Dirty Rotten Imbeciles play Fitzies Pub
The Houston, Texas-based band, DRI (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles) was formed by vocalist Kurt Brecht in 1982. Contemporaries of The Dead Kennedys and Black Flag, DRI was part of the initial wave of hardcore bands that came about in the early 1980s. Their first release, recorded in 1982, was the seven-inch The Dirty Rotten EP. True to the punk ethos of loud and fast, it contained 22 songs, which clocked in at about 18 minutes. Only 1,000 copies were made. It was eventually reissued as a 12-inch the following year (The Dirty Rotten LP). By 1987, DRI had developed what would become their signature sound. They fused hardcore with elements of thrash and heavy metal, and were one of the first bands to do this. Their approach influenced bands like Suicidal Tendencies and Corrosion of Conformity. The band's logo, the “skanker man,” was created by DRI's original drummer, Eric Brecht, as a high school art project - he reportedly received an A on it.
I spoke recently with Kurt Brecht, in anticipation of DRI’s June 21st show at Fitzies Pub in Binghamton:
TRIPLE CITIES CAROUSEL: How did DRI originally get together in 1982?
KURT BRECHT: Just four guys trying to get some songs together so we could play a live show. You've gotta have some songs if you wanna get up there on stage. TCC: How did DRI get its name?
KB: Our dad would call us different names. When it comes down to the wire and they say, "Okay, we got you a show, but what's the name of the band to put on the flyer?" and we don't really have a name yet, you're kind of forced into coming up with something with the deadline, you know. You know all about deadlines.
TCC: Boy, do I ever!
KB: So yeah, we had to come up with something. And my dad used to - we practiced in our house, in my parents' house - so my dad was yelling at us all the time because of the noise. And we practiced too late and all that kind of stuff. Can't hear the TV, pictures are falling off the walls, all that kind of stuff. And that was one of the names we thought was the funniest that he called us: "You dirty, rotten imbeciles!" TCC: Your band's first record, "Dirty Rotten EP," packed 22 songs into 18 minutes. Now, that's punk!
KB: Yeah, we didn't have the cash to put out a 12-inch. Spike's brother-in-law lent us the money, but he only had a certain amount, so we found a pressing plant that promised they could get all the songs onto a seven-inch. I think the quality of the sound suffered a bit, but the overall goal came out all right. Then we did eventually end up putting it out on a 12-inch. MDC [Millions of Dead Cops] did it on their R Radical Records. They paid the money and put it out on a 12-inch. So, we got a little better sound quality there. TCC: Your band went to San Francisco in 1983. How did that come about?
KB: We heard the scene was better there, and that a fast band like us just might do well. Bands that had been in SF came back and told us, like, "Man, you guys are pretty good. If you went there… they need a band like you guys there!" Somebody super-fast and everything. So we said, "All right," packed it up, and went. We booked one show, went there for one gig and ended up staying.
TCC: For how long?
KB: About 15 years.
TCC: DRI ended up in the Rock Against Reagan tour, with bands like the Dead Kennedys, MDC, and Reagan Youth. How did you get into that tour and how did it go?
KB: Fellow Texans, MDC, invited us along. Our pay was food and gas money. We were living in the same area and they must have been in contact with the people that were promoting it and I think they were allowed to bring one band with them. The guys in MDC were arguing over which band to bring. In the end they brought us. And I think they just gave us, like, vegetarian food. I don't remember too much about the food except for eating, like, pita bread with alfalfa sprouts. That kind of stuff. And then I guess they gave us a little bit of money for gas, just to get to the next show each time.
TCC: Pita with alfalfa sprouts, that's very California!
KB: Well, I think the company was from New York, that did the festival, or whatever. Anyway, we were happy with whatever they gave us. We got to play to huge audiences that would never normally have even seen us play, or any of these bands play, because most of the shows - from what I remember - were on college campuses. They would get, like, a permit to set up, and we would just play. And it was free. People would just be walking by between classes, or whatever, on the campus and just stop and check it out. Plus, your normal punks knew that it was going to be happening, and they were all there. Especially because it was free. TCC: I've looked at DRI's flyer collection on your website. You've shared stages with pretty much everyone who was anyone in the hardcore world!
KB: Yes, one of the perks of being in a band is that you get to see all the bands you like, but for free!
TCC: Tell us about your song "Acid Rain."
KB: Just me musing over how we have changed our environment in such a short time. TCC: Your song, "Syringes in the Sandbox" is pretty intense. What inspired it?
KB: A news story in California, I think. TCC: You started out playing hardcore punk in the early ‘80s. By ’87, with the release of your album "Crossover," your musical style had changed into the fusion of punk, thrash, and metal you're now known for. How did you arrive at that musical style?
KB: We let our earlier influences from our childhoods seep out a little. Plus, we needed some slower, heavier songs to mix in our set for the sake of variety. We were out there playing every night. We had 30 songs or something, whatever it was, and they were all short and fast. It was cool, but for us it was kind of amazing to see it as the audience or whatever, but we were kind of getting tired of it, and we did have a few slower parts anyway. People seemed to really like that, so we wanted to have more of that in between the fast parts. Makes the fast parts seem even more intense, you know? You go from slow, heavy mosh to super-fast cuts and all that stuff. So, yeah, we were influenced by heavy metal and hard rock or whatever in our younger days. We just let some of that come out. Mixed it in. TCC: You're about to release the first record you've made since 1995, the EP "But Wait...There's More!" Please tell us more about it.
KB: We recorded this record while on tour in LA. We used the same engineer as we used on Crossover. TCC: Lots of metal and thrash bands point to you as being one of their major influences.
KB: I know! Wonderful, isn't it? Now if some of them will just take us on a big tour!
DRI will be playing at Fitzies Irish Pub on 9 Main Street in Binghamton at 7pm, Tuesday, June 21st. Opening acts include HASTE, Strong Intention, Caste, and Dance-a-Tron. Tickets are $15.00 in advance, $20.00 at the door. You can also check out their website, dirtyrottenimbeciles.com.
