The Dickies

The Dickies
The Dickies 2016 @ The Observatory
Background information
Origin	San Fernando Valley California, United States
Genres	Punk rock
Years active	1977–present
Labels	A&M, Captain Oi, Triple X, Fat Wreck Chords, Restless Brand
Website	thedickies.com
Members	Leonard Graves Phillips Stan Lee Ben David Seelig Adam Gomez Eddie Tatar
Past members	Chuck Wagon Billy Club Karlos Kaballero Jerry Angel Laurie Buhne Steve Hufsteter Anthony Tiny Biuso Scott Sindon Enoch Hain Cliff Martinez Alisa Wood Glen Laughlin Jonathan Melvoin Marc Vachon Dylan Thomas Rick Dasher Greg Hanna Travis Johnson Kris Kwiatkowski Little Dave Teague

The Dickies are an American punk rock band formed in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles in 1977. The band has consistently made use of catchy melodies, deep harmonies, and a humorous, comical style that has been called "pop-punk" or "bubble-gum punk".

The Dickies were among the first punk rock bands to emerge from Los Angeles. They formed in early 1977 after guitarist Stan Lee and bassist Billy Club saw The Damned on their first American tour. The band made their live debut at the Whisky a Go Go in September of the same year. The Dickies were the first California punk band to appear on network television (C.P.O. Sharkey), and the first California punk band to be signed to a major record label (A&M Records).

The Dickies' style is campy and humorous, influenced by The Ramones, for whom they sometimes opened in venues especially on the East coast, such as CBGB in the Bowery of NYC and across the river in the "The Showplace" Dover NJ (1978), along with the Nerds, and Nozon. This Eastern blitz made them a punk band of national recognition coming from the L.A. Scene. The Dickies are popular in the United Kingdom, and had a Top 10 single with "Banana Splits (Tra La La Song)" in 1979.

Many of their lyrics concern Southern California culture, rife with references and in-jokes; examples include songs like "Waterslide", "I'm A Chollo", "Manny, Moe, and Jack", and "(I'm Stuck in a Pagoda with) Tricia Toyota". They are also known for recording many fast-paced punk covers of classic rock songs, including The Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin," Black Sabbath's "Paranoid," The Monkees' "She," Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction," The Isley Brothers' "Nobody but Me," The Left Banke's "Pretty Ballerina," The Cowsills' "Hair", as well as the cover album Dogs from the Hare That Bit Us.