Dharma Bums

The Dharma Bums is a U.S. garage band. The band's members were Jim, John, Jeremy, and Eric. They named themselves after the Jack Kerouac book The Dharma Bums. They formed in 1987 in Portland, Oregon, by members of two local bands, the The Watchmen and Perfect Circle. Their first album, Haywire, was produced by Scott McCaughey and recorded for the PopLlama label in 1989. McCaughey later played their debut to Frontier Records boss Lisa Fancher, who was impressed enough to re-release the album. One of the tracks, "Boots of Leather", proved to be an enduring college radio hit. In 1990 the more polished album Bliss was released on Frontier Records. Featuring greatly improved songwriting, this release covered subjects from rape and adolescence to suicide, in a mature fashion built on ragged rock textures. The Dharma Bums recorded their third and final album Welcome for the Tim/Kerr label in 1991, and disbanded in 1992. Wilson went on to form the alt-rock band Pilot.