The Connie Dungs
Encyclopedia
The Connie Dungs were an American
punk rock
band from Ashland, Kentucky
, formed in 1994. The core of the group is composed of Brandon Tussey and brothers Chris Griffith and Wayne Griffith.
. They existed as an active band from 1994–2000, taking part in over 20 releases during that time. The Dungs gained some degree of prominence in the American underground punk scene based on sporadic concerts around the middle U.S. including Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
In 1994, the Connie Dungs began performing at local shows for friends and punk fans in Eastern Kentucky. During this early period they recorded and released two cassette-tape demos (Songs for Swinging Lovers and Nice Guys Finish Last) which were sold exclusively at shows. Both Songs for Swinging Lovers and Nice Guys Finish Last were later collected on one album, Songs for Swinging Nice Guys, released in 1999 on Mutant Pop Records.
Their first official release was a split 7" with fellow local punk band Tugboat. These demos and early releases resulted in a 7" single with Chicago indie label Harmless Records, Missy and Johnny. This single was selected in 1995 by Shredder Records as one of the top punk singles of the year and was included in volume three of their annual compilation, Shreds.
After signing with Mutant Pop and releasing a series of singles and albums, more buzz came by way of positive coverage from every major underground punk publication including Flipside
, Punk Planet
, The Probe, Jersey Beat, and maximumrocknroll. Two writers at maximumrocknroll were particularly enthusiastic about the group: George Tabb
and Mykel Board
. Board once wrote: "They're my new favorite band. In case you haven't heard, they've got the best punk vocalist since H.R.
! ... I love you!". The Connie Dungs even made an appearance in the December 1996 issue of Guitar School magazine in the article "The Great Unknowns: The Best and the Brightest of Today's Unsung Punk Bands." Zac Damon (of Zoinks! and, later, Squirtgun
and Screeching Weasel
) provided back-up vocals for the second LP, Driving on Neptune. The third LP, Earthbound for the Holiday, featured back-up vocals from Mass Giorgini
, the prominent pop punk producer who was a member of later incarnations of Screeching Weasel
and a founding member of Squirtgun
. Mass also had a hand in recording, mastering, or producing several Connie Dungs releases.
The band played their last show August 19, 2000 at the Mutant Pop Festival in Warren, PA. This was the same day their 4th and final LP, Eternal Bad Luck Charm, was released.
Following the break-up, the three permanent members (Brandon, Chris, and Wayne) started a new band with a less pop-oriented direction, A Radio With Guts. Brandon also played some solo acoustic shows, including a gig with pop punk luminary Dr. Frank.
In March 2011, the Connie Dungs reformed with the original four members (Brandon, Wayne, Chris and John). They plan on playing some live shows over the summer and possibly releasing some new material.
On July 9, 2011, the Connie Dungs made their return to punk rock at the V Club in Huntington, WV. A month later, the Dungs made their way to Baltimore, MD to the Insubordination Records Festival.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band from Ashland, Kentucky
Ashland, Kentucky
Ashland, formerly known as Poage Settlement, is a city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States, nestled along the banks of the Ohio River. The population was 21,981 at the 2000 census. Ashland is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2000 census, the...
, formed in 1994. The core of the group is composed of Brandon Tussey and brothers Chris Griffith and Wayne Griffith.
Biography
The Connie Dungs are a poppy snotty punk band similar in style to The Ramones and, later, JawbreakerJawbreaker (band)
Jawbreaker was an American punk rock band active from 1986 to 1996 and considered one of the most influential acts of the early-1990s emo movement...
. They existed as an active band from 1994–2000, taking part in over 20 releases during that time. The Dungs gained some degree of prominence in the American underground punk scene based on sporadic concerts around the middle U.S. including Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
In 1994, the Connie Dungs began performing at local shows for friends and punk fans in Eastern Kentucky. During this early period they recorded and released two cassette-tape demos (Songs for Swinging Lovers and Nice Guys Finish Last) which were sold exclusively at shows. Both Songs for Swinging Lovers and Nice Guys Finish Last were later collected on one album, Songs for Swinging Nice Guys, released in 1999 on Mutant Pop Records.
Their first official release was a split 7" with fellow local punk band Tugboat. These demos and early releases resulted in a 7" single with Chicago indie label Harmless Records, Missy and Johnny. This single was selected in 1995 by Shredder Records as one of the top punk singles of the year and was included in volume three of their annual compilation, Shreds.
After signing with Mutant Pop and releasing a series of singles and albums, more buzz came by way of positive coverage from every major underground punk publication including Flipside
Flipside (fanzine)
Flipside was a punk rock fanzine published in Los Angeles, California from 1977 to 2000.As one of the first and longest running US punk rock fanzines, this publication extensively chronicled the world of independent and underground music during this era. Known for its highly opinionated cast of...
, Punk Planet
Punk Planet
Punk Planet was a 16,000 print run punk zine, based in Chicago, Illinois, that focused most of its energy on looking at punk subculture rather than punk as simply another genre of music to which teenagers listen. In addition to covering music, Punk Planet also covered visual arts and a wide...
, The Probe, Jersey Beat, and maximumrocknroll. Two writers at maximumrocknroll were particularly enthusiastic about the group: George Tabb
George Tabb
George Tabb is a founding member and song writer in such punk bands as Roach Motel, Atoms for Peace, False Prophets, Letch Patrol, Gynocologists, Iron Prostate and Furious George....
and Mykel Board
Mykel Board
Mykel Board is a regularly published journalist, especially well known for his articles in Maximumrocknroll....
. Board once wrote: "They're my new favorite band. In case you haven't heard, they've got the best punk vocalist since H.R.
H.R.
