| MDC | |
|---|---|
MDC performing live in Bar & Boos, Leiden, 6 May 2006. Left to right: Dave Dictor and Ron Posner. Dejan 'Poda' Podobnik (drummer) not visible behind Ron Posner. |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Millions of Dead Cops Millions of Dead Children Multi-Death Corporations Mariah Death Cult Millions of Damn Christians MILFS Date Cougars Millions of Demonstrators for Change |
| Origin | Austin, Texas, USA |
| Genres | Hardcore punk, Anarcho Punk |
| Years active | 1979–1995, 2000–present |
| Labels | R Radical Records, Crass, Boner Records, New Red Archives, Sudden Death, Tank Crimes |
| Associated acts | Big Boys, Dead Kennedys, The Dicks, Patareni, Leftover Crack, Pig Champion, Operation Ivy, Rancid |
| Members | |
| Dave Dictor Ron Posner Mike Smith Al Schvitz Russ Kalita |
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| Past members | |
| Michael Donaldson Franco Mares Dejan Podobnik Brady Green Erik Mischo Bill Collins Matt Freeman |
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MDC (Millions of Dead Cops) is an American hardcore punk band formed in Austin, Texas in 1979. The band were subsequently based in San Francisco, California, and are currently based in Portland, Oregon. MDC originally formed as The Stains before changing their name. Playing hyper-speed punk rock associated with far left sociopolitical issues 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 was also unique in frequently changing their name to a different initialism of MDC with every new record released. MDC's initial run ended in 1995, and the band spent five years on hiatus before returning in 2000 with new members.
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Formed in 1979 as The Stains and playing their first gig under this name in April 1980, MDC were one of three pioneering hardcore punk bands in Austin, Texas, in the early '80s, alongside The Dicks and Big Boys. These bands frequently played together and established the Austin hardcore scene. They released one single as the Stains in 1981, featuring a slower version of the future MDC song "John Wayne Was a Nazi" backed with "Born to Die". Both songs were later released on the debut MDC album.
By 1982 the band had relocated to San Francisco, California, and renamed themselves MDC. By this point the band were active participants in the growing hardcore scene and released their debut LP Millions of Dead Cops on their own label, R Radical; Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles helped with distribution. 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". Other targets of criticism devoid of irony included capitalism ("Corporate Death Burger"), homophobia ("America's So Straight"),[1] and American culture ("Violent Rednecks").
During the summer of 1982 they became involved in the Rock Against Reagan Tour, during which time they fell out with the band Bad Brains when Rastafarian singer H.R. learned that Big Boys' singer , Randy Turner, was gay. H.R. and MDC's Dave Dictor had an intense confrontation. Upon Bad Brains' departure from the bill, they refused to return a loan owed to Big Boys and instead left a note that reportedly read, "burn in hell bloodclot faggot."[2] The incident resulted in the MDC song Pay to Come Along.[3] For MDC, 1982 ended with a tour of Europe with the Dead Kennedys which brought the band greater exposure in the punk scene outside of the U.S., especially in the UK.
Their involvement in the Rock Against Reagan activities continued through 1983 and they returned to recording with the EP "Multi-Death Corporations" which was distributed in the UK by British anarcho-punk label Crass Records and R Radical in the U.S. The EP broke new ground by addressing, in the lengthy liner notes and artwork, the growth of corporations and the violent suppression of Communism in Central America. In 1984 they released another EP, Millions of Dead Children (also known as Chicken Squawk), this time dealing with Vegetarian and Vegan issues via a cowpunk tune.
Smoke Signals was released in 1986, their second album featuring a more diverse style than previously, with a foray into '70s rock with the song "South Africa Is Free". This album also saw Gordon Fraser's first appearance as main guitarist. Their third album, This Blood's for You, followed in 1987 and saw them continuing to showcase orthodox hardcore punk style and classic rock, including a cover of the Cream song "Politician". Themes again included intervention in Central America and criticism of the Reagan Administration. MDC toured Europe in 1988, where the live album Elvis - In the Rhineland was recorded. The band released the album Metal Devil Cokes in 1989.
The 1990s opened with a number of lineup changes, swiftly followed by the 1991 album Hey Cop! If I Had a Face Like Yours..., featuring Bill Collins (formerly of Fang,Special Forces, Intensified Chaos)on guitar and Matt Freeman (of Operation Ivy and Rancid) on bass. Bill wrote all the music on the Hey Cop LP and sang three of the songs. This lineup toured the US and Europe. The acclaimed Shades of Brown album appeared in 1993, released by New Red Archives in the U.S. and We Bite in Europe. The album featured the Hip-Hop vegetarian song "Real Food, Real People, Real Bullets". The band, now with guitarist Chris Wilder and bassist Erica Liss, marked the album with a tour of the former Soviet Union, making MDC the first American punk band to tour Russia. This was followed by two more European tours and several U.S. tours until 1995, where began a lull in the band's activity. The lack of new recorded material (other than a 7-inch release on Slap-a-Ham Records) and live performances after 1994, plus personal problems of band members, pointed to an informal break-up of the band.
MDC's singer, Dave Dictor, returned with an entirely new backing line-up in 2000, which included Long Island musicians Matt Van Cura,(bass) Erik Mischo,(guitar) and John Soldo,(Drums). MDC released a new album, Magnus Dominus Corpus, in 2004. They took part in a 25th anniversary world tour in 2005, with an all-original lineup. Following the death of Mikey Donaldson in September 2007, MDC has been touring the U.S. and Europe extensively with the Dictor/Posner/Smith/Schvitz lineup.
Recently, the band has been based in Portland, Oregon.
One song on "MAGNUS DOMINUS CORPUS" reflects this line up, the song "Sick of It" which had been recorded a year or so before that album was made. A version of "I Remember," played in the style that this lineup often performed it live, was also recorded but never released. Before the 2002 European tour, drummer Al Batross and Guitarist Brendon Bekowies left the band and were replaced by original guitarist Ron Posner (rejoining the band for the first time in many years) and New York City based drummer, Mike Pride.
Millions of Dead Cops is the most common incarnation of the MDC initials used by the band and has today become the official meaning of the band's initials, as used on their official Myspace.com music page. However, past incarnations have included:
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.