The Dils
Encyclopedia
The Dils were an American punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 band of the late 1970s, originally from Carlsbad, California
Carlsbad, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Carlsbad had a population of 105,328. The population density was 2,693.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Carlsbad was 87,205 White, 1,379 African American, 514 Native American, 7,460 Asian, 198 Pacific Islander, 4,189 from other...

, and fronted by brothers Chip Kinman and Tony Kinman. They appeared as the second act in the "battle of the bands" sequence in Cheech and Chong
Cheech and Chong
Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Richard "Cheech" Marin and Tommy Chong, who found a wide audience in the 1970s and 1980s for their films and stand-up routines, which were based on the hippie and free love era, and especially drug culture movements, most notably their love for...

's film, Up In Smoke
Up in Smoke
Up in Smoke, directed by Lou Adler, is Cheech and Chong's first feature-length film, released in 1978 by Paramount Pictures. It stars Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Edie Adams, Strother Martin, and Stacy Keach....

, where they can be heard performing "You're Not Blank" (which ends with drummer Buddy Hate complaining that he could not hear anything without stage monitors).

History

Soon after forming in 1977 the band relocated to San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

, where they would have a significant influence on that city's embryonic punk scene (bassist Tony Kinman would play very briefly with San Francisco punk band The Avengers
The Avengers (band)
The Avengers are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in San Francisco, California. Penelope Houston, who has also been a folk musician, is their singer.-Original history:...

 during 1977), and then Los Angeles, becoming one of the major bands in the early Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 punk scene too. They were known for their conspicuous radical left
Far left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...

 politics, and for a strong melodic sense that earned them the nickname "punk rock Everly Brothers".

Their debut single was "I Hate The Rich" / "You're Not Blank" (the latter most famously covered by Minneapolis punk band Dillinger Four
Dillinger Four
Dillinger Four is an American punk rock band formed in 1994 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They have released four full-length studio albums. The current band members are Patrick Costello on bass guitar and vocals, Erik Funk and Bill Morrisette on guitars and vocals, and Lane Pederson on drums.- Studio...

), on Los Angeles-based label What? Records (also home to The Germs
The Germs
The Germs are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1977 to 1980. The band's early lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom, and their most consistent drummer Don Bolles. Germs have since reformed in 2005 with Shane...

, amongst others), originally released in 1977 in what collectors refer to as the "Oils" sleeve - the lettering chosen for the band's logo looking more like "The Oils" than "The Dils" at first glance. This was later reissued by the same label in a more easy-to-decipher font. Their next record was their critical high-point, 1977's "Class War" / "Mr.Big" (the former most famously covered by Canadian punks D.O.A.
D.O.A. (band)
D.O.A. is a hardcore punk band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are often referred to as the "founders" of hardcore punk, along with Black Flag, Bad Brains, Teen Idles, and Minor Threat. Their second album Hardcore '81 was thought by many to have been the first actual reference to...

, issued on L.A.'s groundbreaking Dangerhouse label, in a pressing of 1500 copies entitled "198 Seconds Of The Dils". The last contemporary release was a three-sided double-7", "Made In Canada", which showed a gathering roots rock
Roots rock
Roots rock is a term now used to describe rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid sub-genres from the later 1960s including country rock and Southern rock, which have been seen as responses to the...

 orientation. The Dils broke up in 1980.

Music from the Dils (including material unreleased during the band's lifetime) remains available.

In their early years, Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Schwartz (journalist)
Stephen Suleyman Schwartz is an American Muslimjournalist, columnist, and author. He has been published in a variety of media, including The Wall Street Journal. He is the executive director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism...

 was manager of the Dils.

Post-breakup

The Kinmans would continue to follow the roots rock
Roots rock
Roots rock is a term now used to describe rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid sub-genres from the later 1960s including country rock and Southern rock, which have been seen as responses to the...

 direction in the cowpunk
Cowpunk
Cowpunk or Country punk is a subgenre of punk rock and New Wave that began in the UK and California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It combines punk rock or New Wave with country music, folk music, and blues in sound, subject matter, attitude, and style...

 band Rank and File
Rank and File
Formed by brothers Chip and Tony Kinman after they split up their punk band the Dils, Rank and File were a roots rock post-punk band. The Kinmans' singing was distinctive; they weren't traditional harmony singers à la the Everly Brothers, but rather sang synchronized upper and lower octaves. The...

 in the 1980s along with Alejandro Escovedo
Alejandro Escovedo
Alejandro Escovedo is an American singer-songwriter.-Biography:The son of Mexican immigrants to Texas, Escovedo is from a family that boasts several professional musicians, including brothers Coke Escovedo and Pete Escovedo, and Sheila E...

