Dance Hall Crashers
{{Short description|American ska punk band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Dance Hall Crashers
| image = Dance Hall Crashers at The Masquerade in Atlanta, GA in 1998 (4847183491).jpg
| image_size = 150
| caption = Lead singers Karina Deniké (foreground) and Elyse Rogers (1998)
| alias = DHC
| origin = Berkeley, California, United States
| years_active = 1989–1990; 1992–2004; 2025–present
| label = Moon Ska, MCA, Pink and Black
| associated_acts = Operation Ivy, Rancid, Screw 32, Limp, NOFX
| current_members = Elyse Rogers
Karina Deniké
Jason Hammon
Mikey Weiss
Gavin Hammon
| past_members = Andrew Champion
Scott Goodell
Ingrid Jonsson
Leland McNeely
Tim Armstrong
Matt Freeman
Joel Wing
Erik Larsen aka Erik Kolacek
Joey Schaaf
J. Grant Mcintire
Alex Baker
Dean Olmstead
Dave Camp
John Pantle
Mason St. Peters
Mike Park
}}
Dance Hall Crashers (often abbreviated to DHC) is an American ska punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Initially founded by former Operation Ivy members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, the band has had a fluid lineup over its career, with the most recent lineup (last active in 2004) includes Elyse Rogers and Karina Deniké{{efn|group=main|name=KARINA_NAME|Known as Karina Schwarz prior to 1995.{{cite interview|url=http://crashers.com/inter.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981205171857/http://crashers.com/inter.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=1998-12-05|interviewer=Aaron Wolfe|title=Aaron Wolfe and the DHC #2|subject=Elyse Rogers, Karina Deniké, Mikey Weiss, Phil Ensor, Gavin Hammon|date=December 5, 1998|website=crashers.com|via=Wayback Machine}}
See also: [https://web.archive.org/web/19981201035359/http://www.dancehallcrashers.com/articles.html Dance Hall Crashers (Articles)]}} on vocals, brothers Jason Hammon and Gavin Hammon on guitar and drums respectively, and Mikey Weiss on bass. They have released four studio albums, highlighted by the 1995 release Lockjaw which featured the minor hit song "Enough", produced by Rob Cavallo and featured in the film Angus.
Biography
=Early years=
The original incarnation of the Dance Hall Crashers (named after the Alton Ellis song "Dance Crasher") was formed in 1989 by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong, formerly of the seminal Bay Area ska-punk band Operation Ivy,{{cite web |url=http://larrylivermore.com/2012/03/15/scene-of-the-crime/ |title=Scene Of The Crime |author=Livermore, Larry |date=15 March 2012 |publisher=Larry Livermore [blog] |access-date=6 July 2018}} after both musicians expressed an interest in starting a band rooted in more traditional ska and rocksteady than what they had been playing with Operation Ivy. The first line-up featured Armstrong on vocals and Freeman on guitar, as well as drummer Erik Larsen (whom they specifically lured away from a rocksteady band called "The Liquidators"). The band also featured keyboardist Joey Schaaf, vocalists Ingrid Jonsson and Andrew Champion, guitarist Grant McIntire, and bassist Joel Wing.
The band experimented with various songs and styles until they played their first show at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley in 1989. Shortly after their debut, however, Freeman and Armstrong left to pursue other interests, mainly another punk-based ska project called Downfall.
