- Dash Rip Rock
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Dash Rip Rock is a New Orleans based rock band built around the songs of singer-guitarist Bill Davis. The band is a legendary live powerhouse, often being credited with founding the musical genre known as "Country Punk." The New York Times said Dash Rip Rock is "the kind of band that provides a lesson in American rock-and-roll history wrapped up in a party package. Skillful musicians with a penchant for getting reliably wild, the group mixes up rockabilly, blues and country stomp for a guaranteed good time." "Undeniably the South's greatest rock band," SPIN magazine raved.
In Louisiana and throughout the South, it is almost impossible to have never heard of Dash Rip Rock. Dash Rip Rock is known for their unique blend of bluesy roots punk and outlaw country punctuated by Bill Davis's blistering guitar work. Long heralded for tight musicianship and live wild shows, over 25 years the band has amassed a loyal and eclectic following whose wide tent somehow holds roots rock aficionados, Norwegians, punk rockers, and country and rockabilly fans of all ages.
Dash Rip Rock was formed as a three-piece rockabilly band in Baton Rouge, Louisiana during the summer of 1984. The band took their name from a minor character on The Beverly Hillbillies (Dash Riprock was the most prominent of Elly May's wannabe beaux). Over time, Dash has evolved into a classic Louisiana roots rock/punk band. The band's lineup has undergone several changes, although the current members (Johnson and Melancon) have been with founding member Davis and the band for years.
Contents
History
Taking cues from the early 1980s American roots rock revival embodied by such acts as Rank and File, The LeRoi Brothers, The Beat Farmers, The Stray Cats and Jason & the Scorchers, guitarist Bill Davis formed Dash Rip Rock with drummer F. Clarke Martty and bassist Ned "Hoaky" Hickel in 1984. All three were veterans of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana post-punk / new wave scene, with Davis having gained some local notoriety in The Human Rayz and Hickel in Scooter and the Mopeds.
Originally, the band was heavily focused on country and rockabilly, with Martty playing a simple stand-up drum kit and band members sporting cowboy shirts and bola ties. Early shows included lots of George Jones covers and the band's first single featured the country-leaning "Marsupial" and a fast rockabilly tune called "Shake That Girl".
Less than a year after forming the band, Martty was replaced by manic drummer Fred LeBlanc (now the frontman for Cowboy Mouth) and the band began to build a strong following around their live cowpunk shows at clubs near the LSU campus. Among the most notable were the band's frequent shows at The Chimes, and a recording of their December 28, 1985 show there was released as "Ned, Fred and Dickhead" for a reunion tour of the Davis/Hickel/LeBlanc lineup in 2001.
Dash Rip Rock released a self-titled debut album in 1986 that showcased the band's new uptempo, rockabilly-influenced style. Following the album's release, the band began touring heavily through the Southeastern United States and developed a strong regional following for their live shows, especially in college towns.
In 1988 the band recorded its second album, Ace of Clubs, but LeBlanc left Dash Rip Rock for a solo career shortly thereafter. LeBlanc later achieved success with Cowboy Mouth, a name taken by LeBlanc from the title of a Sam Shepherd play. The eponymous line of dialogue was earlier referenced in the song "Johnny Ace" from Ace of Clubs ("working hard on dying / and always trying / to be a rock-n-roll Jesus / with a cowboy mouth.")
Dash Rip Rock's most successful studio release was "Let's Go Smoke Some Pot", a parody of Danny and the Juniors' "At the Hop" that had become a staple of the band's live shows. Although the song has been adopted by some as a pro-marijuana song[1], it was actually intended to make fun of the resurgent popularity of Grateful Dead-style jam bands,[2] specifically naming Edie Brickell and New Bohemians, Spin Doctors, Drivin N Cryin and Widespread Panic among others.
In 1999, Hickel left the band after a disastrous West Coast tour and moved to South Florida, where he now owns a marine surveying company. Bill Davis moved from New Orleans to Nashville not long after to work on his songwriting but kept the band together and touring with a succession of bass players and drummers. Davis moved back to New Orleans after Katrina and continued touring and recording with DRR. In 2005 they released a retrospective CD (Recyclone) on the Alternative Tentacles label, followed in 2007 by Dash's first concept album, a punk rock opera based on Dante's Inferno "Hee Haw Hell." August 1, 2008 saw the release of a new studio album, "Country Girlfriend" through Abitian Records.
In 2010, Dash teamed up again with Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label and released "Call of the Wild" - a tribute to 1970s gulf coast party circuit bands. No Depression says "Call of the Wild" proves Dash Rip Rock is "one of the greatest bands working today." In 2011, Bill Davis also teamed up with Jello Biafra to form Jello Biafra and the New Orleans Raunch & Soul All-Stars. This one-time-only band of mostly-Louisiana rockers featured Bill Davis (Dash Rip Rock), Pepper Keenan (DOWN), Fred Leblanc (Cowboy Mouth), Pete Gordon (Mojo Nixon & the Toad Liquors), Brian Broussard (Supagroup), Josh Cohen (Morning 40 Federation), and the Egg Yolk Jubilee horns. In 2010-2011, Dash Rip Rock toured internationally and Houston Press deemed DRR one of the "Top 10 Louisiana Bands of All Time." Bill Davis was also recently featured in the new documentary Outside Industry: The Story of SXSW. And in 2010 Dash Rip Rock's song "Johnny Ace" was also featured in the hit videogame Rock Band.
Dash Rip Rock is currently touring, writing, and recording a new album at Studio in the Country.
Members
Current members
- Bill Davis - Singer / Guitarist
- Patrick Johnson - Bass Guitar
- Kyle Melancon - Drums
Former members
- Ned "Hoaky" Hickel - Bass (original member)
- F. Clarke Martty - Drums (original member)
- Fred LeBlanc - Drums
- Chris "Lucky Dog" Luckette - Drums
- Kyle Melancon - Drums
- Brian Broussard - Bass
- Andy Songy - Bass
- Shannon Bobo - Bass
- Settly - Bass - Rhythm Guitar
- Kenny Ames - Bass
- Jody Smith - Drums
- Leon Touzet - Drums - Rhythm Guitar
- Eric Padua- Drums
- Michael Rouillier - B Bender Guitar
Discography
- Call Of The Wild (2010)
- Country Girlfriend (2008)
- Live at Schubas 8/13/2005 (download only, 2008)
- Hee Haw Hell (2007)
- Recyclone (2005)
- Live from the Bottom of the Hill (limited release, 2003)
- Sonic Boom (2003)
- Ned, Fred and Dickhead (limited release, 2001)
- Hits and Giggles (2000)
- Paydirt (1998)
- Dash Rip Rock's Gold Record (1996)
- Testosterone (1995) Australian-only release
- Get You Some of Me (1995)
- Tiger Town (1993)
- Boiled Alive (1991)
- Not of This World (1990)
- Ace of Clubs (1989)
- Dash Rip Rock (1987)
References
External links
Categories:- American indie rock groups
- Musical groups from Louisiana
- Alternative rock groups from Louisiana
- Musical groups from New Orleans, Louisiana
- American post-grunge musical groups
- Musical groups established in 1984
- Cowpunk
- Bill Davis of Dash Rip Rock albums
- Albums produced by Jim Dickinson
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