20 February 2022

The Legend of Death in the Family

 The Fems of Feb.



The Dishrags formed in Victoria, British Columbia in 1977...three teenage girls: Jade Blade - singer & guitar; Dale Powers - bass: & Scout - drums.

They were influenced by the Ramones & the Clash. They set out to create their own short, sharp shocks. They moved to the more punk-friendly Vancouver scene in 1978 where bands like D.O.A & the Pointed Sticks were already defining the sound of western Canada's punk scene.

The Dishrags debuted their sound on the legendary Vancouver Complication anthology, recording two tracks, "Bullshit" & "I Don't Love You". "I Don't Love You" is a true classic punk song from one of the first all-female groups in the world...103 seconds long, built on an insistent, scratchy guitar riff & a positively crazed drum part played primarily on the ride cymbal.

The Dishrags followed up with a slightly more polished three-track Past is Past EP.  After a lineup change (Dale Powers left & second guitarist Sue MacGillivray & bassist Kim Henriksen joined the group), the band traveled to London to record the Death in the Family EP produced by Chris Spedding (or just stayed in Vancouver where the EP was produced by Pointed Sticks guitarist Bill Napier-Hemy...you decide). Either way, the EP disappeared almost immediately & shortly thereafter the Dishrags broke up.

This release contains the Vancouver Compilation tracks, the two EPs, & ten previously unheard Dishrags originals & covers.

 

 

The Dishrags - Love/Hate, Other Peoples Music OPM-2112,1997.
decryption code in comments

I Don't Love You    
Bullshit
Past is Past    
Tormented    
Love is Shit (it’s Goodbye)    
Love/Hate
Carry On    
You Fit the Picture    
Sold Out    
Cement    
Silence    
Can't Wait    
Quiet Little Table    
Nowhere to Hide    
Death in the Family
Beware of Dog    
All the Pain    
I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You (Ramones cover)
Vicious (Lou Reed cover)
Janie Jones (Clash cover)
Loving Person    
Friday Night Date    
Cravin' A...    
High Society Snob    
Gang War

Enjoy,
NØ
at

6 comments:

  1. NØ2/20/22, 1:37 PM

    U9zpHTlVlUnmyJj2SBwmJSVpQhjcUFGvcbscl_fhJoQ

    ReplyDelete
  2. icastico2/21/22, 1:28 AM

    Cool. Ain't heard of this.

    ReplyDelete
  3. NØ2/21/22, 5:34 PM

    The Dishrags are said to be the first all-fem punk band. Glad you found them here. Much of these tunes were unreleased until this. They simply had two EPs & two comp. tracks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AJ2/22/22, 12:05 PM

    Thanks, The Dishrags are a great little find

    ReplyDelete
  5. NØ2/22/22, 1:03 PM

    Dishrags...definitely much more than throw-away paper towels.

    ReplyDelete
  6. MrDave3/7/22, 3:00 PM

    New to me too -- thanks Nate!

    ReplyDelete