Fish Tank #17
DFL: Proud To Be Dead Fucking Last!
Coming out of LA with a teeth kicking sound as aggressive as the name is Dead Fucking Last. This hard core unit led by Crazy Tom has consisted of Mike D and Ad Rock of Beastie Boys, Brian Baker of Minor Threat/ Bad Religion and AWOL of Suicidal Tendencies. More impressive than their past line up is their hard core you can break a skate ramp to. They sound like an older band, reminiscent of the 80’s hard core of the South Bay area.
Their first release, My Crazy Life came out on Grand Royal records. It is informal recording sessions which sound more like a decently produced live album rather than a studio effort. This release set them up as a sound that punches you in the face from the first note and just continues beating till the end. They quickly establish a signature lo fi muffled sound which I’m not sure was an accident.
1994 brought DFL to Epitaph Records and the Release of Proud To Be. The first release I came across and what I think may be their best known. The recording quality is slightly better on this. The pace is even more break neck than their debut. It was a classic to play at skate sessions when I was younger. This one has a stand out for me, the title track. At 20 tracks, this long runner of an entirely bad ass hard core album will keep you going from session through hospital or police station trip.
In 1997 they put out Grateful. Their most recent studio album to date. This continues the fashion of sounding more like a live show and fast paced teeth knocking hard core. The band sounds more solid than their previous two efforts and somehow louder.
In 1999 DFL went on Hiatus. Crazy Tom was working on GFP which consists of Tony Alva of… (if you don’t know I’m sorry you lived under a rock), Greg Hetson of Circle Jerks/ Bad Religion and AWOL from Suicidal. As of 2013 DFL has reunited and is playing shows and will, at some point, have some music for us. Better dead last than fucking never. Check them out and stalk them at https://www.facebook.com/proudtobedfl
– C Fish
Punx In Solidarity 