D.I.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the band. For other uses, see DI.
| D.I. | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  California, United States |
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| Genre(s) | Hardcore Punk Punk Rock |
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| Years active | 1982-1995 2002-present |
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| Website | Official Website | |
D.I. is a Southern California punk band featuring ex-Adolescents and Social Distortion drummer Casey Royer on vocals. Royer formed the group after he and former Social Distortion original member Rikk Agnew, left the original Mike Ness crew. Through the years, members have included the aforementioned Rikk Agnew, also of the Adolescents and Social Distortion, Alfie Agnew, and Tim Maag, with Royer being the only constant.
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[edit] History
D.I. was formed in 1982 and combined the Orange County punk sound with a decidedly gothic style on their debut self-titled EP. The EP featured five songs including "Richard Hung Himself" (originally recorded by The Adolescents), "Venus De Milo," "Reagan Der Fuhrer," "Purgatory," and "Guns." This EP was later reissued as Team Goon with extra tracks including versions of Gary Glitter's "Rock & Roll Part II" and Devo's "Uncontrollable Urge." Their first proper album Ancient Artifacts was a more straight ahead Orange County sounding album that included new versions of "Guns" and "Purgatory" from the EP.
D.I. released two more albums Horse Bites Dog Cries (1985) and What Good Is Grief to a God? (1988). Before recording sessions for What Good Is Grief to a God? commenced, guitarist Rikk Agnew left D.I. in 1987 to pursue his career with Adolescents and released two more albums (Brats in Battalions and Balboa Fun Zone) before splitting up. Rikk was replaced by Stevie DRT. D.I. released their next album Tragedy Again in 1989. After that, the band remained silent.
Generally considered their best studio album, 'Horse Bites, Dog Cries' is seen as a continuance of The Adolescents famed Blue Album, with fast punk guitar riffs and vocals that suggest the hopelessness of a punk in Orange County, like the Agnews and of course Casey Royer. Tracks like "Johnny's Got a Problem", "Youth in Asia", "Imminent War" and "Hang Ten in East Berlin" demonstrate the band's real motives on this classic record.
A live album, Live at a Dive, was released in 1993. After Stevie DRT left the band, original drummer John Knight rejoined and their fifth album State of Shock was released in the following year. After touring and promoting it, the band broke up in 1995. To date, State of Shock remains the band's last full-length studio release.
D.I. reunited in 2002 with the current line-up (Royer/Chckn/Clinton/Tater) to promote the compilation album Caseyology. To date, the band has continued touring. There was talk of a new studio album, but it has never surfaced. In March 2006, Punkmusic.com announced that D.I. had begun writing and is currently looking for a new record label for the album.
The band also recently appeared on Discovery Channel's Monster Garage, and it turns out that D.I. is the shows host's favorite band.
[edit] Members
[edit] Current members
- Casey Royer - Vocals (since 1982)
- Chckn - Guitars
- Clinton - Guitars
- Eddie Tater - Bass
- Joey Tater - Dums
[edit] Past members
- Fredric Taccone - Bass (1982-1983)
- Derek O'Brien - Drums (1982-1983)
- Tim Maag - Guitar (1982 - 1983)
- Rikk Agnew - Guitars, Vocals (1984-1987)
- Alfie Agnew - Guitars, Vocals (1984-1993)
- John "Bosco" Calabro - Guitars (1984-1995)
- Mark "The Kid" Cerneka - Guitars (1986-1988)
- Michael Calabro - Guitars (1991-1995)
- Hedge - Bass, Guitar (1986-1991)
- Dan Colburn - Bass (1991-1993)
- John Knight - Drums (1982-1987, 1993-1995)
- Stevie DRT - Drums (1985-1993)
- Sean Elliot - Guitars (1989-1993)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio releases
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1985 | Ancient Artifacts | |
| 1985 | Horse Bites Dog Cries | Contains material from Ancient Artifacts. |
| 1988 | What Good Is Grief to a God? | Contains a re-recording of "Johnny's Got a Problem". |
| 1989 | Tragedy Again | First D.I. album not featuring re-recordings of any song from their previous albums. |
| 1994 | State of Shock | |
| 2007/2008 | Untitled new studio album | First studio album in nearly 13 years. D.I. was supposedly gearing up for a new release since their 2002 reunion, but it never materalized. |
[edit] EP, compilation and live albums
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1984 | Team Goon | EP; plus extra tracks. |
| 1993 | Live at a Dive | Live |
| 2002 | Caseyology | Compilation |
| 2003 | Best of D.I. | Compilation |
[edit] Trivia
- The initials D.I. have no meaning. Casey Royer (singer / founder) is actually humored by all of the "what it stands for" thing. Many popular guesses include "Drug Ideology" and "Doggy Intercourse" (the popular D.I. logo actually shows a dog in a mounting position). It is noteworthy, however, that D.I.'s publishing name is Damned Immature.
- D.I. should not be confused with the Thrasher Magazine skate-rock band Drunk Injuns.
- The American thrash metal band Slayer covered "Spiritual Law" and "Richard Hung Himself" on their 1996 album Undisputed Attitude.
[edit] References
- ↑ Punkmusic.com (see Neal Ganslaw)
[edit] External links
| D.I. |
|---|
| Casey Royer |
| Chckn | Clinton | Eddie Tater | Joey Tater |
| Fredric Taccone | Derek O'Brien | Timothy Maag | Rikk Agnew | Alfie Agnew | John "Bosco" Calabro | Mark "The Kid" Cerneka | Michael Calabro | Hedge | Dan Colburn | John Knight | Stevie DRT | Sean Elliot |
| Discography |
| Studio albums and EPs: Team Goon (1984) | Ancient Artifacts (1985) | Horse Bites Dog Cries (1985) | What Good Is Grief to a God? (1988) | Tragedy Again (1989) | State of Shock (1994) |
| Live albums and compilations: Live at a Dive (1993) | Caseyology (2002) | Best of D.I. (2003) |
| Related articles |
| The Adolescents | Social Distortion |
