Dis-...

Dis- was an amazing band that hailed from Milwaukee. That being said, they were the first band on Twelve Inch Records to not be from the Twin Cities, which really doesn’t mean anything I suppose, but was a neat fact nonetheless. Anyway, the band was essentially always based around singer/guitarist Chris Fuller and bassist Rob Sieracki as they would go through a number of drummers during their time together. Some of those that I know of, and not in any particular order, were Matt Morgan, Chris Manfrin (Seam), Peter Pollack, and Chris Cosgrove (Zoom). Dis- managed to release three very solid albums before calling it quits right around the time of their third album in 1996, which was appropriately titled The Historically Troubled Third Album, which would be their only album on Sonic Bubble Gum. The other two albums, ‘92’s Small Fry and ‘94’s M386.D57 1994 were both released on Twelve Inch. Also, I am pretty sure all of their albums were recorded by Steve Albini as well.

Dis- had a pretty interesting sound going for them, and by the time of their third album they had really come into their own. I can’t really explain it, but think of all the great Chicago math/indie bands and the interesting arrangements you heard in the 90’s and then add some slight Midwestern melodicism to it. All of that paired along with Chris Fuller’s practically deadpan vocal delivery was a recipe for something great to these ears. Fuller’s voice always reminds me of someone else that I can’t quite ever remember, and no it’s not Matt Talbott, however that’s not a bad guess but that’s not who I am thinking of. Anyway, for those out there that ever see any of their albums, snatch them up because their kind of hard to track down these days, at least the first two. I don’t usually do this, but since the first two albums are sadly long out of print and I don’t recommend anyone having to pay high dollar for a compact disc, I’ve went ahead and uploaded the first two albums for everyone to check out. They are well worth the download, but I’ve also uploaded samples too.

Small Fry (full album download):
Dis- - Seeds [MP3]
Dis- - Cage Me Safely [MP3]

M386.D57 1994 (full album download):
Dis- - Her Daughter’s Friends [MP3]
Dis- - Christ but They’re Few [MP3]

The Historically Troubled Third Album:
Dis- - Werewolves [MP3]
Dis- - Catch Me, I’m a Prick [MP3]

For those interested in buying their third album, it’s available on Amazon for pretty cheap and it’s actually probably their best album, so I can’t recommend enough on picking that one up. After the band broke up Chris Fuller went on to play in Sixto and Shiny Ghosts, however now currently runs Scary Bodega, which does music for soundtracks and various other media. Rob Sieracki went on to be in Ex-Chittle for a bit and that’s all I know of him. Anyway, enjoy the music. I think the rest of the week is going to be more or less focusing on releases from this year that I’ve been enjoying as their has been a lot lately and I need to do some catching up.