New York, NY (Top40 Charts) U.S. band
Diesel Boy has just released "Dirty Dishes," the next single off the punk favorites' upcoming album 'Gets Old' out July 28 on SBÄM Records.
Frontman Dave Lake says, ""Dirty Dishes" is a breakup song. It's about the demise of a long relationship, which left me displaced, both literally and emotionally. The breakup forced me to look hard at myself and the choices I'd made. The song is about unpacking what went wrong in the relationship while trying not to lose sight of the great things that also came out it. The third verse breakdown was a dream I had, where I was a horror movie villain. That imagery seemed like an apt metaphor for confronting the part of myself that wants to hide in the shadows. We all have dirty dishes. Hopefully they don't stack up too high."
A lot has changed since
Diesel Boy last made a record. Three presidents have been sworn in, its members made five kids, the record business collapsed, oh and there was that pesky pandemic. But after twenty years away, the beloved punk rock quartet is back with a new record, their first shows in decades, and a fresh outlook on playing music.
"In a genre of music that is over saturated with joke bands,
Diesel Boy stands above the pack." - Punknews
"The band expand the boundaries of its punk-pop sound while keeping its trademark snotty humor intact." - Allmusic
"Diesel Boy employ obscure references like they're
Thomas Pynchon." - Village Voice
Diesel Boy formed in 1993 on the campus of Sonoma
State University in California's wine country, where several members went to school. By 1996, they had generated enough of a buzz locally to become the first band signed to Fat Wreck Chords' imprint Honest Don's, releasing four albums for the label and logging tens of thousands of miles in their Ford Econoline van alongside a who's who of the era's notable punk acts.
Burned out after heavy touring, the band decided to catch their collective breath and returned to civilian life in the early 2000s, trading punk clubs and van life for marriages and mortgages. Life remained busy, but with a different set of responsibilities.
Fast forward two decades, and
Diesel Boy's members have settled comfortably into middle age. But over the pandemic, the band realized how much they missed playing together, missed connecting with their fans, who still tallied over a million streams on Spotify each year alone. Not wanting to just be a legacy act, the band decided to focus on making a new record as the vehicle for their return. Now based in Seattle, returning members
Diesel Dave (vocals and guitar) and Greg Hensley (bass) are joined by Chad Philipps (guitar) and
Christopher Thomas (drums), two rad dudes whose musical chops add new layers to the band's skate punk sound.
The quartet holed up in Christopher's basement and began assembling the dozen songs that make up their fifth album, "Gets Old," their first since 2001. Though the band's lineup has changed, the songs are classic
Diesel Boy. "Gets Old" manages a delicate high wire act, balancing the snarky and the sincere, the melodic and the muscular. The album is littered with the band's trademark pop culture references and features songs about music festival bros ("Festival Summer"), sad black metal fans ("Corpse Paint Blues"), chess-playing automatons ("The Turk"), and fellow songwriters who died too soon ("
Two Stones"). It was produced by Matt Bayles, known for his work with
Pearl Jam, Mastodon, and Botch, who leans equally into the guitar-heavy sound he is known for while flexing his pop sensibilities. The album is a whole lot of fun, showcasing a musical evolution that simultaneously picks up right where
Diesel Boy left off. The first single "Bismarck," is a pop-punk banger featuring a guest appearance by Kim Warnick of legendary Seattle band The Fastbacks.
To support the album,
Diesel Boy will hit
Europe this summer, playing the Brakrock, Punk Rock Holiday, and Tells Bells festivals, as well as several headlining shows. The band will also play stateside before they depart, with dates in their now-home of the Pacific Northwest to follow.
Tour Dates:
07.07.23 Portland, OR @ Dante's with Versus the World, Dead Bars
08.07.23 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon with Versus the World, Dead Bars
04.08.23 Duffel, B - Brakrock
05.08.23 Neunkirchen, D - Rock Your Holidays w/ Urethane & more
06.08.23 Düsseldorf, D - Pitcher w/ Versus The World
07.08.23 Berlin, D - SO36 w/ Good Riddance
08.08.23 München, D - Unter Deck w/ Shöck
09.08.23 Wien, A - Rhiz w/ Versus The World
10.08.23 Tolmin, SLO - Punkrock Holiday
11.08.23 Villmar, D - Tells Bells Festival
12.08.23 Stuttgart, D - Goldmarks w/ Urethane