After numerous membership changes which eventually left only the original drummer Larsen and bassist Wing, DHC solidified a line-up with dual vocalists Karina Schwarz and Elyse Rogers, guitarists Jason Hammon and Jaime McCormick, and drummer Gavin Hammon (Jason's brother). Following a period of steady gigging, DHC finally caught a break after being booked at an all-ska Earth Day festival at Berkeley's Greek Theatre in 1990, opening for Bad Manners. During this time they would occasionally open for The Toasters playing alongside other up-and-coming ska bands, including Let's Go Bowling.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/la-weekly-la-weekly-calendar-march-8-1/157098930/|title=LA Weekly Calendar (March 8, 1990)|date=March 8, 1990|newspaper=LA Weekly|page=86|access-date=October 13, 2024|via=newspapers.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-exhibits/157099006/|title=Exhibits|date=December 23, 1990|newspaper=The San Francisco Examiner|page=163|access-date=October 13, 2024|via=newspapers.com}} That year, the band recorded their debut album for Moon Ska Records, though trouble within the band led to a break-up soon after.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-01-13-ca-24301-story.html |title=Crashers' Course: Dance Hall's Path Furthers Young America's Education in a Hybrid of Ska-Pop-Punk |author=Boehm, Mike |date=January 13, 1996 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=9 July 2018}} Elyse Rogers revealed in a 1993 interview with the Honolulu Star-Bulletin prior to a show in Hawaii that part of the reason for the band's breakup was a result of much of the band being under 21 years of age at that time, which prohibited those members from leaving the backstage area during shows.{{Cite web|last=Berger|first=John|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-bulletin-ska-band-skates-o/157100017/|title=Ska Band Skates on Harder Age|date=March 18, 1993|newspaper=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|pages=33, 35|access-date=October 14, 2024|via=newspapers.com}}
[https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-bulletin-ska-band-skates-o/157100051/ Page 35]
=Breakthrough=
Their debut album became a word-of-mouth underground hit even with the band disbanded, and the group reunited in 1991 at Slim's for a sold-out performance. In 1992, bowing to fan pressure, DHC reunited for a one-off series of gigs (occasionally playing alongside Hepcat),{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-333-eleventh/157099439/|title=333 Eleventh Street (Show Schedule)|date=June 14, 1992|newspaper=The San Francisco Examiner|page=220|access-date=October 14, 2024|via=newspapers.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-connicks-25-and/157099497/|title=Connick's '25' and 'Eleven' Dragged Down by His 88s|date=November 22, 1992|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|page=204|access-date=October 14, 2024|via=newspapers.com}} but after the positive response to their performance, the band chose to reform on a permanent basis. In 1993, to commemorate their reunion, Moon Records released a CD compilation of the band's entire body of work from 1989 to 1992, appropriately titled 1989–1992. The August 1993 lineup consisted of co-vocalists Elyse Rogers and Karina Schwarz, Jason Hammon and Scott Goodell on guitar and saxist Dean Olmstead; Rogers was also serving as Hepcat’s manager.{{Cite news|last=Kehrer|first=Bobb|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-belleville-news-democrat-havent-hea/157159532/|title=Haven't Heard Ska? Check Out the Dance Hall Crashers|date=August 11, 1993|newspaper=The Belleville News-Democrat|location=Belleville, IL|page=22|access-date=October 14, 2024|via=newspapers.com}} A revised lineup in April 1994 added Jason Hammon's brother Gavin on drums, Mikey Weiss (drums), plus John Pantle and Mason St. Peters (horn section). "Go", which would later be incorporated into Lockjaw, was released exclusively to Hawaii in early-1994 as a cassette single.
