Punk Globe: Tells us about your growing up experiences ?
Dave: Well here goes…. I am an alternative/punk expression of the American Experience. A child then teen of the 1960’s and 1970’s of New York City that had the good fortune to experience the New York City of Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, of the Velvet Underground, of Louie Armstrong and of music and expression of the arts of nearly every stripe. I experienced the bohemian Village section of the city filled w book stores and coffee shops filled with poets. I experienced incredible events, Broadway Shows, Madison Square Garden rock events, the Ed Sullivan live TV show and the various rich cultural experiences of Carnegie Hall, the N.Y. World’s Fair in 1964, and the Museum Of Natural History to mention a few. And all that while the Vietnam War raged, the Kennedy and Martin Luther King assignations took place with ensuing massive protest movements and race riots. I would learn of the great discrepancies of power concerning wealth and privilege. I developed a philosophy that fit into the times which also fit artistically into my punk rock band. Here I am 66 and I love life and its gifts but yearn for more political justice., I want to share my thoughts to help others to feel free of the constraint's our societies places on us all worldwide.
Punk Globe: How did you get into Punk, and how it changed your life forever, what it means to you. D.I.Y. culture and beyond, essence of Punk.
Dave: Desiring to make music in my teens melded at the beginnings of the punk rock scene where I felt free to approach all these topics of war, racism, sexuality and the rest of our human dilemmas. I was feeling “punk” watching Bowie and Mott the Hoople… I moved to Texas looking to share my songs and it unfolded right before me… went to an open microphone night and played I Hate Work and people started asking me if I was looking to start a band … very soon I said,” YES”!
Punk was beginning a movement, I was so into it…punk happened for me! I could live, breathe and create with an ethos. I was part of the fabulous Austin,Texas punk scene. Great rebellious fun in a progressive arty scene. The BigBoys and Dicks were great bands, egalitarian, fun, with “out” gay singers… And DIY just had to be, because no one else was going to do it for us….and ultimately you can trust yourself to promote your art and music.
Punk Globe: Was the Stains, your first band, how did it turn into M.D.C., the Start of R Radical Records and the beginning. Remember when you first came to San Francisco , you stayed at my apartment...
Dave: I had a few minor band experiences but it was the first band I played with for any time that planned recording and touring. R.Radical Records was created because Radical Records who put out the Dicks turned us down. So we created RRadical Records. R meaning “our”. We played our first in April 1980 at a vegetarian restaurant in Austin, Texas and went on a tour to California and played 4 shows in three weeks. Through mailing out our recordings to fanzines and hooked up with Maximum Rock and Roll and the Dead Kennedy's. Thanks to Biafra of the DK's, Tim Yohannon of Maximum Rock N Roll magazine and the band Black Flag we got an incredible exposure to the punk scene of California which was exploding with a very fresh energy. You also were great Ginger, introducing us to people and letting us stay at your apartment. We had fun.. We realized there were a few other bands named "the Stains" and a friend Buxf Parrot of the band "the Dicks" came up with name "Millions of Dead Cops. It seemed to fit and hold people's attention.
DIY culture was a term/identity to the east coast punk scene and particularly of Ian McKay of the band "Minor Threat". We didn't claim the title as such but just naturally were doing it. Starting local fanzines, typing out our lyrics, and making our own flyers with art, political issues and sexual expressions.
Punk Globe: Concepts behind alternating M.D.C., on every release and political insight, focus of lyrics and political stance, in depth.
Dave: The concept with the alternating MDC titles came about due to a few different reasons…. I was incredibly influenced and a huge fan of the British band “Crass” In 1982, after a show in London with the “Subhumans” we were invited by Steve Ignorant and Phil Free to the Crass Farm house outside of London. They made a big vegan Shepard’s Pie. I met Penny and Gi who were the senior members of this politically driven music/art collective. Penny pointed out that intellectually people would understand the name of the band but felt some other people could take it for encouraging people to kill the police and he wasn’t for that. We talked about it all night as well we shared thoughts on arts ability to change the culture and on political matters concerning nuclear power, war and Prime Minister Thatcher and President Reagan. It was a very warm and nourishing night on a rainy cold night. Truly was having a dream come true.
At the same time the reality of going across every border with working papers and documents that read we were “Millions of Dead Cops” was just plain scary. Punk in 1982 was to the governments of various countries and locales as a real threat. I had my life threatened by police agencies in three different places. We were harassed, anal cavity searched and barred entry into Canada and the UK and had these gigantic target on our backs. The world in 1982 was a very different place. We started putting MDC on legal documents and it came to me we wanted to intellectually explain ourselves. It was Millions of Dead Cops protecting the “Multi Death Corporation”. Bought and sold by Millions of Damn Christians. I stopped trying to explain to them that the cops killed Christ. We even put the title My Dog Charlie on some Canadian papers and on flyers there was a fear of being raided by the cops. Back in those days I’d say 25% of all shows were raided, halted and we would be harassed. We were arrested by the LAPD twice at shows back stage. Once we were raided and the cops asked me to sign an album and give them one and yes I complied. Actually I have signed album copies for policemen on 5 or 6 occasions.
