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Dave Dictor

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David Dictor
Dave Dictor sings in Buffalo, New York, April 23, 2009
Dave Dictor sings in Buffalo, New York, April 23, 2009
Background information
Birth nameDavid Scott Dictor
Born (1955-12-04) December 4, 1955 (age 69)
OriginGlen Cove, New York
GenresHardcore punk
Occupation(s)Performer, Musician, Songwriter
Instrument(s)Voice, Guitar
Years active1979–present
LabelsPrimordial Records
Websitedavedictor.com (archived 26 May 2019)

Dave Dictor (born December 4, 1955) is an American musician, singer of the punk rock band MDC (of which he is a founding member), and founder of the band's label, R Radical Records. Dictor is known for his political lyrics, involvement in the Rock Against Reagan campaign in the 1980s and being vegan.[1][2]

Biography

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David Scott Dictor was raised on Long Island, New York and attended Boston University and the University of Texas in the 1970s.[3] Dictor's father "Teddy" Dictor, was Jewish, while his mother was a Catholic from an Italian American family.[4] His parents divorced when he was two years old, with Dictor raised by his mother, while his father moved to Florida.[4] Dictor is bisexual.[5]

In 1979, Dictor formed the Reejex, which morphed into a band called the Stains, with long-term musical partner Ron Posner. This later evolved into MDC in the fall of 1981. Dictor and MDC later relocated to San Francisco, California in 1982 and finally to Portland, Oregon in 1995.[6] The band gave various projects different names with the MDC moniker, including Millions Of Dead Cops, Multi Death Corporation, Millions Of Dead Children, and Millions Of Damn Christians. In Portland, Dictor teamed up with Tom Roberts (Pig Champion) in 1997 and put out The Submissives' "An Anvil Will Wear Out Many A Hammer".

Dictor also appeared in the 2006 film American Hardcore,[7] the film based upon the book of the same name. The song "I Remember" [8] also appears in the film and on the soundtrack.

Career

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Dave Dictor is the front man for the band MDC, a punk rock formed in 1979 in Austin, Texas. Among the first wave of bands to define the sound and style of American hardcore punk, MDC originally formed as The Stains[9] and periodically changed the meaning of "MDC" - the most frequent being Millions of Dead Cops. The band's lyrical content expresses radical left political views and has proven influential within the punk subculture.[10][11]

MDC released material through ex-Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra's independent label Alternative Tentacles. In the 1990s, vocalist Dave Dictor published editorials for the internationally distributed fanzine Maximumrocknroll. MDC's initial run ended in 1995, and the band spent five years on hiatus, before returning in 2000 with some new band members.

In 2016, MDC released a video for the forthcoming release of a new recording of "Born to Die",[12] made to protest the Donald Trump presidential campaign. The song's slogan "No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA" was reported to be heard at anti-Trump demonstrations in Chicago.[13] At the 2016 American Music Awards on November 20, the band Green Day adopted the anti-Trump slogan for a controversial impromptu chant during their live on-air performance, which Dictor applauded and encouraged.[14] The media spotlight Green Day's action put on MDC inspired the band to create new material based around the current political climate.[15] The album, entitled Mein Trumpf, was released in 2017.[15]

Books

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In 2016, Dictor wrote his punk memoir MDC: Memoir from a Damaged Civilization: Stories of Punk, Fear, and Redemption,[16][17] on his life rebelling against conformity, complacency, and conservatism through MDC.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Dictor, Dave (June 3, 2016). "Hello World! I am Dave Dictor!". Dave Dictor. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  2. ^ "Dave Dictor". Australian Punk.
  3. ^ "The History Of Dave Dictor". Dave Dictor. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  4. ^ a b OyOyOyGevalt.com (10 September 2019). "Memoir by MDC's Dave Dictor".
  5. ^ "Kevin Mattson Responds". s-usih.org. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  6. ^ Pehling, Dave (May 20, 2023). "Iconic UK punk band GBH headlines Berkeley's Cornerstone - CBS San Francisco". www.cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  7. ^ American Hardcore (2006) at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  8. ^ "American Hardcore: The History Of American Punk Rock 1980-1986". Discogs. 2006.
  9. ^ Ibarra, Craig (2015). A Wailing of a Town: An Oral History of Early San Pedro Punk and More. END FWY. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-9860971-0-2.
  10. ^ "Listen to 'Mein Trumpf,' the First Album from Punk Legends MDC in 13 Years". Vice.com. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  11. ^ Grow, Kory (21 November 2016). "'No Trump! No KKK! No Fascist USA!': The Punk History". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  12. ^ Gentile, John (7 November 2016). "MDC: "Born to Die 2016" (Punknews Exclusive)". Punknews.org. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  13. ^ St. Clair, Stacy; Moreno, Nereida; Crepeau, Megan (November 20, 2016). "5 arrested after largely peaceful anti-Trump protests downtown". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  14. ^ Grow, Kory (November 21, 2016). "'No Trump! No KKK! No Fascist USA!': The Punk History". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  15. ^ a b Bayer, Jonah (November 27, 2017). "Listen to 'Mein Trumpf,' the First Album from Punk Legends MDC in 13 Years". Vice. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  16. ^ Dictor, Dave (2016). MDC: Memoir from a Damaged Civilization: Stories of Punk, Fear, and Redemption. Manic D Press. ISBN 978-1933149981.
  17. ^ "MDC: Memoir from a Damaged Civilization". Akpress.org.
  18. ^ Brian McElhiney (15 November 2018). "D.O.A., MDC fight back in Bend". Bendbulletin.com. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
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