing at Dock Dance since last summer. On June 9, band members Emmett Athearn, Charlie Flanagan, Jack Holmes, James Murray, and Atlas Zack had their first show of the summer at the Strand Jam, followed on July 5 with a show at the Ritz. They have also played at the Wharf Pub, Featherstone, and had a Mardi Gras show this year in New Orleans, at Tulane University.
Athearn and Zack have been playing together since 2018, when their band, Slammy B and The Electric Snakes, played at their eighth grade graduation. Six years ago, Athearn thought Zack looked just enough like Kurt Cobain that he should be able to sing like him too, and asked him to join his band. Zack, whose biggest musical influence today continues to be Nirvana, has been singing ever since.
Athearn began playing the guitar in third grade, when his grandmother bought him one. After going to one or two lessons, Athearn decided he would be better off teaching himself, and he was able to hone his skills with the help of the internet. “I probably haven’t gone more than two months without playing the guitar since I was 8,” said Athearn. Athearn’s technique is heavily inspired by Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix.
Flanagan joined the band three summers ago as a guitarist. He first became interested in the guitar in fifth grade, when he picked up the basics, but he began playing more frequently during his junior and senior year of high school, also spending time learning to play on his own. “I spent a lot of time in my room playing a lot of Strokes songs,” said Flanagan. While he has somewhat similar musical inspiration to Ahearn, he leans in a bluesier direction. “I really love B.B. King, probably my favorite guitar player,” he said.
Murray joined the band on the drums two summers ago. He started playing the drums when he was 9, after his dad gave him a set for Christmas. “I’ve always liked music, and he always encouraged that. I never really played anything before the drums. That’s how it all started,” said Murray, “but I didn’t really get serious with it until I joined these guys.” Some of Murray’s musical influences include John Bonham, Ginger Baker, and Keith Moon. Two years ago, on a Wednesday, Murray was driving down Circuit Ave. when Athearn saw him and told him they needed a drummer for a show on Friday. In two days he learned five songs, and has been with the band ever since.
This summer the band welcomed Holmes on the bass. “Jack is the most loved, because we don’t know anything horrible about him,” said Zack. “No, it’s because he’s just not horrible,” replied Athearn. Holmes, who just graduated from Brown University, saw the band play at Featherstone in June, and reached out to see if they needed a bass player. The band commended how much time he has dedicated and how hard he has worked to learn all their songs.
In the winter, deer can be found hanging in the Athearns meat locker, which over the summer is converted into their band practice room. At the start of the summer, in May, they were practicing together every night. As the summer has picked up and with shows coming more frequently, they often end up playing more than they are practicing.
While they each have their individual favorite songs to play live, they agreed that since they have been playing “Someday” by the Strokes for the longest time together, they get into a good rhythm when playing it, and the crowd really loves it.
“I like ‘Younger’ personally,” said Murray, “I think it’s good to play originals, and a lot of people know that song already.”
Other original songs include “Breaking Out,” “Summer Days,” “Keep Fallin’,” and “Trusted a Ghost,” with more to come. Zack, who writes all of the lyrics, said, “Sometimes they mean things, most of the time they don’t; if it sounds catchy I play it back.”
Before they play, each artist has a different approach to getting performance ready. “I try to just do nothing, because that’s what works for me, to make it as calm and normal as possible,” said Ahearn. Murray admitted that he likes to hit a few relaxing stretches. ”You’ve never seen me stretch because I’m not going to do it in front of you guys, but I do it,” he said.
This February they traveled to Tulane University, where they played a show at a friend’s fraternity. “It was pretty cool, it was a pretty big show, there were a lot of people, we played for a while, and everyone was super into it,” said Ahearn.
Zack and Ahearn said that one of their favorite memories as a band was the road trip down to New Orleans. While this was unanimously one of their favorite shows to play together, the Ritz last Friday was a close second.
They have a very close relationship with the Dock Dance Band, who have been opening at Dock Dance since 2018, creating a space for people of all ages to come together and enjoy live music for free somewhere other than the bars.
“They’re great guys; I’m really close to all of the guys in that band,” said Athearn. “I’ve known Alex [who plays the guitar] and his daughter for my entire life, and Alex lives right up the corner,” Athearn gestured up the hill away from his house.
“I think they’re really cool to us also, they’ve been really awesome with helping out, they do all the leg lifting at Dock Dance,” said Flanagan.
The band feels incredibly supported by the Island community and all of their fans here. “Everyone comes to all of our stuff,” said Flanagan.
“Our friends have definitely been very supportive,” added Murray.
The band will return to the Ritz this Sunday, July 14, and are excited to see the crowd they bring. The show starts at 8, and last Friday there was a line around the corner past Gios by 8:30, so get there early.
This is a great band. Be ready to dance.