Punk Globe: What was it like being a part of it all. from early days to present and changes?
Dave: Punk back in the day was this really incredible feeling of disrupting the culture in this very cool manner. “Speaking truth to power” making our statements in our songs whether it’s the Dead Kennedy’s singing “Holiday In Cambodia” or MDC singing “John Wayne Was A Nazi”or Black Flag singing “Rise Above”. These statements needed to be made. Punks were making important statements to challenge the society. Then the movement got bigger and human nature starts kicking in. Side movements within punk(Emo) started concerning itself with personal feelings and emotions to explore peoples inner emotions. Metal/punk started getting created. All good til bands (Green Day) started singing about “Doogie” or shit turds. Milo(the Descendants) starts singing about going back to college. It leads to that place where people are singing how hot they look or where to get there nails done. So no doubt through the years a lot of the passion has been drained out of punk rock. Content has been watered down and it’s all about going to hot shows and hooking up with cool people….maybe to some extent that is the nature of things but we with Grimace Records are trying to keep the focus on our ideals. Having a safe sustainable planet with enough of food and healthcare free from hater-ism’s of racism, sexism, homo and trans phobia. There is still a ton of great, caring, hot punk music to be had. We want to help get it out there!
And yes big punk turning into big bands getting very large amounts of money…. Concerts I have played on where the headliner received $20,000 a show. Some of these bigger bands must be earning $100,000 a show. It’s like the what happened to rock in the 1960’s and beyond. It becomes a scene led by very wealthy and in some cases “multi millionaire artists”. Everyone buying a million dollar house or three. The leader of “Blink 182” owning 50 high end luxury cars. Punk was for me, my reaction to the indifference of rich powerful people. I guess I’m a big socialist trying to prevent people from the liberty to be filthy rich. As Spock a fictional character so wisely said on “Star Trek” a popular television show, and I paraphrase here… “the needs of the many outweigh the pleasures of the few.”
Why does anyone in the world need more than 5 million dollars? Slow down, consume less and stop being so selfish. You in the end are not measured by your possessions. Sadly with punk having gotten so big I can say there are more than a few punk bands in that category. Most of our society is like that… but that is a big part of being punk. Just being a band in it for themselves is not what the punk movement is for me.
Punk Globe: What are you up to with creating and tell us more about the label?
Dave: I have been working with Grimace Records these past 24 months helping bands get out on the internet. I can see sales from internet down streaming are far surpassing physical copies… It is tough for labels to succeed selling physical copies (Vinyl, CDs ). You have to invest in them, ship them, store them, send them out to stores or individuals and pray that these copies sell quick enough to pay the rent and press more copies. Many labels do good for a while but pressing up too many physical copies that you can’t sell is a “death nell” to these small, medium size labels. So they have become very careful and signing fewer and fewer bands and going with sure things. Many very good bands are not being represented right now.
Grimace Records who is John Hale, Sophie Rousmaniere and myself and we want to change that. We are getting many many bands heard and paid through this down streaming. As well no plastic or petroleum is used and you don’t to have a room donated in your home for your music library. As well we can get many bands out in this manner without investing tens of thousands of vinyl that might just not sell. So we can put the money into publicists who can promote this process so people can learn to down stream and importantly to learn about these bands.
Our label Grimace Records other mission is to be activists supporting various causes with music from our scene. I produced the P.E.A.C.E. compilation double album back in 1984 and we raised over $10,000 to give to various causes back in the 1980’s. Some grass roots anti-nuclear groups like Greenham Women’s Peace Conference, Seeds Of Peace, the Seabrook Alliance, Big Mountain- Navajo Group (fighting plutonium mining on their lands), and other social causes like to Food Not Bombs, Tractors For Nicaragua, the African National Congress and Greenpeace. We at Grimace reissued the PEACE compilation and digitally released it a year ago and over a $1000 plus dollars has been given to the “Mutual Aid Relief Organization which has been involved with inner city revitalizing of neighborhoods in New Orleans by supplying equipment and know how to houses damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
In the last 12 months Grimace has released a compilation internet release benefit for “Food Not Bombs” in the country of Myanmar. We have come in contact and released music from “Rebel Riot” an incredible activist band that spearheads community activism through the their local “Food Not Bombs”. As well as distributing free food, clothing, health care supplies they find aid and provide childcare for economically stressed women and children. Buddhist Peace Punks!
