MDC (band)
From Free net encyclopedia
MDC are a punk band formed in Austin, Texas in 1979.
Playing fast, anarchist punk has earned the band close association with Jello Biafra and the Dead Kennedys, as well as numerous other US punk bands of the early eighties. The band were also unique in frequently changing their name with every new record released. Incarnations include Millions of Dead Cops, More Dead Cops, Millions of Dead Children, Multi Death Corporations, Millions of Damn Christians and Missile Destroyed Civilization.
In the early 1980s, Texas was one of the breeding grounds for a new kind of punk music known as 'hardcore punk'. The three bands in Austin who pioneered this new sound were The Dicks, Big Boys and MDC, who were known at this early stage as The Stains, and released one single under this name, later released as a MDC recording. These bands frequently played together and established the hardcore scene in that city. By 1982 MDC relocated to San Francisco, California - a city and state with very vibrant music scenes. By this point the band were active participants in the growing hardcore scene, and released their debut LP Millions of Dead Cops on the band's own label, R Radical. The album is now widely considered a punk classic, and features songs such as "John Wayne Was A Nazi", "Dick For Brains" and the harsh criticism of the police, "I Remember". As well as the police, capitalism ("Corporate Death Burger"), homophobia and American culture ("Violent Rednecks") were all criticized, without irony, by the band.
The importance, and prominence, of MDC as an influential hardcore band dwindled by the late eighties. The lack of new recorded material and live performances after 1993, plus personal problems of band members, points to an informal break-up of the band. MDC's singer, Dave Dictor, did return with an entirely new backing line-up in 2000, and MDC seems to be going strong despite difficulties, having played most recently a 25th anniversary world tour in 2005, with an all-original lineup.
In 1986 the rock band They Might Be Giants made reference to MDC in a song called "Rhythm Section Want-Ad".
Side Projects
In 1997 Dave Dictor, along with Tom "Pig Champion" Roberts of Poison Idea, released "An Anvil Will Wear Out Many A Hammer" with their band The Submissives.
Boxcar Dave was an acoustic version of MDC featuring Dave Dictor and Ron Posner. They now go under the name MDC Unplugged
Selected discography
- Stains- "John Wayne was a Nazi" 7", R Radical Records, 1980 (b/w "Born To Die")
- Millions of Dead Cops- "John Wayne was a Nazi" 7", R Radical Records, 1981
- Millions of Dead Cops- Millions of Dead Cops LP, R Radical Records, 1982
- Multi-Death Corporations- "Multi-Death Corporations" EP, Crass Records, 1983
- Millions of Dead Children- "Chicken Squawk" EP, R Radical Records, 1984
- Smoke Signals LP - R Radical Records, 1986
- Millions of Damn Christians- This Blood's for You LP, R Radical Records, 1987
- Millions of Dead Cops- More Dead Cops LP, 1988 (Compilation of EPs)
- MDC- Elvis In The Rheinland: Live In Berlin LP, R Radical Records, 1989
- Metal Devil Cokes- Metal Devil Cokes: It's The Real Thing LP, Boner Records, 1989
- Millions of Dead Cops- Hey Cop, If I Had A Face Like Yours: Millions Of Dead Cops II LP, R Radical Records, 1991
- Shades of BrownShades of Brown LP, New Red Archives Records, 1993
- Millions of Dead Cops- Now More Than Ever LP, 2002 (Best Of Compilation)
- Magnus Dominus Corpus CD-LP (18 songs), Sudden Death Records, 2004