The Dishrags (also known as Dee Dee and the Dishrags) were a Canadian all-female punk rock band based in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

in the late 1970s. Now considered the first punk group of note to emerge from the Vancouver music scene, the Dishrags were influenced by the work of

the Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

, and were forerunners in establishing the city's punk movement. After appearing on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

Vancouver Complication ''Vancouver Complication'' is a compilation album featuring many influential Vancouver punk bands. It was released in 1979 on Pinned Records, and has been reissued a number of times with several different cover designs. Considered one of the mo ...

'' in 1979, the band recorded two EPs and had more tracks released following disbandment.

History

Originally known as Dee Dee and the Dishrags, the band was formed in 1976 in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

, a city 60 miles from Vancouver, and included the trio of high school students Jade Blade (lead guitar, vocals), Carmen "Scout" Michuad (drums), and Dale Powers (bass guitar). Moving to Vancouver, with its burgeoning punk rock scene, the Dishrags opened for the city's first punk concert, sharing the bill with the Furies at the Japanese Hall on July 30, 1977. The band performed sporadically thereafter while also attending high school in Victoria, and inspired the formation of three other punk female groups, the Visitors, Devices, and Zellots. In 1978, the Dishrags returned to Vancouver where they gave many performances, including a concert at the

Commodore Ballroom Commodore Ballroom is a music venue, dance floor and nightclub located on 800 block of Granville Street in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is regarded as Canada's most influential nightclub, and one of North America's best live music venues. The ...

with

the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

in January 1979. By contributing the song "I Don't Love You", the band made its recording debut on the influential

, ''

'', in 1979. Music critic Stewart Mason wrote of the song's merits: "If they had never made another recording, the Dishrags would remain beloved in punk-fanboy circles for the track 'I Don't Love You'. 103 seconds long and built on an insistent, scratchy guitar riff and a positively crazed drum part played primarily on the ride cymbal, 'I Don't Love You' is as clangorous and primitive as U.K. second-wavers like

the Slits The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma R ...

or the

Desperate Bicycles The Desperate Bicycles were an English punk band from London formed in 1977. They released a series of independent recordings through their own label Refill Records in the late 1970s, encouraging and inspiring many other bands to do likewise. ...

". The Dishrags released their EP ''Past Is Past'', containing three tracks, in 1980 on Modern Records. Prior to traveling to London to record their follow-up EP, Powers departed the group, and was replaced by bassist Kim Henriksen and guitarist Susan MacGillivray, both from Devices. Produced by musician

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

and titled ''Death in the Family'', the EP was released in June 1980 and followed a more pop-based structure. The Dishrags disbanded soon after, but the original trio reunited as the Raisenettes, a

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

-inspired group. On January 28, 2006, Other People's Music distributed the compilation album ''Love/Hate'', featuring all of the Dishrags' released material, as well as demo recordings, live tracks, and the previously-unreleased song, "Bullshit" (which also appears on the reissued version of ''Vancouver Complication''). The Dishrags reformed once in 2006 to tour, and two years later Jem Records released the singles collection, ''There's No Dee Dee''. The band was featured in the 2010 documentary film '' Bloodied but Unbowed'', directed by Susanne Tabata."Vancouver Complication"
''Canuckistan Music'', Michael Panontin

Discography

EPs

* ''Past Is Past'' – Modern Records (MR1), 1979 * ''Death in the Family'' – elf-published 1980

Compilation albums

* ''Love/Hate'' – Other People's Music (OPM-2112), 1996 * ''There's No Dee Dee'' –

Jem Records Jem Records (also known as JEM Records) was a United States record label that existed from 1970 to 1988, at the time principally known as the parent company of Passport Records. The label was resurrected in 2013 as Jem Recordings. History Jem Re ...

(none), 2006 * ''Past Is Past'' – Base Records (BASE-019), 2008 * ''Three'' – Supreme Records (SE-07), 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dishrags, The Canadian girl groups Canadian punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 1980 Musical groups from Vancouver 1976 establishments in British Columbia 1980 disestablishments in British Columbia