MDC (band)
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MDC are a punk band formed in Austin, Texas in 1979.
Playing fast, left-wing punk has earned the band close association with Jello Biafra and the Dead Kennedys, as well as numerous other US punk bands of the early eighties. The band were also unique in frequently changing their name with every new record released. Incarnations include Millions of Dead Cops, More Dead Cops, Millions of Dead Children, Multi Death Corporations, Millions of Damn Christians and Missile Destroyed Civilisation.
In the early 1980s, Texas was one of the breeding grounds for a new kind of punk music known as 'hardcore punk'. The three bands in Austin who pioneered this new sound were The Dicks, Big Boys and MDC, who were known at this early stage as The Stains, and released one single under this name, later released as a MDC recording. These bands frequently played together and established the hardcore scene in that city. By 1982 MDC relocated to San Francisco, California - a city and state with very vibrant music scenes. By this point the band were active participants in the growing hardcore scene, and released their debut LP Millions of Dead Cops on the band's own label, R Radical. The album is now widely considered a punk classic, and features songs such as "John Wayne Was A Nazi", "Dick For Brains" and the harsh criticism of the police, "I Remember". As well as the police, capitalism ("Corporate Death Burger"), homophobia and American culture ("Violent Rednecks") were all criticised, without irony, by the band.
The importance, and prominence, of MDC as an influential hardcore band dwindled by the late eighties. The lack of new recorded material and live performances after 1993, plus personal problems of band members, points to an informal break-up of the band. MDC's singer, Dave Dictor, did return with an entirely new backing line-up in 2000, and MDC seems to be going strong despite difficulties, having played most recently at the K-Town DIY hardcore/punk festival in Copenhagen, the 27th of June, 2004.
Selected Discography
- "John Wayne was a Nazi" 7", R Radical, 1981
- Millions of Dead Cops- Millions of Dead Cops LP, R Radical, 1982
- Multi-Death Corporations- "Multi-Death Corporations" EP, Crass Records, 1983
- Millions of Dead Children- "Chicken Squawk" EP, R Radical Records, 1984
- Smoke Signals LP - We Bite, 1984
- More Damn Christians- This Blood's for You LP, R Radical, 1987
- Shades of Brown LP, New Red Archives Records, 1993