Ration Reality

ЯR             September’s Official Band: The Dead 50s             ЯR

I wear my pride on the inside, and I wear my coat when it’s cold.
Don’t mind my striped tube socks. It’s only harmless fun.
-Short Bus, The Dead 50s

The Dead 50s are one of those glorious, ragged, road-weathered rock ‘n’ roll bands that can kick your everlovin’ ass and make you smile while they do it. This punky, hard-rocking juggernaut is comprised of three irrepressible, beer-swillin’, greaseburger-eatin’, working class road-whores from the fuckin’ KeyStone State; hard luck heroes for whom Pabst Blue Ribbon is “the good stuff” and Johnny Cash is as punk rock as Social Distortion or The Bouncing Souls. You got a problem with that? Good. D5 are led by proud paddy Chris Moody on the mic and the lead guitar, with his sometime-college student brother R.J. pounding the drums and a revolving door of the best bassists South-Central PA can belch forth to hold down the bottom end.

You’re My Buddy

The original concept of the band literally came to Moody in a dream in which the frontman saw and heard himself playing with his ideal band, only they were playing 50s music…and they were rotting corpses–hence the name. (Did I mention that they grew up in the shadow of Three Mile Island?) The Dead 50s’ punk/metal/psychobilly rock sound draws a pretty diverse fan base, including the Doc Martens brigade, biker beards, hair farmers, greasers, anarcho-squatters, porn stars, serial killers, and keyword spammers. They’ve gotten high praise from journalists, fans and peers, alike. Still, they don’t take themselves so seriously that they won’t, for instance, release an EP called Drunk, Perverted, Semi-Educated Rednecks .To top it all off, the ’50s have taken the music industry on and won: after 3 full length releases, countless tours and a worldwide recording contract, the Dead 50s got tired of corporate politics, being constantly separated from their families and, especially, getting ripped-off like the young artists they were. Now, they release their own CDs, book the dates and venues they  want to play and call their own shots, in general. What could be more “punk” than that?

Poopstache

If you need any further convincing as to why The Dead 50s should be named Ration Reality’s Band of the Month for September, simply listen to their lighthearted ode to overdose, “Slam-bang” and watch their awesomely-low budget video for “Buddy”, the All-American story of a loser and his beer, then buy their entire back catalog and then fly to Harrisburg, look them up and thank them, personally, for restoring your faith in rock! Trust me.

Bastard on Wheels - live

 live in Harrisburg

The Dead 50s will have a new 5-song EP, jam-packed with crunchy goodness, available by New Years. Buy it, motherfuckers!

myspace.com/dead50s - groups.myspace.com/dead50s
Hear it free @ emusic - The Only Switch I Need for sale at CDBaby

Previous Bands of the Month: Cover your eyes, it’s Sullivan! - Craptain Jack and the Shmees