the Didjits
Hell yeah, I loved the Didjits. In the early 90’s Rick Sims and company satisfied virtually all of my rock needs. Those unfamiliar with this Illinois 3 piece should hurry down to the local record store and pick up any of their albums, pronto. (personal faves are 1993’s Que Sirhan Sirhan and 1990’s Hornet Pinata). You’ll be treated to some adrenaline fueled rawk action. The band’s allmusic.com bio provides a spot on take:
(the Didjits) sound was mostly speed-blur garage-band punk with a dash of AC/DC-esque hard rock, but their true inspirations were rock & roll wildmen like Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard, not to mention the guitar heroics of Chuck Berry. Most Didjits albums were virtual catalogs of rock & roll sleaze and vice — sex, booze, drugs, violence, death, Satan, and the like — all rolled into a smart-alecky, Midwestern white-trash act.
The Didjits split in 1994. Sims would briefly join the Supersuckers for their 1995 Sacrilicious LP, in addition to appearing on Fred Schneider’s Just Fred disc. In 1997 Sims revived the whole “sharp dressed frontman with an attitude problem” as the leader of the Gaza Strippers (currently in limbo). The songs below aren’t necessarily the best of the Didjits catalog - it would be too tough to pare my favorites down. Instead I’ve chosen to post the bands singles:
from 1989’s Lovesicle 7″
Didjits - Goodbye Mr. Policeman.mp3
Didjits - One Dead Hippie.mp3
from 1991’s Fuck the Pigs 7″
Didjits - Headless.mp3
Didjits - Give it Back.mp3 (Dickies Cover)
from 1993’s Subpop Singles Club 7″
Didjits - Dear Junkie.mp3
Didjits - Skull Baby.mp3 (live)
Didjits - Fire In The Hole.mp3 (live)
Stuff:
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The connection is that Rick Simms was also in Lee Harvey Oswald Band. Not sure of the other members, but they are pre Gaza Strippers
Saw em in L.A. around time of Hornet Pinata, with headliner act Tex and the Horseheads! I wuzza big Didjits fan at the time, but no LA scenesters seemed to care. Sorry jes braggin here!
1. L.H.O. album is fabulous. Thanks for the information about them.
2. Was Tex cute?
On the back cover of the first (or was it the second - I ditched them years ago… maybe that was a mistake) LHOB LPs looked uncannily like Didjits-engineer Mr Albini to me…
Sorry - can I rephrase that:
One of the faces on the back cover of the first (or was it the second - I ditched them years ago… maybe that was a mistake) LHOB LPs looked uncannily like Didjits-engineer Mr Albini to me
(Yes I know it’s still horribly clumsy but at least it’s now vaguely intelligible)
I’m pretty sure Steve Albini wasn’t a member, but the other singer on the Lee Harvey records was… I forget his name, but he’s the guy who designed all the Didjits record covers.
This band has always been overrated. Fairly generic, middle-of-the road stuff. Sorry guys.
Fruitloop confuses opinion with fact.
First three Didjits LPs rule. Kinda downhill after that, and Gaza Strippers and Supersuckers make me gag. Still haven’t heard Lee Harvey band, gotta rectify that.
FYI… I’ll be posting some Lee Harvey in the next couple of weeks
(from above) …but the other singer on the Lee Harvey records was… I forget his name, but he’s the guy who designed all the Didjits record covers…..
Dave Landis.
Dave Landis? He was the drummer but he didn’t sing to my knowledge. I thought it was Savic Enn (had his name changed) the guy in drag, who went on to become a prison guard. (I’m not making this up…)
I saw the Didjits a few times in their heyday, and I just saw ‘em @ the T&G 25th this weekend. Absolutely shredded. Best set of the weekend. I’d forgotten how much fucking FUN the band was!
You’ve learnt, now own the 7inch vinyl…
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=didjits
I flew up The Chicago just to see these guys one last time and I must say they delivered the goods a couple of grams over. It was the best.
zowie fenderblast
[…] I wanna thank the always on-target Ron Hotpad for these excellent recordings. He and I (along with Eric, Peter, Larry The Drummer Extraordinaire and the Mighty Malfeitor) all agree that The Didjits rule….OK? […]