THE DICKS FROM TEXAS{MVD}
Subtitled ‘The Men, The Myth, The Music’, this 70 minute documentary
tells the story of one of the most confrontational and incendiary bands
that not only Texas ever produced, but Punk Rock as a whole. For those
who don’t know, THE DICKS formed in Austin, Texas in 1979 and were
fronted by Gary Floyd who was openly gay and would frequently dress in
drag. He was also bellicose, politically challenging, had a fixation for
Maoist symbolism and had a voice that was powerful and rich, just like
some of the finest Blues guys, but imbibed with the spirit and fury of
Punk Rock.
After a few soundbite interview snippets, the film starts
with a Gary Floyd interview telling the story of his formative years -
and of seeing the SEX PISTOLS in San Fran. From there, it’s the familiar
story of band formation including the fake posters Floyd made before
the band got together and the band’s live debut at the Punk Prom in
1980. Those interviewed include all band members, many from the Austin
scene of the time and notables Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, David Yow,
Texas Terri, Mike Watt, Pat Doyle (OFFENDERS) and Randy ‘Biscuit’
Turner. The interviews are separated by some great stills and excellent
home-movie footage of not just the band in concert but of its environs.
Of
course, with a band like THE DICKS, there are myriad stories but
several people mention that the band looked like it had just crawled out
of prison and were a genuinely frightening experience to the
uninitiated. One story included was that of Floyd stuck liver down his
panties and then threw it into the audience. Elsewhere there is
reference to the all-inclusive attitude of the Austin scene at this
time; there were no unwritten ‘cool’ codes of dress more a case of if
you were there, you were already included. Rollins makes an interesting
analogy in that the Austin scene was more like a "weirdo Collective"
than what he knew from the West Coast.
The legendary Raul’s venue is
discussed, as is the band’s close ties with the BIG BOYS and its first
move to San Francisco that resulted in its inclusion on the Rock Against
Reagan tour with MDC.
The film climaxes with the passing of
guitarist Glenn Taylor, Floyd moving back to San Fran and the formation
of SISTER DOUBLE HAPPINESS (although no mention of THE DICKS Mk II or
the ‘These People’ album) before looking at the reunion of the original
line-up some 20 years after they split and the band’s induction into the
Austin Music Hall Of Fame.
As for bonuses, you get a couple of live
gigs. The first is recorded at On Broadway (San Francisco) in 1982 and
opens with a FLIPPER-challenging ‘Kill From The Heart’. The second gig
is from Akron, Ohio on the Rock Against Reagan tour from 1983 and it’s a
brutal, intense gig opening with ‘Dicks Hate The Police’ that sees
slammers launching from all angles and the band in totally destructive
musical form while ‘Bourgeois Fascist Pig’ sees Floyd go crowd surfing.
Director
Cindy Marabito has crafted an informative and highly entertaining film
that’s essential viewing for anyone with an interest in this Punk Rock
thing. It’s been a genuine labour of love too, having taken 16 years of
work. If there is a negative, it’s that some of the interviews are
either recorded somewhere with a lot of background noise (usually a
bar), lack clear diction or have a DICKS backing track playing under
them that’s too loud. The narrative also tends to wander a little rather
than sticking to a distinct time line.
Somehow though, the lo-fi
attitude kinda works to its benefit and the resulting film is sincere,
intimate and grabs the attention.
Now - I wonder if there is any chance of a sequel, called THE DICKS FROM SAN FRANCISCO? (09.03.16)
Hit HERE for material review prior to 2015 including: DAMNED, DINOSAUR JR, D.O.A
The Dicks From Texas (MVD Visual) The Dicks From Texas & Friends (Grackle Butter)
Gary Floyd started a joke only possible in late-Seventies Austin: a
series of posters advertising fake gigs ("first 10 people with guns
drink for free"). After meeting bassist Buxf Parrot and the late Glen
Taylor, whose guitar work the former describes as having "notes all its
own," then discovering drummer Pat Deason in time for a genuine show,
the singer's prank turned serious. The Dicks' blues-based punk and wild
stage presence – essentially, three sinister, convict-looking
individuals surrounding what resembled John Waters actress Divine in the
grips of Chairman Mao's Little Red Book – developed into a force
terrifying enough to frighten Minor Threat when sharing a bill at Sixth
Street's Ritz in the early Eighties.
As Ian MacKaye admits amidst the
all-star cavalcade of talking heads (Henry Rollins, Mike Watt, David
Yow, Texas Terri) populating cinematic valentine The Dicks From Texas,
he simultaneously found them utterly compelling. Director Cindy
Marabito's documentary plays as raw as its subject matter, locals
including former longtime Chronicle queen Margaret Moser
describing Floyd's vision becoming reality enough to energize the DIY
scene fomenting around a Drag-bound bar called Raul's. Floyd, Parrot,
and Deason join in, detailing the story, then appearing as their younger
selves in explosive archival footage that makes one kick themselves for
being born too late. Most live time capsules appear in full as a bonus,
with a San Francisco gig being particularly compelling.
