D R I

Spike Cassidy - Kurt Brecht guitar - Rob Rampy singing - Harald Oimoen drums - bass
The story of D.R.I. begins on May 2, 1982 at 4 p.m. in Houston, Texas. It was then that S. Cassidy (guitar), K. Brecht (chant), E. Brecht (battery) and Dennis Johnson (bass) were repeating in Father Brecht's house that he was entering and, angry by so much noise, uttered for them the insult of "Dirty Rotten Imbeciles". Finding the original invective, the quartet decides to keep it as a surname. Two months later, D.R.I. performed his first concert at Houston's Joe Star Omni. From then on, everything goes on. Between 6 and 7 November, the band recorded its first ep, entitled Dirty Rotten ep, with 22 songs lasting 18 minutes. The thousands of copies in a hurry are so successful that a reprint is needed.
Probably considering that the Texas scene does not offer a most hectic life in hardcore, D.R.I. decides to emigrate to San Francisco. The quartet lives there for a while in a van-kitchenette between shows. Soon tired of this life, Dennis Johnson packs his bags and returns to Texas. Sebastian Amok is the bass player for D.R.I.'s first Dead Kennedy tour during the Rock Against Reagan Tour. As early as 1984, the group entered a quasi-permanent turn over phase. D.R.I. released a second 7 inches titled Violent Pacification but, after the following summer tour, faced the departure of Eric Brecht who felt the need to land after his marriage. Felix Griffin is the drummer for the album Dealing With It in 1985. The recording is made of small worries such as the departure of bassist Josh Pappe, who had initially replaced Amok at the end of the tour with the Dead Kennedys. Mikey Offender (ex-Offenders) takes over but, unable to assimilate all the bass parts in such a short time, some are supported by Spike Cassidy.
The album Crossover , released in 1987, marks a change in musical orientation. Combining hardcore and metal, the songs become longer and more complex, and D.R.I. is bombarded by the "greater crossover group" press of the moment. The concerts bring together a strong audience of punks, skinheads and metal fans. This album offers Texas an unexpected notoriety. A video entitled Live at the Ritz was recorded on 27 June during the Crossover Tour and the same year the song "Snap" appeared on the P.E.A.C.E. compilation. As a result, the band recorded its fourth album, 4 Of A Kind . More metal than ever, the skeud is a success and D.R.I. , solicited from all sides. Thus is recorded a video clip for the title "Suit&the Tie Guy" which follows a European tour. At the end of this journey on the Old Continent, Pappe, returning in the meantime to business, leaves the group permanently and joins Gang Green. He was replaced by John Menor.
From 1989 DRI entered a more difficult phase. Thrash Zone does not achieve the expected success despite the two clips for the songs "Beneath the Wheel" and "Abduction". The band, which meanwhile recorded Griffin's departure for Rob Rampy, is still on a European tour alongside Corrosion of Conformity. Laché by Metal Blade Records, the sixth album is a bit late to release. Definition was born only in 1992 on Spike Cassidy's label, Rotten Records. D.R.I. shoots a video for the song "Acid Rain" which later appeared during an episode of Beavis & Butthead. The band then sailed for a tour with Testament. It takes three more years to see the successor of Definition come out. However, while Full Speed Ahead is his last studio appearance, D.R.I. continues to exercise his passion with varying degrees of success. In January 1996, the band toured with Acid Bath, but when they entered Canada, Spike Cassidy and Rob Rampy experienced a number of problems that required D.R.I. to cancel all of his Canadian dates. These inconveniences do not prevent the texans from returning to the road between 1997 and 2000. They can be found in Europe, South America, and D.R.I. is one of the headlines that make up the Social Chaos Tour. Meanwhile, Chumly, who had replaced John Menor, gave his place to Harald Oimoen, the band's roadie for years.
Although the latest album dates back to 1996, D.R.I. is still active, faithful to the hardcore spirit that accompanies them since their beginnings.