Al Batross drum history with MDC.

The image and acronym used by MDC for much of the time I was in the band. Artwork by Jeff Wong.

M.D.C. was (at the time I performed with them) :
Dave Dictor - Vocals
Dave Hahn - Guitar (2000 - 2001)
Brendon Bekowies - Guitar (2001 - 2002)
Matt Van Cura - Bass (2000 - 2003)
Al Batross - Drums (on all recordings featured here)

Unfortunately, I have only a few audio recordings from my time with MDC. I do, however, have a few videos from various shows around Europe and a full set recorded at CBGB, which you can view on another page. The track "Sick of It" was released on MDC's album "Magnus Dominus Corpus." This is the "uncorrected" version which is a mix I prefer over the final version (Dave mistakenly sings "Joe O'Reilly," instead of "Bill O'Reilly.) Truthfully, I think it is a weak, generic song. The track "Millions of Dead Cops" recorded live at CBGB was released on the New York City Punk Olympics Compilation.

Dave Dictor's "master" set list, showing what we band played for most of our European shows, although additional songs were sometimes added. Yes, we actually did a cover of the Beatles song "Help" at one point, which Dave sang with a snotty English accent. Why? I have no idea.

The unreleased recording of "I Remember" reflects the style in which we sometimes played the well known song at rehearsals. The live set at the now closed Burnt Ramen in San Francisco was one of my very first performances with MDC. The lively and vocal audience at that show helped me enjoy it, with bodies frequently knocking guitarist Dave Hahn out of tune, and at least one person nodding out on the edge of the stage between songs. (Video from the show is here.)

When I had the opportunity to join MDC back in late 2000, it was a dream from my teens come true. MDC was one of my absolute favorite political punk rock bands, a group I had idolized as being fearless and unwavering in their support for human rights and the oppressed the world over. Despite it being fairly common to be on the side of the outsider or underdog in punk rock, it was not common at all, at the time, for a punk band to be equally vocal in support of homosexuals (something I'd attribute in part to the high levels of boneheaded testosterone in the "scene," a part I never related to). MDC championed individuality in a music scene that often, ironically, conformed to cliques. MDC was also well, well ahead of the curve when it came to calling out the racism of police, which was evident in their treatment of African Americans. This fearless aspect of MDC had its roots in the fact that when MDC started as a band in Texas, it was known that at least one local police force had officers who would openly wear Klu Klux Klan pins on their uniforms. It also grew from singer Dave Dictor's own experience of having friends murdered (the only appropriate description of their deaths) by law enforcement. This willingness to take on the police ("blue by day, white by night") in absolutely ferocious terms (such as the first meaning of the band's acronym, "Millions of Dead Cops") made MDC a truly legendary band, as did their equally ferocious music, which was often a step above their contemporaries in ambition, skill and creativity, and in willingness to stray outside of punk rock norms.

At some future date, I will detail my own experience with the band further, but for now there are some recordings I did with the band found above. To see a large collection of pictures I took while on tour with MDC in Europe, giving some sense of what it was like, click here. Videos of live shows can be found here and here.