Dust for Life
Encyclopedia
Formation and Initial Success
After the dissolution of the Memphis grunge band Bacchanal, Jason Hughes recruited three members from the local Memphis rock band Spaceman to form DFL. Chris Gavin of the band Burning Blue was added and became the second main songwriter of the group.In late 1999, DFL self-released a nine-track eponymous album. Then in April 2000, DFL recorded four songs ("Step into the Light," "Dirt into Dust," "Dragonfly," " and "Where the Freaks Go") at Ardent Studios. This demo was overnighted to Jeff Hanson, manager of the band Creed, and they were subsequently signed to Wind-Up Records
Wind-Up Records
Wind-up Entertainment, Inc. is a record label based in New York City. It was formed in 1997 by Alan Meltzer, former owner of CD One Stop, following his 1996 purchase of Grass Records. Wind-up is currently the largest independently-owned record label in the world...
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In October 2000, DFL released another eponymous album (containing two re-recorded songs from their 1999 release). The album reached #26 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. Two singles from the album also charted. Shortly after, DFL's drummer left and joined the band Course of Nature
Course of Nature
Course of Nature is an alternative rock band formed in Enterprise, Alabama in 2001, and now based in Los Angeles. The band was co-founded by lead singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Wilkerson, and currently includes Sean Kipe , Jackson Eppley and Shane Lenzen O'Connell .-History:Before Course Of...
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Touring And Troubles
For much of 2001, DFL toured with Creed, 3 Doors Down3 Doors Down
3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa formed in 1996. The band consists of Brad Arnold , Matt Roberts , Todd Harrell , Chris Henderson , and Greg Upchurch ....
, The Cult
The Cult
The Cult are a British rock band that was formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love...
, Tantric
Tantric (band)
Tantric is a rock band from Louisville, Kentucky. The group has released four studio albums since 2001; although, their last two albums only retain Tantric's original singer, Hugo Ferreira...
, Disturbed, Orgy
Orgy (band)
Orgy is an American synth rock band formed in 1996, from Los Angeles, California. Orgy described their music as "death pop".-History:Orgy was formed in 1996 by vocalist Jay Gordon and guitarist Ryan Shuck. Bassist Paige Haley, guitarist Amir Derakh, and drummer Bobby Hewitt soon completed the line-up...
, Cold
Cold (band)
Cold is an American post-grunge band, formed in 1996 in Jacksonville, Florida. With two gold-albums Cold has sold over 1.2 million records in the US alone. On November 17, 2006, Ward announced on MySpace that, after a period of uncertainty since that February, the group had decided to disband. In...
and Saliva
Saliva (band)
Saliva is an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in September 1996 and currently under Island Records. Saliva released their self-titled debut album on August 26, 1997, under Rocking Chair Records....
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In May 2001, DFL discovered its publishing money had been spent frivolously by their management and subsequently released the company. In July, they parted ways with Wind-Up Records due to contractual elements not being honored. At the end of the year, Jason Hughes also released an album with the band Third Harmonic Distortion. In early 2002, DFL embarked upon a headlining national tour with Tantric
Tantric (band)
Tantric is a rock band from Louisville, Kentucky. The group has released four studio albums since 2001; although, their last two albums only retain Tantric's original singer, Hugo Ferreira...
. The song "Poison" was used in the movie Dragonball Z Cooler's Revenge
Cooler's Revenge
Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge, also known by its Japanese title , or by Toei's own English title The Strongest Rivals , is the fifth Dragon Ball Z feature movie, originally released in Japan on July 20, 1991 at the Toei Anime Fair along with the second Magical Tarurūto-kun movie and the first...
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Separate Ways & Reformation
After taking a break, the band's two primary songwriters (Hughes and Gavin) began work on the band's next release in July 2003. Later that year, DFL self-released an eight-song EP titled Degrees of Black.Eventually DFL went on an indefinite hiatus. Chris Gavin formed the band Memphis Sound. Vocalist Jason Hughes formed the band Dark Things with Saving Abel
Saving Abel
Saving Abel is a American rock music group from Corinth, Mississippi, who were started in 2004 by Jared Weeks and Jason Null. The band title is from the ancient biblical story of Cain and Abel, that is about a brother who killed his own brother...
guitarist Scott Bartlett in late 2006 with the intention of releasing an album on Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. Yet the project never came to fruition. Instead, Hughes and Gavin announced on their MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
in 2007 that DFL was to begin recording new material. In April 2008, the band released The Consequence Of Vanishing. Scott Bartlett was featured on the album. Hughes announced a line of clothing based on the title of the song "Dark Things Betray". The song "Release The Flood" was used by TNA Wrestling as the theme song for Slammiversary (2008)
Slammiversary (2008)
Slammiversary was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on June 8, 2008 from the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi. It was the fourth event under the Slammiversary chronology and marked the sixth anniversary of the...
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Another Indefinite Hiatus
In 2009, Jason Hughes released an album with the band Driving Eternity. The band changed its name to Driving Into Eternity and released a 5 song EP in 2010. In 2011, they signed with Jeff HansonJeff Hanson
Jeff Hanson was a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist whose voice was described in a 2005 Paste review as an "angelic falsetto, a cross between Alison Krauss and Art Garfunkel that is often mistaken for a female contralto."-Biography:Hanson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
's Silent Majority Group
Silent Majority Group
Silent Majority Group is a record label founded in 2006 by artist manager Jeff Hanson that concentrates on finding up-and-coming rock bands such as Framing Hanley, as well as providing a home for established acts such as Candlebox and Tantric. The label also provides artist and producer management...
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Chris Gavin currently plays in the bands Kings Trio, White Noise Theory, and the cover band Hi-Fi Allstars.
DFL is presumably on another indefinite hiatus as their current projects list them as former members of DFL and dustforlifemusic.com is inactive.
Discography
- Dust For Life (1999) Reach Out
- Dust For Life (2000) Wind-Up
- Degrees of Black (2003) Self-Released
- The Consequence Of Vanishing (2008) Self-Released
Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Modern Rock | U.S. Mainstream Rock | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "Step Into the Light" | 22 | 16 | Dust for Life |
| 2001 | "Seed" | - | 39 | Dust for Life |
| 2003 | "Comedown" | - | - | Degrees of Black |
| 2003 | "For You" | - | - | Degrees of Black |
| 2008 | "Dark Things Betray" | - | - | The Consequence Of Vanishing |
| 2008 | "Gold Dust" | - | - | The Consequence Of Vanishing |