Dance Hall Crashers
Dance Hall Crashers |
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Dance Hall Crashers (often abbreviated to "DHC") is a ska punk band from Berkeley, California, that formed in 1988. The band was originally made up of the members of seminal ska-punk band Operation Ivy, minus their singer and drummer. Since both Matt Freeman and Tim "Lint" Armstrong were interested in playing in a purely ska outfit, they recruited original drummer and ska enthusiast Erik Larsen. The band's original logo and designs were created by Jacob "Kuba" Schwartz, the older brother of later singer Karina Denike Schwartz.
The band experimented with various songs and styles until they played the very first purely ska show ever booked at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley. Although the band played ska, the feeling and the vibe was definitely punk rock.
Immediately following their debut, Matt and Tim decided to pursue other interests, mainly a new band called Downfall.
DHC then spent a period of time experimenting with various lineups, finally settling with Karina Denike Schwartz on lead vocals, Elyse Rogers on background vocals, Jason Hammond on guitar, Joel Wing on bass and Erik Larsen on drums.
Following a series of gigs and the usual ups and downs of a young band, DHC finally caught a break playing at an all-ska Earth Day festival at Berkeley's Greek Theatre in 1990. Also on the bill was legendary band Bad Manners from the UK.
Dance Hall Crashers disbanded soon after, bowing to pressure from fans to play a reunion gig in 1992; the response to their performance was so positive that they immediately reformed on a permanent basis, settling on a lineup of Rogers and Denike on vocals, Hammon on guitar, his brother Gavin on drums, guitarist Scott Goodell and bassist Mikey Weiss.
The very first group signed to MCA’s new 510 division, they issued their debut LP Lockjaw in 1995. A compilation of early singles, The Old Record, followed in 1996 before they resurfaced a year later with their second studio album, Honey I’m Homely. A steady stream of releases followed, including 1998’s Blue Plate Special EP, the 1999 studio effort Purr, and 2000’s The Live Record: Witless Banter and 25 Mildly Antagonistic Songs About Love.
As of January 2008, the band members lead separate lives and currently on hiatus. In November 2004 they played and recorded a show at the Hollywood House of Blues; the concert was released by Kung Fu Records in September 2005 as part of the popular The Show Must Go Off! DVD series.
Discography
- Say Cheese (1989), Self-Released Demo (Cassette Only)
- Dance Hall Crashers (1990), Moon Records
- 1989-1992 (1993), Moon Records (includes most of contents of first two releases, and some single/compilation material)
- Lockjaw (1995), MCA
- The Old Record (1996), Honest Don's Records (reprint of 1989-1992)
- Honey I'm Homely (1997), MCA
- Blue Plate Special EP (1998), MCA
- Purr (1999), Pink and Black
- The Live Record: Witless Banter & 25 Mildly Antagonistic Songs About Love (2000), Pink and Black
- Live at the House of Blues (2005), (The Show Must Go Off! live DVD)
Music by DHC has also appeared on a wide variety of ska, ska-punk, and pop-punk compilations, as well as movie soundtracks.
Members
Current
- Elyse Rogers – vocals
- Karina Denike – vocals
- Jason Hammon – guitar
- Mikey Weiss – bass
- Gavin Hammon – drums
Former
- Scott Goodell – guitar
- Ingrid Jonsson – vocals
- Tim Armstrong – vocals
- Matt Freeman – vocals,bass
- Joel Wing – bass
- Leland McNeely – vocals
- Erik Larsen – drums
- Joey Schaaf – keyboard
- Billy Bouchard – guitar
Trivia
Dance Hall Crashers are referenced in the Blink-182 song "Josie" (on the album Dude Ranch) in the line "My girlfriend likes UL and DHC" (UL refers to Unwritten Law).
External links
- Official Site
- AllMusic.com entry
- Joey Schaaf, a Musical biography at LoudRockMusic.com