A similarly
named CD isn't a soundtrack, but an accompanying tribute album. Austin
punk luminaries from across the years (Bulemics, Surlys, Pocket
Fishrmen, etc.) join bands featuring the ex-Dicks (Punkaroos, Pretty
Mouth, Garish) for a punk scrum sure to please locals. Pride of place
belongs to the Offenders' roaring "The Dicks Hate the Police" and Jesus
Christ Superfly's "Anti-Klan, Parts 1 & 2."
(Both)
Since "The Dicks From Texas" documentary (directed by Cindy Marabito) will be released this month and was featured today on Dangerous Minds, we wanted to repost Wild Dog's interview with these legendary Austin punks from 1981.
“I think The Dicks were one of the earliest poster bands…When I
returned from San Francisco, several friends said, ‘It’s too bad all of
us want to be singers and none of us can play anything.’ I said, ‘Why
don’t we just lie? Let’s make up a band, and call it The Dicks.'”
L-R: Dicks front man and 'The Dicks From Texas' filmmaker Cindy Marabito
Photo by David Ensminger
Deep in the heart of rose-scented Texas, amid the leafy
collegiate blocks and despite the barrooms spinning cosmic cowboys,
Austin developed a sense of punk that at times seemed every bit as
warped, electrifying and venomous as the Sex Pistols. Some of the names
were unassuming — Standing Waves, the Huns, Terminal Mind, the Skunks —
and then arrived the Dicks, a band to make the skin of “normals”
crawl. First no more than a make-believe band gestated in the
free-spirited, cantankerous mind of gay, left-wing wanderer Gary Floyd,
they soon become a typhoon of primal potency. He steered them like a
captain ready to slay Moby Dick, but instead of being a behemoth whale,
Moby was a metaphor for staid, common-as-mud, ears-closed middle
America.
The
Dicks wanted to destroy the typical comforts of life: the false,
slanted histories; the buried embarrassing sexualities; the rock-star
clichés and the workday routines. In their songs, porn shops and Maoism
co-existed, drunkenness and pain too. They slugged away at racist police
and the Klan, Nazis and rich daddies, and they mutated Jimi Hendrix’s
“Purple Haze” into a violent, crude tirade. Floyd dressed in drag,
tossed squirty condoms at crowds and used his big-boy body as a symbol
of defiance against the norms of social etiquette. In doing so, The
Dicks were a breathless hacksaw of renegade music eviscerating the
masses.
Cindy Marabito’s new documentary The Dicks From Texas,
about the Lone Star version of the band (Floyd later relocated to San
Francisco and jump-started a fresh lineup) tries to shed light on the
people, places and era that made it all happen. Her decades-old
friendship with Floyd, like any authentic insider, allows her to muster
up this DIY affair of the heart with down-home urgency and freshness.
David Ensminger touched base with her before Thursday night's screening
at Walters Downtown.
Houston Press: Since both versions of the Dicks were much
admired, how did the film organize around the concept of the Dicks in
Texas? Was it due to Cindy's personal connection, or is there some
significant or special quality about the Texas lineup/era you both
wanted to explore? Cindy Marabito: The Dicks changed my life and
basically influenced most of my interests since the first time I met
Gary and subsequently Pat [Deason], Buxf [Parrot] and Glen [Taylor].
With me, their politics, the lifestyle and the music most especially
provided a strength, which has fueled me throughout my life. I’ve found
the music of the Dicks, the original songs, to help me throughout life’s
challenges. I have encountered many others like myself who shared that
experience with the Dicks music.
Not to disparage the second Dicks or any of Gary Floyd’s other bands and
musical efforts, because his life and his art have been joyful and
enriching to experience, but there was a blossoming that happened for me
with that first Texas Dicks during a very special time that I felt
driven and compelled to document and share. In fact, it’s been my life’s
mission to try and capture that story and that wonderful scene in
Austin, Texas during the early '80s.
Various books, documentaries and fanzine articles have discussed
the band, and Gary, too, so what does the film reveal, uncover or
illuminate that really makes it a must-see?
One thing I wanted
to try and re-create was the feeling of community surrounding the Dicks
and the Austin punk scene. There was something really special going on
at that time when you’d walk down the street and come upon lively,
interesting people, musicians [and] artists. You might run into a big
star like Patti Smith, who hung out for a while in Austin as did other
luminaries, but there was something else going on. Everybody was
somebody special; that was the feeling one had. I really wanted to
create that feeling in the film, not only as an offering from me to the
Dicks [but] to the Austin of that time. Also, I wanted to leave
something for others to enjoy like a sort of time capsule filled with
very special people.
