Dirty Pictures
Dirty Pictures (stylized as dirty pictures) is a punk rock band formed in 1992 in Prague, Czechoslovakia.[1][2]
After parting ways with his New York–based band, The Cockles, vocalist/guitarist Huckleberry Dirt (James Donahower)[1][3] moved to Czechoslovakia and joined forces with bassist Zdeněk Marek and drummer The Walking Fly (Pavel Špaček), Czech musicians who had previously played together in Ticha Dohoda and 77 Betlémů.[1][4]
The band played its inaugural concert on 11 December 1992 at the club U Zoufalců[5][6][1][7]. In February 1993, they recorded a four-song demo[1][7] that caught the attention of Vladimir Vintr and Pavel Holý[7] of Bengal Records (a sub-label of Panton Records)[3][8], who signed the band to a record deal in April 1993[1].
In April and May 1993, Dirty Pictures competed in the first-ever “Marlboro Rock In.” Nearly six hundred bands entered the competition, from which a jury selected twelve semifinalists. The band ultimately took second place at the final in Prague’s Lucerna Palace[9][10].
The band recorded its debut album, Escape from Sloppy Lake, in 1993 at Studio West in [[Plzeň][7]][1]; it was released in January 1994[11][12] and produced by Eric Grossman[13][14]. The record’s title is a reference to Slapy Reservoir.
Two songs from Escape from Sloppy Lake, “Custom Auto” and “Don’t Be a Slut”, appeared on Czech radio charts in 1994[15][16][17].
In the autumn of 1993, while the record remained in production, the band released a video for the third song on the album, “Custom Auto”, and it was picked up by MTV[4][1]. In 1994, the band became the first Czech group to have a video selected for MTV Europe’s 120 Minutes “Best Of” compilation[13][18][13].
The Czech music press responded positively to the band, with multiple publications praising its melodic songwriting and hip-hop-infused punk energy[6][3][19]. One writer said the music “strongly hits the dance nerve”[20], while another highlighted the "epic" lyrics as “entirely stripped of pomp and artificial profundity.”[1] A March 1994 review called the album “one of the highest quality rock records created on Czech soil.”[3]
Dirty Pictures also performed in Germany and other European countries.[20][6][21][22]
Joe Strummer, a fan of Escape from Sloppy Lake.[23][24], joined Dirty Pictures for a set of Clash songs at the Rock for Refugees benefit concert in Prague’s Obecní dům on 14 April 1994[25][26][27]. Organized by the band, their manager Kyle Carmone[6][24], and the OPU (Organizace pro Pomoc Uprchlíkům)[28][24] , the event featured more than 20 acts[29][22] and raised funds for refugees from the former Yugoslavia[30][24].
In 1995, Dirty Pictures released a final EP before disbanding.[30]
They reformed to play a reunion show at Rock Café in Prague on 14 September 2013, with the three founding members joined onstage by Eric Grossman on guitar.[13][30]
The band reunited again in 2015 for several shows in the Czech Republic, with Lukáš Vincour replacing Špaček on drums.[30]
That same year, the band released its first new recording in 20 years, the single “Letiště”, which featured Huck Dirt singing in Czech. [18][30]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Koral, Petr (March 14, 1994). ""Útěk ze spárů tuctovosti."". Rock & Pop.
- ↑ Staff writer, Staff writer (April 1994). ""Hudební Hromobití"". Elle.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Vlasák, Vladimír (March 14, 1994). ""Energie Dirty Pictures"". Lidové Noviny.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Rychetsky, Jan (February 8, 1994). ""Chyby v angličtině se Špinavému obrázku nelíbi"". Česky Denik.
- ↑ U Zoufalců, December 1992 official calendar
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Milec, Oldrich (September 21, 1993). ""Pravidost sprostých obrázků"". Bang!. p. 24.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Špulák, Jaroslav (March 9, 1994). ""Přes to všechno být prvni"". Bang!. p. 14.
- ↑ Rychetsky, Jan (February 8, 1994). ""Chyby v angličtině se Špinavému obrázku nelíbi"". Česky Denik.
- ↑ Příborská, Michaela (May 18, 1994). ""V Lucerně za dolary"". Telegraf, May 18, 1994.
- ↑ Bachorikova, Ivana (April 26, 1993). ""Vyhrála česko-americká kapela"". Blesk. p. 13.
- ↑ Špulák, Jaroslav (February 9, 1994). "Escape from Sloppy Lake". Bang!. pp. 14 (in Czech).
- ↑ Staff writer (February 2, 1994). "Dirty pictures na trhu". Bang!.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Klose, Michaela (September 15, 2013). "Legenda 90. let Dirty Pictures odehraje první koncert po 20 letech". Kids & Heroes.
- ↑ Pešek, Robert (April 20, 1994). "Ohlas: Co v rozhovoru nebylo?". Bang!.
- ↑ n/a (March 23, 1994). "Domoparáda Radio Hády (Brno)". Bang!.
- ↑ n/a (March 6, 1994). "Hitparáda Radia Panag (Pardubice)". Bang!.
- ↑ n/a (April 12, 1994). "Velká Sedma česká hitparáda Radio 1 (Praha)". Bang!.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Koral, Petr (December 27, 2015). "Dirty Pictures vydali novou skladbu po dvaceti letech". iReport CZ.
- ↑ Koral, Petr (March 14, 1994). "Špinavé obrázky v čistých písničkách". Rock & Pop.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Kiefer, Andreas (1994). "They Know How to Rock". Badische Zeitung.
- ↑ Coulter, Steve (September 1993). "Dirty Pictures". Filip.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Welch, Matt (April 29, 1994). "Rock for Refugees". Prognosis.
- ↑ Staff writer (April 20, 1994). "Poklídná duše labouristova". Bang!. p. 6.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 Špulák, Jaroslav (May 4, 1994). "Hodiny s Joe Strummerem". Bang!. p. 6.
- ↑ Anthony, Lorrayne (April 20, 1994). "Rocking the Casbah for Refugees at Repre". Prague Post.
- ↑ Staff writer (April 30, 1994). "Rock for Refugees". NME (New Musical Express).
- ↑ Svamberk, Alex (April 23, 1994). "Stárnutí legendárního punkera Joe Strummera". Dnes. p. 11.
- ↑ Official OPU Press Release, April 13, 1994
- ↑ Rock for Refugees program flyer, April 1994
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 Koral, Petr (October 2020). "Zapomenuté české kapely". iReport CZ.
