Rick Barton (musician)

Rick Barton is an American musician and producer from Boston, MA, who is currently the singer, guitarist and songwriter of the band Continental.[1] Barton was previously a founding member and guitarist of the rock band, The Outlets and a founding member and guitarist for the punk band Dropkick Murphys.[2]

Barton along with his brother David Alex Barton formed The Outlets in the early 80s and were an acclaimed live band in the Boston area. The Outlets attained success in the greater Boston music scene but failed to gain national attention when they signed with Restless/Enigma in 1985, despite modest critical acclaim including a recommendation from Billboard Magazine. They are best known for the single "Knock Me Down", which was a regional hit.[3] Barton would eventually leave The Outlets (who have reformed without him) and form the Dropkick Murphys in 1996 With the Dropkick Murphys, Barton would record their debut EP, 1997's Boys on the Docks along with their first two studio albums, 1998's Do or Die and it's follow-up album, 1999's The Gang's All Here along with various 7", compilation appearances before announcing in 2000 that he was leaving the band and retiring from music to be with his family.[4] Barton would unretire in 2007 and formed the punk rock band, Everybody Out!. The band released a self-titled EP in 2007 and in 2008 they released their self-titled debut album in along with the Struggle & Strife EP.[5] In the years that followed, Barton would go on to produce music for founding Dropkick Murphys singer Mike McColgan's bands Street Dogs and FM359. Barton most recently founded the band Continental[6] with his son Stephen who plays bass. When the band isn't on the road, the father and son team paint houses to support their "music addiction". The band's sound has been described as "Paul Westerberg writing songs for The Rolling Stones." The band have released four albums with their most recent album, Home on the Range, being released in 2016.[7][8][9]