"Patriot is, and always will be, a non-political and anti-racist band!" --Eddie Bastard

Patriot is a four piece oi! band, first formed in October of 1990 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (USA), a town known far more for its post-granola hippie and elitist alternative/indie music scene - not the most fertile soil to grow Oi! and streetpunk in, but as they say, "Spread enough shit around, and something's gotta grow."

The original lineup consisted of Eddie Bastard, Gordon Sharkey, John MacNeal, Joey Osment.

About a year-and-a-half in, both John and Joey left the band. Brian Lawton jumped on board as the new bassist, and Chip Harris took over on the drums. This lineup remained as the band's longest-standing to date, and it was these members that were responsible for almost everything of significance that was written and recorded.

Chip took a year off, citing personal reasons, and Jeff Morin filled in for him on drums. Chip later returned after an 8- or 10-month hiatus. In 1996, Jack Freeland joined on rhythm guitar, filling out that wall of sound and opening the doors to push the envelope of Patriot's music.

Eventually, the band was plagued by "creative differences," and Brian Lawton ended up leaving in late '99. Brian "Deuce" (so-called as he was the second bassist in Patriot named Brian) took over and remained until the eventually split in October of 2000.

A reunion at the 2004 Beer Olympics met with much enthusiasm and signaled plans of a return for Patriot. After 4 years of not being able to do shows because of lineup instability, Patriot is back and playing live again. East Coast Oi! Fest 2008 was the first show.

Things are moving slowly right now, as members of the new line up learn all the old songs. Plans are in place for a new full length, as well as a tour to support the new record.

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.