As the band began touring nationally by the mid-1990s, the line-up changed once again, now featuring Rogers, Denike, Hammon, his brother Gavin Hammon on drums, guitarist Scott Goodell and bassist Mikey Weiss. In 1995, DHC were the very first group signed to MCA Records subsidiary 510 records, and issued their second LP Lockjaw the same year.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZHP-r9-eqdAC&pg=PA314 |title=Alternative Rock |pages=314–315 |author=Thompson, Dave |publisher=Miller Freeman Books |isbn=0-87930-607-6 |location=San Francisco |date=2000 |access-date=9 July 2018}} Lockjaw was the first DHC release without a horn section, and had a harder, guitar-driven pop punk sound than the band's prior recordings. The album's single, "Enough", was featured on the soundtrack to the film Angus, and the accompanying music video received moderate airplay on MTV's 120 Minutes. Weiss recalls that he was working in a record store when Lockjaw was released; curious customers would ask about the band or their sound, and the other employees would point him out as the bass player.{{cite interview |url=http://www.radcyberzine.com/text/interviews/DHC.int.3b.html |title=Dance Hall Crashers |subject=Jason Hammon, Elyse Rogers, and Mikey Weiss |interviewer=Jeff Jolley |date=1995 |publisher=Rational Alternative Digital |access-date=6 July 2018}}
A re-issue of 1989–1992 was released as The Old Record in late 1996 on Fat Wreck Chords' Honest Don's label. DHC's second MCA record, Honey, I'm Homely!, was released in 1997. This proved to be the band's breakthrough album, peaking at No. 22 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers.{{Cite web |last=PolyGram Records, Inc. |date=October 4, 1997 |title=Billboard (October 4, 1997) |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1997/Billboard-1997-10-04-B.pdf |website=worldradiohistory.com |page=30}} The leading singles "Lost Again" and "Mr. Blue" enjoyed steady rotation on local and college radio stations across the United States, and music videos were filmed for both tracks.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em20dRxxE-E |title=Dance Hall Crashers - Lost Again |date=August 27, 2024 |last= |type=Video |access-date=2025-01-03 |via=YouTube.com}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKra78u4dLI |title=Dance Hall Crashers - Mr. Blue |date=November 21, 2011 |last=Carnahan |first=Heith |type=Video |access-date=2025-01-03 |via=YouTube.com}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JsWtnI9zp4 |title=Dance Hall Crashers / Elyse Interview on KROQ 1998 |date=June 14, 2020 |last=AskConsigliere |type=Video |access-date=2025-01-03 |via=YouTube.com}}
The band toured extensively throughout the mid to late 1990s, both as a headliner and opening for bands such as The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Bad Religion,{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-review-herald-dancehall-sic-crashe/157224561/|title=Dancehall (sic) Crashers Breeze Into Town for All-Age Concert|date=January 22, 1997|newspaper=The Review-Herald|page=27|access-date=October 15, 2024|via=newspapers.com}} and The Lemons.{{Cite news |last=Lencioni |first=Marisa |date=June 4, 1996 |title=Lemons' New Twist |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-tribune-lemons-new-twist/157224163/ |access-date=October 15, 2024 |work=The News Tribune |pages=45, 46 |via=newspapers.com}}
[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-tribune-lemons-new-twist-cont/157224197/ Page 46] In addition, the band played festivals such as the Warped Tour and Lilith Fair. Due to the heavy touring schedule, Scott Goodell bowed out from his guitar duties in 1996; the band asked Phil Ensor from Limp and later, Billy Bouchard to stand in for live shows until the need for a second guitarist was nixed and Hammon handled all guitar parts himself.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}
=Hiatus and reunions=
In 1998, DHC released their last release with MCA, the EP Blue Plate Special. The EP contained a short collection of songs recorded for other compilations/soundtracks, unreleased and remixed material, and a CD-ROM of photos and the band's four music videos. In 1999, the band signed with independent label Pink and Black Records, releasing their fourth LP Purr in 1999{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-nov-05-me-30315-story.html |title=Lauging the Blues |author=Locey, Bill |date=5 November 1999 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=9 July 2018}} and the live album The Live Record: Witless Banter and 25 Mildly Antagonistic Songs About Love in 2000.{{cite interview |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-07-me-16901-story.html |title=With Female Flair |subject=Elyse Rogers |interviewer=Bill Locey |work=Los Angeles Times |date=7 April 2000 |access-date=9 July 2018}}{{efn|group=main|name=LIVE_RECORD|Recorded at The Troubadour in November 1999{{Cite web|last=Baron|first=Neil|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/reno-gazette-journal-crashing-the-hilton/157600549/|title=Crashing the Hilton|date=January 7, 2000|newspaper=Reno Gazette-Journal|page=77|access-date=October 21, 2024|via=newspapers.com}}}}
