So I am slacking on updating here with good quality reading material. My apologies. It was Thanksgiving weekend you know…. I know not a good enough excuse…
Anyways, let’s talk about the gem I came across recently, rather…a few weeks ago. Well actually let’s clear that up by saying my friend John hooked me up with a CD I loved from the past (read on for an explanation) so I guess I was handed the gem.
Where was I? Oh yeah…
It all started when I tried to buy a CD from the Ex-(we’d never fire you after xmas)-change in Kent last month. I was looking for something I have not listened to in a while, something completely random. As I was shopping in Kent I could not help but to think of a certain alt-industrial act from Kent that had a small taste of success. The band was Dink.
As soon as I came to the decision that I would leave that music shop with a Dink CD in hand I went searching for it and found nothing. The CD that comes through the store a lot according to a certain pal who works there just ao happened to be out of stock at the time. I managed to find the Blame It On Tito EP that Dink released but after getting home I realized the wrong CD was in it…
Fail.
My buddy John who hung out with me later in the week confessed that he had an extra copy of the CD and gave it to me after finding out I was having a hard time finding it.
Score.
Dink was not around for a very long time but they sure are not a band many have forgotten about. Hailing from Kent, OH the band formed in 1992 and stood out from may of the bands at that time combining elements of industrial metal, hip hop style (mainly excessive samples), and alt punk sounds.
The first time I heard them I was an instant fan. In 1994 the band released their debut self-titled CD under Capitol Records. To me it was a fine mix of bands like Ministry with the industrial feel and Faith No More with the rock jam. At times the lead singer even sang like Mike Patton.
Included on that CD was a song called “Green Mind” that was the band’s big commercial hit. I to this day still listen to the track once in a while. The song, produced by Skinny Puppy‘s Dave Ogilvie, was really the only success the band tasted. The video for “Green Mind”, which I need to mention my good friend Kevin can be seen in it for a brief moment, debuted on MTV’s 120 Minutes. The band was actually discovered by Capitol Records as the track was played contently on a Cleveland radio station program, 107.9 The End’s Inner Sanctum (recently resurrected on Cleveland’s 92.3).
After Dink was released the band recorded some more songs for a follow up CD that would never be released as Capitol Records dropped the band due to a change in the music scene (some of the tracks can be found on the Blame It On Tito EP). Industrial apparently was not “in” anymore and the record label said bye bye to the talented band. With no record deal the band called it quits.
Sucks to see such a talented band just stop because they were let go. I would be very interested in hearing some of the unreleased material that may still be out there. Rumor has it there are 3 cassettes worth of demos floating around out there that the band sold at their local shows before they made it big. I wonder if any of the original band members continued with a musical career or if they just all called it quits and ended their short stint of fame?
Hopefully I will find out one day.
Until then, enjoy the “Green Mind” video:
The voice at the beginning of the video is none other than Ohio’s most overheard rightwing car salesman Bob Serpentini.
Here is an interview I found while surfing the net with an unamed member of Dink. Pretty interesting read.
