The Pioneer Valley of Western Mass. had a thriving punk scene in the early 1980s with a diverse selection of bands that include The Scientific Americans, The Foreign Objects, The Time Beings, Pajama Slave Dancers, Section 8 (aka 8th Route Army), Deep Wound and many more. One band that didn't fall neatly into any genre was Kaspar Hauser, a group of UMass students who bonded over their love of music and art house films. The band released a three song 7" EP in 1982 and an unreleased live LP was recently discovered and released by Mesh Art Records in early 2026.