DHC started playing less frequently in the early 2000s as band members either pursued higher education or moved on with their careers outside the band. They limited their performances to West Coast and Hawaiian shows and occasional appearances at events such as the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.{{Cite news |last=Chun |first=Gary C.W. |date=December 28, 2001 |title=Spunky Ska Troupe Recalls Carefree '90s |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-bulletin-spunky-ska-troupe/157783935/ |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |page=79 |via=newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |last=Catlin |first=Roger |date=February 7, 2002 |title=Music to Fan Olympic Flames |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/hartford-courant-music-to-fan-olympic-fl/157784281/ |work=Hartford Courant |pages=41, 42 |via=newspapers.com}}
[https://www.newspapers.com/article/hartford-courant-music-to-fan-olympic-fl/157784309/ Page 42]{{Cite news |last=Paiva |first=Derek |date=October 17, 2003 |title=Crash Landing |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-advertiser-crash-landing/157784840/ |work=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |pages=106, 107 |via=newspapers.com}}
[https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-advertiser-crashers-skap/157784884/ Page 107] In November 2004, the band recorded a show at the Hollywood House of Blues which was later released on DVD by Kung Fu Records as part of their The Show Must Go Off! series.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}
= 2025 reunion =
On January 26, 2025, DHC’s official Facebook account posted a reel with the Indian-head test pattern “Please Stand By” test card (featuring their black and white logo) with “Arrived” by CYoung playing in the background.{{Cite web |last=Dance Hall Crashers |date=January 26, 2025 |title=Please Stand By (Facebook Post) |url=https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Awdb9vrhX/? |website=Facebook.com}} The following day, January 27, a teaser video featuring Kevin Lyman and Elyse Rogers revealed that the band would be playing at the Vans Warped Tour in Washington, DC, and Long Beach, CA, later in 2025, ending a 21-year hiatus for the band.{{Cite web |last=Lyman |first=Kevin |last2=Rogers |first2=Elyse |date=January 27, 2025 |title=Facebook Post (01/27/2025) |url=https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AiofykL38/? |website=Facebook.com}} Karina Deniké announced in a video on January 28 that DHC would also be performing a show at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on June 7. The official announcement also stated that no more shows would be added, saying "If you are waiting for more announcements, they will not be coming. No other festivals, not (sic) other cities."{{Cite web |last=Deniké |first=Karina |date=January 28, 2025 |title=Exclusive Headline Show Announcement (Facebook video) |url=https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1E5ScHHUyB/?mibextid=wwXIfr |website=Facebook.com}} However, a second show was added at the same venue on June 6 in an announcement made on the band's official social media accounts.{{Cite web |last=Dance Hall Crashers |date=January 30, 2025 |title=Dance Hall Crashers–Great American Music Hall–June 6 & June 7 |url=https://www.facebook.com/dancehallcrashersofficial/videos/643341574780605 |website=Facebook.com}} DHC will host a concert with Hepcat on September 13 at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA.{{Cite web |last=Kohler |first=Eric |date=April 30, 2025 |title=House of Blues Anaheim Concert Announcement |url=https://www.facebook.com/dancehallcrashersofficial/posts/pfbid0eoX5JWfnsewjhi3QiBsFB8NyQCuCh9uYnJ63ndPUusBBWeVdz6CEpZ4VC47VWVyZl |website=Facebook.com}} They were announced in April 2025 as one of the bands to be performing at Riot Fest in Chicago, which is from September 19-21, on the last day of the event.{{Cite web |last=Koval |first=Andy |date=April 23, 2025 |title=Green Day, Blink-182, Jack White Among 2025 Riot Fest Headliners; Lineup Released |url=https://wgntv.com/news/deans-list/green-day-blink-182-jack-white-among-2025-riot-fest-headliners-lineup-released/ |access-date=April 23, 2025 |website=wgntv.com}}{{Cite web |last=Dance Hall Crashers |date=May 15, 2025 |title=Riot Fest Update Announcement |url=https://www.facebook.com/dancehallcrashersofficial/posts/pfbid0215Gx1fnXYEqcjZLcMZga5driWQD1NH2tuCp3ipR587GvTS8RwmkJ4DcYZGRqj2tMl |website=Facebook.com}}
References in popular culture
Multiple Dance Hall Crashers songs have been featured in movies/films:
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Song !Album !Movie !Reference |