These last few weeks we have been preparing release of the first of six volumes of music for “Punk For Ukraine” raising money and awareness over the invasion of the Ukraine by Russia by supporting “Doctors Without Borders” as we truly feel we are punks without borders. The Subhumans, MDC, Conflict, The Varaukers, White Trash Debutantes,Toxic Reasons, the Elected Officials, All Gonna Die and 250 other bands from around the world. It’s important to model positive efforts and actions of punks from around the world including the Ukraine, Eastern Europe to express our dissatisfaction over the nation of Russia overtly attacking the Ukraine. Harnessing the energies of punks from around the world.
Two other compilations are in the works…..a Mexico City University’s Che Guevara Auditorium Compilation is in the works with bands from Mexico, the US, and all over the world. This is a female run squatted auditorium on the campus that has been going for awhile. The police took the building back but the student workers took it back right away and the government hasn’t been back. Grimace is providing money for a sound system. Viva la Mexico!!! Any bands interested write rradrecords6@gmail.com
And a Women’s Compilation is coming together within our collective(David Ensminger a friend and partner of sorts is tackling this with a benefit for Texas women’s reproduction rights. The Republican Party has been closing abortion clinics in Texas. Many women’s bands and women led bands are spearheading the effort on this compilation. Any bands interested write rradrecords6@gmail.com
Finally I started out wanting to create a band to affect the world and we, in our vision of Grimace Records, have elevated that aspiration to creating a label to affect the world and make it a better one, “one download at a time”.
Punk Globe: Some of the craziest experiences of tours, shows, bands, personal..
how many shows have you played!
Dave: Here is a story that goes back to July 3 1983 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC . It was a Rock Against Reagan gig put on by the Youth International Party or the Yippies as it they are commonly known. We had done a nation wide tour at various state capitals and on a float on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan..so the momentum had been building and we were doing with DRi, the Dicks, the Crucifucks and at a few events the Dead Kennedys… … it was a crazy time with Reagan and the politics pushing that it was time to go back to a normal America without black rights and women’s rights and it seemed the Republicans were trying to push the social and political climate back to the 1950’s. So there was a lot of tension at these various events do to the police hassling the crowd. This was certainly true of the event in Washington. Band after band played and finally the Dead Kennedys stepped onto the stage after an all day event. The Capital Police we’re going all out pushing the 10,000 plus people around. Biafra of the DKs observed this and was criticizing the police… fights were taking place between the police and the crows. Biafra pointed at a newly large helicopter hovering over the crowd shining large spot lights out into the crowds. Loud shopping by the crowd w loud bullhorn speeches by the police. Biafra pointed to the helicopters across the way circling around the Washington Monument at the far end of the Lincoln Memorial. He said, “ the evil police circling the Washington Monument shaped as a klansman to remind us all That Washington owned slaves and this country was built on slavery. Pretty profound and the crowd roared back in appreciation of this poignant statement at this tense moment of the event. The Dead Kennedys finished up w “A Holiday In Cambodia”… I guess as the song reminds that “it’s tough kid but it’s life”.
Punk Globe: You were on a 10 day tour of the West Coast, you've released a new record and started Grimace records.
Dave: Life is good and I have had a good life.
They were great shows.
Punk Globe: You have lived so many different places maintaining MDC. Tell us about that Dave?
Dave: Well my whole life I’ve been searching for what I’m looking for. First it was to bring my acoustic guitar to Texas to play a few songs and the songs turned into punk songs. Then as the punk movement took off … I moved with my band to catch that wave in California. Portland was a side thing. I created a baby in SF but the mother moved to Portland. I needed to be around him and he grew there and was very used to Portland so I stayed. But this whole time I’ve been a traveling minstrel going everywhere, I have spent many years traveling to play 120 gigs or more.
Now I am back down to Texas to hook up with two people with a vision like mine and start Grimace Records. I might end up on the beautiful beaches of Yucatan Mexico watching the turtles bury their eggs and watch weeks later as they hatch and crawl to the water.
I’d like more experiences outside the United States.
Punk Globe: Why should punks care?
Dave: Punks should care because we are a tribe where art, culture and resistance are our common denominators.. Today in the Ukraine and tomorrow in Taiwan, in Mexico or anywhere…. Punk rock is a community. All these divisions of national constructs are temporary. One world, one love is our template. We want everyone’s music to be heard as well. International events bring us together.
You get one life so enjoy it, be true and be blue, Punk rock forever!
Thank you so much Dave. Love you so much..