H.R. is the stage name of Paul D. Hudson, the lead singer of the hardcore punk band Bad Brains. His vocals can be quite diverse, ranging from a rapid-fire nasal whine, to feral growling and screeches, to smooth near-crooning or staccato reggae rhymes...
! ... I love you!". The Connie Dungs even made an appearance in the December 1996 issue of Guitar School magazine in the article "The Great Unknowns: The Best and the Brightest of Today's Unsung Punk Bands." Zac Damon (of Zoinks! and, later, Squirtgun
Squirtgun
Squirtgun is an American punk rock band from Lafayette, Indiana formed by record producer Mass Giorgini in 1993.-1993-1998:Squirtgun originally consisted of Mass Giorgini , Matt Hart , Flav Giorgini , and Dan Lumley .The band signed to Lookout! Records and their first release was the EP...
and Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead.Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have broken up and reformed numerous times with numerous line-up changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant...
) provided back-up vocals for the second LP, Driving on Neptune. The third LP, Earthbound for the Holiday, featured back-up vocals from Mass Giorgini
Mass Giorgini
Mass Giorgini is an Italian-American bassist and record producer, who rose to fame when several of the bands he produced experienced huge gains in popularity during the pop-punk boom on the mid-90's. Among these bands was Giorgini's own Squirtgun, which received minor MTV rotation and several...
, the prominent pop punk producer who was a member of later incarnations of Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead.Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have broken up and reformed numerous times with numerous line-up changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant...
and a founding member of Squirtgun
Squirtgun
Squirtgun is an American punk rock band from Lafayette, Indiana formed by record producer Mass Giorgini in 1993.-1993-1998:Squirtgun originally consisted of Mass Giorgini , Matt Hart , Flav Giorgini , and Dan Lumley .The band signed to Lookout! Records and their first release was the EP...
. Mass also had a hand in recording, mastering, or producing several Connie Dungs releases.
The band played their last show August 19, 2000 at the Mutant Pop Festival in Warren, PA. This was the same day their 4th and final LP, Eternal Bad Luck Charm, was released.
Following the break-up, the three permanent members (Brandon, Chris, and Wayne) started a new band with a less pop-oriented direction, A Radio With Guts. Brandon also played some solo acoustic shows, including a gig with pop punk luminary Dr. Frank.
In March 2011, the Connie Dungs reformed with the original four members (Brandon, Wayne, Chris and John). They plan on playing some live shows over the summer and possibly releasing some new material.
On July 9, 2011, the Connie Dungs made their return to punk rock at the V Club in Huntington, WV. A month later, the Dungs made their way to Baltimore, MD to the Insubordination Records Festival.
Permanent Members on prior recordings
- Brandon Tussey (Brandon Dung) - songwriter, singer, guitar
- Wayne Griffith (Wayne Sphincter) - bass
- Chris Griffith (Chris Colostomy) - drums
Occasional guitarists on prior recordings
- John Spears (Johnny Asshole)
- Mike Webb (Mike Hemorrhoid)
- Rob Lowe (Robbie Rectum)
- Dave Berger (Dave Spodie)
Full-length albums
- 1997 The Connie Dungs (Mutant Pop Records)
- 1998 Driving on Neptune (Mutant Pop Records)
- 1999 Earthbound For The Holiday (Mutant Pop Records)
- 1999 Songs For Swinging Nice Guys (Mutant Pop Records) (both self released cassettes from 1995 on one CD)
- 2000 Eternal Bad Luck Charm (Mutant Pop Records)
EPs and Singles
- 1995 Connie Dungs / Tugboat Split 7" EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
(Smalltown Kids Records) - 1995 Missy and Johnny 7" EP (Harmless Records)
- 1996 I Hate This Town 7" EP (Mutant Pop Records)
- 1997 Connie Dungs / Operation: Cliff Clavin split 7"/CDEP (Plan It X RecordsPlan It X RecordsPlan-It-X Records is an independent record label in the United States. Originally based in Georgetown, Indiana, PIX is currently based out of Bloomington, Indiana following brief stints in Olympia, Washington, Gainesville, Florida and Cairo, Illinois. Some consider the label most notable for...
) - 1997 Connie Dungs / Automatics (USA) split 10" EP (Cool Guy Records)
- 1997 Connie Dungs / Slowpokes split 7" EP
- 1997 No Chance 7" EP (Mutant Pop Records)
- 2000 Turntable CDEP (Mutant Pop Records)
Demos and Other Releases
- 1995 Songs For Swinging Lovers — self released cassette sold at shows, 200 copies
- 1995 Nice Guys Finish Last — self released cassette sold at shows, 200 copies
Compilations
- 1995 Shreds Volume 3-American Underground '95 (Shredder Records) - "Missy and Johnny"
- 1996 The New Breed, Volume 3 (G.I. Productions) - "I Hate This Town" (vinyl version on CD)
- 1996 Back Asswards (Interbang Records) - "Kill Me In My Sleep" (exclusive version)
- 1996 The Best of Bumfuck Egypt Music Compilation 7" (Molasses Grave Records) (5 bands) - "Wonder Boy" (exclusive track)
- 1997 Grease - The Not So Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture (Dummyup Records) "Those Magic Changes" (Sha Na NaSha Na NaSha Na Na is an American rock and roll group. The name is taken from a part of the long series of nonsense syllables in the doo-wop hit song "Get a Job", originally recorded in 1957 by the Silhouettes....
cover) - 1997 It Should Have Been a Record (Ape City Records)- "Used to be Cool" (exclusive version)
- 1998 How To Be Punk - Volume 1 (Cool Guy Records) - "Teenage Punks On Talk Shows" (exclusive version)
- 2000 Transylvania Style Punk Rock (Wornout Records) - "Barbara" (album version)