| "Enough" |
| "Don't Wanna Behave" |
| "I Want It All" |
| "She's Trying"
|Blue Plate Special |The Show |
| "Lady Luck"
|Blue Plate Special |
Members
=Current=
- Elyse Rogers – vocals, manager
- Karina Deniké – vocals
- Jason Hammon – guitar
- Mikey Weiss – bass
- Gavin Hammon – drums
=Former=
- Mat Snyder – trombone{{Cite web |title=Dance Hall Crashers – 1989-1992 |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/1674092-Dance-Hall-Crashers-1989-1992 |website=discogs.com}}
- Trombone Matt – trombone
- Tim Armstrong – vocals
- Andrew "Andrew Champion" Ataie – vocals
- J. Grant McIntire – guitar
- Alex Baker – bass
- Phil Ensor – guitar
- Billy Bouchard – guitar
- Matt Freeman – vocals, bass
- Scott Goodell – guitar
- Jeremy Goody – trumpet
- Damien Rasmussen – percussion
- Ingrid Jonsson – vocals
- Erik Larsen, aka Erik Kolacek – drums
- Jaime McCormick – guitar
- Leland McNeely
- Gavin DiStasi – trumpet
- Dave Camp† – guitar
- Joey Schaaf – keyboard
- Joel Wing – bass
- Harvey Hawks – trumpet
- Kincaid Smith – trumpet
- Jason Bermak – saxophone
- Efren Santana – saxophone
- Joshi Marshall – saxophone
- Matt Morrish – saxophone
- Dean Olmstead – saxophone
- John Pantle - horns{{Cite web|last=Berger|first=John|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-bulletin-crash-and-yearn/157160842/|title=Crash and Yearn|date=April 1, 1994|newspaper=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|page=17|access-date=October 14, 2024|via=newspapers.com}}
- Mason St. Peters - horns
- Mike Park - horns{{cite interview |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnv3Ngf1NNs |title=Ep. 40: Karina Deniké Discusses Dance Hall Crashers "Go" - YouTube |subject=Karina Deniké |interviewer=Chris DeMakes (Less Than Jake) |website=YouTube.com |date=October 3, 2023 |access-date=October 19, 2024}}
- T-Bone Willy - horns
Discography
=Studio albums=
- Dance Hall Crashers (1990), Moon Records
- Lockjaw (1995), MCA Records
- Honey, I'm Homely! (1997), MCA
- Purr (1999), Pink and Black
=EPs=
- Blue Plate Special EP (1998), MCA
=Live albums=
- The Live Record: Witless Banter & 25 Mildly Antagonistic Songs About Love (2000), Pink and Black{{efn|group=main|name=LIVE_RECORD}}
- Live at the House of Blues (2005), (The Show Must Go Off! live DVD)
=Compilations=
- 1989–1992 (1993), Moon Records (includes most of contents of first two releases, and some single/compilation material)
- The Old Record (1996), Honest Don's Records (reprint of 1989–1992 with the song "Time To Ease Up" excluded)
=Demos=
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p169390}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070809021719/http://www.loudrockmusic.com/Pages/JSbio.htm Joey Schaaf, a Musical biography] at LoudRockMusic.com
- {{cite news |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1326/dance-hall-crashers-set-the-record-straight/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707010024/http://www.mtv.com/news/1326/dance-hall-crashers-set-the-record-straight/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 7, 2018 |title=Dance Hall Crashers set the record straight |author=Lee, Laura |date=24 September 1997 |work=MTV news |access-date=6 July 2018}}
=Reviews=
- {{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-05-08-ca-63710-story.html |title=O.C. POP MUSIC REVIEW : Trying to Rise Above It : Instances of Idiocy Mar Well-Staged 'Board in O.C.' Punk-Skate Event |author=Boehm, Mike |date=8 May 1995 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=9 July 2018}}
- {{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-01-16-ca-25224-story.html |title=Dance Hall Filled With Intensity and a Lot of Fun |author=Roos, John |date=16 January 1996 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=9 July 2018}}
- {{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-12-31-ca-14285-story.html |title=Enthusiastic Dance Hall Crashers at Palace |author=Scribner, Sara |date=31 December 1996 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=9 July 2018}}
- {{cite news |url=http://www.dallasobserver.com/music/dance-hall-crashers-6397051 |title=Dance Hall Crashers |author=Crain, Zac |date=7 October 1999 |newspaper=Dallas Observer |access-date=6 July 2018}}
- {{cite news |url=https://www.avclub.com/dance-hall-crashers-honey-im-homely-1798196772 |title=Dance Hall Crashers: Honey, I'm Homely! |author=Thompson, Stephen |date=19 April 2002 |work=The A.V. Club |access-date=6 July 2018}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Musical groups established in 1989
Category:Musical groups from Berkeley, California
Category:American ska punk musical groups