Twenty five years ago, Steve Lepper
asked Dave Chabot to start a punk rock band with
him. Dexter Yarworth and Johnny Cote jumped on
board and Neutral Nation was born. Early shows had
NN opening for bands like GG Allin, The Minutemen,
Exploited, UK Subs and Flipper at the The Living
Room. Steve (currently rockin’ with BIG World)
moved on to other projects in 1984 and was replaced
by the mighty mighty Tom T-Buck Buckland. The music
solidified and the Nation released “Invasion of the
Sumo Wrestler” EP, the classic album “It’s a Bash”
and the ripping punk rock tape “More”. Even more
great shows happened, including opening for The Red
Hot Chili Peppers, The Ramones, Jane’s Addiction
and a plethora of other great bands. The Providence
music scene was thriving. NN was so thrilled to be
a part of it. Neutral Nation played with a ton of
great local bands like Rash of Stabbings, That’ll
Learn Ya, Tipper Gore, Boneyard and so many more
great, great bands. Johnny (currently making great
music with The Superchief Trio and The
Stumbleweeds) moved on in 1990 and was replaced
with drum superstar Stumpy. The Nation continued
headlining shows and opening for incredible bands
like The Bad Brains, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Dead
Milkmen and Murphy’s Law. The band had two more
releases with the EP “Don’t Get Hurt” and the
nearly live “Funky Dung” tape. Neutral Nation
slowed down from its steady gig schedule in 1993,
but twenty five years later, Dex, Dave, T-Buck and
Stumpy are still rockin’ hard. They released a two
disc CD Compilation in 2004, simply titled “Neutral
Nation”. Neutral Nation doesn’t play often, but
when they do, it’s an event.
