InSite Atlanta's The Dicks From Texas review

What happens when Wilco, Michael Jackson and the Dicks walk into a bar?

The Dicks From Texas New Noise Magazine

http://mvdb2b.com/i/press/MVD8173D/NEW_NOISE.pdf

Winnipeg Sun The Dicks From Texas

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2016/04/01/margo-price-azealia-banks-and-parker-millsap-top-this-weeks-new-music?token=e002b9011ee210e44f72ad8b93114352

Scanner Zine Reviews The Dicks From Texas

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

Austin Chronicle's Tim Stegall gives The Dicks From Texas a big old punk rock endorsement!

http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2016-02-19/the-dicks-cd-dvd/

The Dicks From Texas, The Dicks From Texas & Friends

CD / DVD

Reviewed by Tim Stegall, Fri., Feb. 19, 2016

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The Dicks

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)

Wild Dog Zine on THE DICKS FROM TEXAS

 https://wilddogzine.com/2015/01/18/austins-the-dicks-on-new-wavoid-rejection-radical-messages-1981/

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.'”

– Gary Floyd (Vocals) in Wild Dog Zine