Unfortunately, due to deaths, both members of the band and members of
the community, some voices cannot be caught on film. How did that make
the film a challenge: How do you honor the dead?
That was hard.
It took 16 years to finally finish it, and we lost some close family. To
the best of my ability, I tried to create a montage honoring those we
lost. It works pretty well, and I can say I’m happy with the result. I
didn’t want a huge boulder of despair to hang like a pall over the
story, so magically, as always, Gary saved the show. There is an
incredible live performance after with Gary being lifted by fans in mosh
pit and very lovingly carried over their heads.
To me, that
wonderful music and that spirit literally lifts me up, too, as the
viewer. Yet again, the Dicks and their music give me a strength that
helps me to carry on. It was a spiritual move for me and when I watch
the parts of the film with those who’re gone. It’s almost like I get to
have them close once more, just for a minute.
What is always striking to me about the band's history is how many
"famous band" people really were in awe of Gary — his voice, persona,
politics, his sheer presence. As the film makes clear, this was quite
true. What was it like to round up and reach out to these people?
The famous people in the film were all very approachable. Henry Rollins
made time for me, as did Ian MacKaye, David Yow, Texas Terri and Mike
Watt and Lynn Perko. I hate to even leave out the names of the Austin
superstars because they really all turned out [and] dropped everything
to be a part of the film — Biscuit, Pat Doyle, Buxf, Pat and Gary, of
course. Davy Jones and Mark Kenyon really stepped up to the plate to
help tie together the old Dicks to the reunion shows. One thing I would
like to say: I don’t know how superstars in Hollywood act, but in punk
rock, everybody I’ve ever encountered has always been very real and
human.
There
is a whole new realm of talent creating great music right now. A lot of
artists, new and not so new, influenced by the Dicks' music have
generously and brilliantly contributed songs for the accompanying CD to
the film, The Dicks From Texas and Friends. It’s all over the
place as far as tone and style and, to me, really says how these
musicians have interpreted those classic Dicks songs. Again, the music
itself is so big.
What did the Dicks offer that you feel
transcended Austin in the early 1980s? For me, Gary's unabashed
queerness and politics completely foreshadowed the current era, for both
queer issues and left politics are openly debated, including gay
marriage and Bernie Sanders.
That was a time when a large gay
communist man in a bra and panties was uncommon. Gary put himself out
there with the Dicks in a manner which defied convention. I mean, okay,
there was and is homophobia, but Gary really made it hard to bash
someone so in your face, someone that everybody loved. I think the Dicks
have left that legacy for others both in their music and their politics
to not be afraid, a common theme in punk music, but the Dicks took it
to a whole new extreme. It didn’t hurt that the music was so damn good.
The Dicks from Texas will screen tomorrow night at Walters Downtown
(1120 Naylor) along with performances by Poor Dumb Bastards, Screech of
Death, Black Irish Texas and Scorpio Rising. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Who had one of the biggest singing voices
of the 80’s hardcore scene? Hands down, I would say Gary Floyd. This
dude can really fucking sing – if Ella Fitzgerald and Jello Bifaria had a
bastard, he would be their offspring. His Texas band The Dicks rocked
stages all over the state with their homies The Big Boys before
relocating to San Francisco.
Their album Kill From The Heart
released on SST records was raging political statement that I still love
to this day (so many of his lyrics still ring true!). When I moved to
the Bay Area in the 80’s, The Dicks were a band that I always made an
effort to go see, because they packed such a HUGE punch live. If I was
not under Gary’s spell, I would be watching their drummer Lynn, who
would beat the shit out of her kit.
Cindy Marabito has just
released her documentary about them called The Dicks From Texas, and if
it comes to your town make sure to check it out. Right here and now,
peep this killer footage from a The Dicks show that took place in 1985. I
will always and forever love Gary Floyd’s voice, it still gives me
chills!
The Dicks 1985 Elk's Lodge Atlantic City #1
The Dicks 1985 Elk's Lodge Atlantic City #3
Intro: The Dicks From Texas
Dicks - Kill From the Heart - 01 Anti-Klan (Part 1)
DICKS 1980 1986 Full Album
MORE INFO ABOUT AUTHOR:
Sean
Reveron was born & raised in Venice Beach, CA. He terrorized the
streets of the West Side as a young Suicidal Boy, and was a part of the
early Hardcore movement. Sean has always been passionate about the music
and the DIY fashion of the crust and metal world, and that passion led
him and his wife Meghan to create the world of CVLT Nation and the CVLT
clothing brand.
