The Scud Mountain Boys began simply as "the Scuds," a punk rock band out of western Massachusetts. But they soon took a stylistic about-face, which involved inverting their punk sound into quiet acoustic moments. Featuring bandleader Joe Pernice, later of the Pernice Brothers, they weren't really hillbilly punks, but rather pop aficionados eager to mix the melodic cues of Pure Prairie League and Bread with their pickin' and grinnin', all of which completed a startling transformation that placed them on the leading edge of the alt-country movement. Key tracks: "Knievel," Glass Jaw," Massachusetts"