Official lineup for The Business:
Original Members— Steve Whale, Stephen Kent, and Micky Fairbairn
Michael Brands of Arch Rivals- vocals
John Pearce of The Last Resort- Bass

The year was 1980 and Great Britain was then weathering a social and political maelstrom, that bridged the mid-seventies and eighties entire. It was a chaotic and tumultuous time in which to be young. The confusion and anger of having to face escalating unemployment, suppressive officialdom and exploitive pariahs had goaded an angry backlash. Firstly with the original wave of punk in 1977 and then again three years later with the second wave of streetwise bands of which The Business are quite plainly the market leader.

From the early days and their legendary single “Harry May” (the story of a hit man) to more lamentive feel of the current LP track “Always Isn’t Always” The Business never seem to lose that elemental connection to the local environment. In this way their songs have been as much about social documentation, as highlighting a reactionary point of view. It’s the living and breathing voice of south London working class experience.

There’s such a comprehensive feel to the role call of their recordings. Astute observasionalist lyrics that highlight everything from football, stories about local faces, common experiences about dealing with officialdom, life’s general ups and downs, right through to the riots and other events that have sent ripples racing across the social pond and the political cesspool. The Business will always be a force to be reckoned with — enough said!

Hard hitting 5-piece street punk band originating from the South Side of Chicago.

Playing a positive-natured brand of hardcore-tinged Celtic punk, Flatfoot 56 has been unleashing itself upon America and the rest of the world for over 20 years now. Forming in 2000, the Chicago natives achieved nationwide attention with their first two label-backed records, 2006’s Knuckles Up and 2007’s Jungle of the Midwest Sea. These releases built on a heavy dose of previously established regional notoriety, helping the band gain steam early on.

While each record received its fair share of acclaim, the quintet exploded onto a new level with 2010’s Black Thorn. Landing the band on a total of 9 Billboard Charts, Flatfoot 56 proved it could consistently reach an expanding audience while treading in a genre not often associated with widespread success. This success was advanced even further with song placements in the hit TV series
“Sons of Anarchy” and the video game “Watchdogs”.

After the success of “Blackthorn” Flatfoot hit the studio yet again in 2012 to record their Paper and plastic records backed “Toil” album. This album would further solidify the band as a consistent force to be reckoned with.

Flatfoot 56’s latest full-length album, entitled “Odd Boat”, was produced by Matt Allison at Atlas studios in Chicago. “We decided that since the last experience at Atlas Studios was so beneficial, we wanted to repeat it,” Bawinkel said. “We have been friends with Matt for a few years now and we love the work that he and his studio engineers do.”

“Odd Boat” was a self-released album. “We have been working with labels so long that we decided that we wanted to have more of a say in how our music gets distributed and promoted. We are excited about this next season,” Bawinkel said. “As a band we have all grown a lot over the years and we wanted to stretch ourselves even further. Self release is a good way to do this.”

In 2018, Flatfoot 56 released the E.P. “The Vancouver Sessions”. In this E.P., they restyled and recorded original songs from multiple albums acoustically. Some fans prefer these acoustic versions over their original versions as they highlight and emphasize the great storytelling element of these ballads.

In 2022, Flatfoot 56 released their first Split E.P. They joined forces with the amazing band,The Rumjacks, and each released three new and original songs. They are available on vinyl, for digital download, and playing on Spotify and other streaming services.

Frontman Tobin Bawinkel (vocals/guitar) is now set to lead Flatfoot 56 back into the studio. Armed with his brother Kyle (bass), along with their original piper Josh Robieson (bagpipes/mandolin), and Dan Alfonsi (Drums), Flatfoot 56 is in the process of writing their 8th full-length studio album.