d.b.s.
d.b.s. were a punk rock band from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. From their beginnings in 1992 to their eventual breakup in 2001, they gained popularity in the Canadian punk rock scene, and to a lesser extent, the U.S. punk rock scene.
d.b.s. | |
|---|---|
| Origin | North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Genres | Punk rock Pop punk Melodic hardcore Skate punk Hardcore punk |
| Years active | 1992–2001 |
| Labels | Nefer Records Sudden Death Records New Disorder Records Crap Records Ache Records |
| Associated acts | The Red Light Sting See below for more |
| Website | Official website (defunct) |
| Past members | Andy Dixon Jesse Gander Paul Patko Ryan "Nordburg" Angus Dhani Borges |
During their decade-long career, they released five studio albums, and toured with many well-established punk rock bands such as Rancid, Anti-Flag, D.O.A., Bouncing Souls, Youth Brigade, and many more.[1] Their music drew comparisons to Jawbreaker, Lifetime, and The Promise Ring, among others.[2][3][4][5][6]
History
The band formed in 1992, when they were only in grade 8, consisting at the time of Andy Dixon, Jesse Gander, Paul Patko, and Dhani Borges.[7] The first songs they played together were covers of The Ramones ("I Believe in Miracles") and Stevie Wonder ("Higher Ground").[7] They were in grade 11 when they released their first full-length, Tales from the Crib—a pun of Tales from the Crypt, in reference to the band's youth. They went on their first tour that same year, traveling to California with fellow Vancouver punk band Gob.[7]
Their musical career concluded with their final release, Forget Everything You Know. After the release of this EP, they disbanded, and went on to other projects.
Members
- Jesse Gander − vocals
- Andy Dixon − guitar, backing vocals
- Paul Patko − drums, backing vocals
- Dhani Borges − bass (left sometime after recording I Is for Insignificant)
- Ryan Angus (Nordburg) − bass (replaced Dhani in January 1998)[8]
Discography
Self-released
- Selfexploditory (Cassette) – (1992)
- Lighten Up (Cassette) – (1993)
- Catch 22 (Cassette) – (1993)
Full lengths
- Tales from the Crib − Nefer Records (1995)
- If the Music's Loud Enough… − Nefer Records (1996)
- I Is for Insignificant − Sudden Death Records (1998)
- Some Boys Got It, Most Men Don't − New Disorder Records (1999)
- If Life Were a Result, We'd All Be Dead − Crap Records (2000)
EPs and singles
- "Snowball's Rollin' Fine" (7") – Nefer Records (1995)
- When the Meek Get Pinched the Bold Survive (7") – Crap Records (1997)
- Forget Everything You Know (EP) − Ache Records (2001)
Split releases
- North America Sucks!! (Split album with Anti-Flag) – Nefer Records (1996)
- D.O.A./d.b.s. Split (7") – Empty Records
- The Cost/d.b.s. Split (7") – Sellout Records (2000)
Other projects
- The Red Light Sting − A post-hardcore/art punk band formed as a side-project for d.b.s., with Andy Dixon on guitar and Paul Patko on drums. Now defunct.
- Operation Makeout − Formed in 1999, with Jesse Gander later replacing original member Lee Evernden on bass and vocals.
- Secret Mommy − Andy Dixon's glitch/indietronica music.
- Winning − A band which includes Andy Dixon on vocals, guitar and piano, and Paul Patko on drums and percussion.
- Ghost House - Piano-driven post-punk band fronted by Jesse Gander. Toured and released one album, Departures, on Reluctant Recordings .
- Opus Arise - 8-piece Symphonic Metal featuring Paul Patko on drums.
References
- "d.b.s." Sudden Death Records. Archived from the original on 2008-01-01.
In their 5 years they toured with such bands as Rancid, Falling Sickness, Anti-Flag, Digger, Slacker, I-farm, No Fraud, DOA, Gob, Bouncing Souls, AFT, Youth Brigade and many more…
- Rob Ferraz (October 1999). "Pop Rocks: Some Boys Got It, Most Men Don't". Exclaim!. Toronto. Archived from the original on 2012-07-18. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
The music shifts easily from Promise Ring-style melody ("And Then I Awoke"), to emo hardcore ("A Foundation for Positive Change") in the blink of an eye. On "Past Friendships" they slide into a Jawbreaker-style ballad complete with melancholy lyrics.
- Sean Dwyer (14 February 2000). "Some Boys Got It, Most Men Don't review". Film Junk. St. Catharines. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
On this album, they have clearly been influenced by a lot of the emo and hardcore bands on Jade Tree Records, such as Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, and The Promise Ring.
- Shawn Cameron. "Some Boys Got It, Most Men Don't review". Collective Zine. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
The lyrics are very well written, comparisons to Jawbreaker can easily be made while not coming off as the least bit...ridiculous.
- Godfrey J. Leung (August 2000). "Discorder August 2000 Reviews". Discorder. Vancouver. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
Musically, this album shows the band wearing its Lifetime and Jawbreaker influences on its sleeve
- Rob Ferraz (July 2001). "Pop Rocks: Forget Everything You Know". Exclaim!. Toronto. Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
With a sound that can be likened to the Promise Ring, these final five songs exemplify the introspective inspiration they wove into their music so well.
- Jesse Gander. "Band biography". d.b.s. official website. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
- d.b.s. news—January 1998 to June 2001
