Dog Park Dissidents
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Dog Park Dissidents is an American queercore punk rock band formed in 2017.[1] Its five members are based out of New Orleans, Louisiana; Long Island, New York; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dog Park Dissidents | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New Orleans/Long Island, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Labels | Say-10 |
| Members |
|
| Website | dogparkdissidents |
History
Dog Park Dissidents was founded in 2017 by vocalist Zac Xeper and guitarist Jon Greco, who recorded the band's first song "Queer As In Fuck You" for a planned anti-Trump sampler compilation.[2][3] After the song's viral success, Xeper and Greco went on to produce and self-release the 2018 EP Sexual and Violent, featuring a remastered and lyrically altered version of "Queer" along three other new songs.
In 2019, ahead of their second EP High Risk Homosexual Behavior, Dog Park Dissidents played and headlined their first live show in Long Island, New York, playing with a lineup that included drummer Mike Costa[2] and bassist Joe Bove of The Arrogant Sons of Bitches. Bove would go on to record bass for High Risk Homosexual Behavior[4], and Costa would later enter the recording studio for the band's 2021 release ACAB For Cutie[5].
Along with the release of ACAB For Cutie, the band announced[6] they had signed to Say-10 Records, with a planned album-length re-release of their 3 EPs remixed by We Are the Union's Reade Wolcott and remastered by Jack Shirley.[1] This record was released on vinyl and digitally in 2023 as The Pink and Black Album[7]
Later in 2021, Philadelphia-based Bove officially joined the band as bassist.[8]
Following a run of shows in 2022, touring drummer Zeke Xander and touring guitarist Skylar Stravinsky officially joined the band as permanent members,[9][10] bringing the total of New Orleans-based band members to three.
The band has a following within the furry fandom, playing the likes of Furrydelphia in August, 2022. [11] In September, 2022, the band gained notoriety after a planned outdoor show with Pansy Division was shut down by police due to permitting issues. Xander, acting as event coordinator, alleged that the Southern Decadence show was cut short right as Dog Park Dissidents were supposed to begin playing, after the New Orleans City Constable threatened them and Xeper with arrest.[12]
Musical style
Critics have described Dog Park Dissidents as "angry queer punk rock"[13] with glam influences.[14] Xeper describes the band's musical style as "genrequeer",[14] explaining they “like to keep things in the wheelhouse of punk rock but mixing in whatever else feels right… genre mixing is an inherently queer way of doing music.”
The band's lyrical themes are often political, and written from a queer anarchist perspective. They have written songs based on the Black Orchid Collective's essay "Queer Liberation is Class Struggle",[2][14] and their lyrics touch on the intersection of queer liberation with anti-capitalism,[3] loss of queer spaces due to gentrification,[15][2] the climate crisis,[14][3] feeling alienated from liberal identity politics, and criticism of rights-based measures of social progress.[2]
Band members
Current members
- Zac Xeper – lead vocals (2017–present)
- Jon Greco – guitar, vocals (2017–present)
- Joe Bove – bass (2021–present)
- Zeke Xander – drums (2022–present)
- Skylar Stravinsky – guitar (2022–present)
Discography
Albums
- The Pink and Black Album (2023) - Say-10 Records
Extended plays
- Sexual and Violent (2018) - Self-released on Nerd Cave Recordings
- High Risk Homosexual Behavior (2019) - Self-released on Nerd Cave Recordings
- ACAB for Cutie (2021) - Self-released on Nerd Cave Recordings
Singles
- "Queer as in Fuck You" (2017) - Self-released
- "Toxic" (2019) - Self-released as a single through Bandcamp; part of High Risk Homosexual Behavior on streaming platforms
- "Gift Wrap" (2022) - Say-10 Records
Compilations
- Never Erased (2022) - Say-10 Records feat. "S*xual"
Music Videos
- "Host" (2020) from High Risk Homosexual Behavior
References
- ^ a b "Dog Park Dissidents". Dog Park Dissidents website - About. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Dunajcsik, Mátyás (October 30, 2021). "Don't Sell Me A Rainbow - Interview with Dog Park Dissidents". Moshpit Zine. No. 7. pp. 31–34.
- ^ a b c Dunajcsik, Mátyás (October 23, 2021). "Dunajcsik Mátyás: Fekete Flitter – öt queer punk és metal album" [Mátyás Dunajcsik: Black Sequins — five queer punk and metal albums]. litera.hu (in Hungarian).
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help) - ^ "High Risk Homosexual Behavior - EP | Dog Park Dissidents". Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- ^ "ACAB For Cutie - EP | Dog Park Dissidents".
- ^ "Dog Park Dissidents on Twitter". June 10, 2021.
- ^ "Dog Park Dissidents full-length". June 6, 2023.
- ^ "Dog Park Dissidents on Twitter". Nov 23, 2021.
- ^ "Dog Park Dissidents on Twitter". August 29, 2022.
- ^ "Dog Park Dissidents on Twitter". August 29, 2022.
- ^ "Dog Park Dissidents + Sarah Rose Project in PHILADELPHIA | Top Floor Arts, Philadelphia, PA | August 27, 2022".
- ^ Dixon, Britney (September 3, 2022). "Here's what really broke up the block party at the Phoenix | WGNO".
- ^ Goeman, Colin (June 21, 2019). "Top 10 queercore-inspired bands leading the scene into the future". Alternative Press.
- ^ a b c d Campbell, Mary Beth (July 2021). "REVIEWS - Antigravity Magazine".
- ^ "Dog Park Dissidents Premieres New Video for "Host" • Bad Copy". Bad Copy. Retrieved 2022-09-09.