, and Cowboy Nation in the 1990s. This progression drew criticism as a turning from the energy and purpose of early work to evolve into what was described as "music to fall asleep in the saddle by." Other stops on the Kinmans' musical trail included a rock guitar and drum-machine project, Blackbird
Blackbird (band)
Formed by brothers Chip and Tony Kinman after they dissolved their cowpunk band Rank and File, Blackbird were an electronic post-punk band. The Kinman's harmony-enhanced singing was as mellifluous as the vocal sound they had established in Rank and File, while the songwriting structure was pop...

.

Discography

  • I Hate The Rich/You're Not Blank 7" (What? Records
    What? Records
    What? Records was a short-lived record label started by Word Records and A&M Records, intended to focus on creative and unusual rock and roll records with spiritual messages....

     1977)
    • Reissued in 1990 on Gift Of Life Records
    • Both songs + What Goes On (live, prev unreleased) included on V/A LP/CD What? Stuff (Iloki Records 1990)
  1. "I Hate The Rich"
  2. "You're Not Blank"
    • 198 Seconds Of The Dils 7" (Dangerhouse Records
      Dangerhouse Records
      Dangerhouse Records was a punk music record label in Los Angeles, California.Started in 1977 and collapsing by the end of 1980, Dangerhouse was a short-lived enterprise, which nonetheless left its mark on the punk scene....

       1977)
      • Side A is available on the V/A LP/CD Dangerhouse Volume 1 and Side B can be found on Dangerhouse Volume 2, both albums on Frontier Records
        Frontier Records
        Frontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of Bomp! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways....

  3. "Class War"
  4. "Mr.Big"
    • Made In Canada 2x7" (Rogelletti Records 1980)
      • A re-recording of "Sound of the Rain" appeared on the Rank and File
        Rank and File
        Formed by brothers Chip and Tony Kinman after they split up their punk band the Dils, Rank and File were a roots rock post-punk band. The Kinmans' singing was distinctive; they weren't traditional harmony singers à la the Everly Brothers, but rather sang synchronized upper and lower octaves. The...

         album Long Gone Dead (Slash Records
        Slash Records
        Slash Records is a record label in Los Angeles, originally specializing in local and punk rock bands.The label was formed in 1978 by Bob Biggs as an outgrowth of the Los Angeles-based fanzine, Slash. Biggs, a painter, initiated the label with a seven-inch single from The Germs in 1978. A full album...

        )
      • 3 slower songs
  5. "Sound Of The Rain"
  6. "Red Rockers"
  7. "It's Not Worth It."
    • Live:Dils LP (Triple X
      Triple X Records
      Triple X Records is a Los Angeles based record company. They are the label for bands such as Bo Diddley, The Vandals, Jane's Addiction, Social Distortion, Human Drama, Of Cabbages And Kings, Angry Samoans, Bad Manners, Stephen Pearcy, Dr...

      /Iloki Records 1987)
    • The Dils Live 1977 - 1980 LP (Lost Records, 1990)
    • Dils Dils Dils LP (Bacchus Archives 1991) (reissued on CD (1992) Damaged Goods)
      • Side A has the 8 studio songs mentioned above on it.
      • Side B contains live tracks from 1978 and 1979.
    • The Last Goodbye LP (bootleg 199?)
      • A live recording from 1980.
    • Class War LP (Dionysus/Bacchus archives 2000)
      • Includes the first 7 and 10 live songs recorded in 1980 previously released on The Dils Live 1977 - 1980 LP.

Compilation appearances

  • Rat Music For Rat People Vol 1 compilation LP (CD Presents, 1982)
    • This LP includes a 1977 studio recording of one of the band's first songs, "Blow Up".
    • The album was reissued with new art work in the mid 1990s (some copies on blue vinyl) and is still available.

On Compilations

  • "Class War" appears on Dangerhouse, Vol. 1 (Frontier Records - 1991)
  • "I Hate the Rich", "You're Not Blank", "What Goes On", and "Red Rockers Rule" appear on What? Stuff (Bomp Records - 2000)
  • "I Hate the Rich" and "Mr. Big" appear on D.I.Y.: We're Desperate: The L.A. Scene (Rhino Records - 1993)
  • "Mr. Big" appears on Saturday Night Pogo (Rhino Records - 1978)
  • "Mr. Big" appears on Dangerhouse, Vol. 2: Give Me a Little Pain! (Frontier Records - 1992)
  • "You're Not Blank" appears on Faster and Louder: Hardcore Punk Vol. 2 (Rhino Records - 1993)

External links

  • [an interview in 3 parts w/ John Silvers, who was the drummer 2/78 to 6/79 http://www.acc.umu.se/~samhain/summerofhate/johndil.html#johndil]
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