The Dustdevils (sometimes styled as DustDevils, Dust Devils, or DUSTdevils) were a noise rock band based out of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for most of its existence. Active from the 1980s through the mid 1990s, the Dustdevils were among the first artists to be signed to

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City ap ...

. Its members included bassist Mark Ibold, who later joined Pavement and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

in 1992 and 2006, respectively. Ibold met the band while working at a restaurant in the East Village and performed on their album ''Struggling Electric and Chemical''.

Sasha Frere-Jones Alexander Roger Wallace "Sasha" Frere-Jones ( né Jones; born 1967) is an American writer, music critic, and musician. Frere-Jones was pop critic of the ''New Yorker'' from 2004 to 2015. In January 2015, he left the ''New Yorker'' to work for ' ...

also played guitar in the group for a time.

History

The band formed in 1984, when British expat Michael Duane, the band's guitarist, met Jaqi Dulany (also known as Jaqui Delaney and Jacqui Cohen), the band's Australian-born vocalist, in New York City. The band then relocated to

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

from 1986 to 1988, during which time they released several records on Rouska and Keith Gregory of

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joined the band as their bassist. They released a Kramer-produced 7" entitled "Is Big Leggy" on

TeenBeat Records Teen Beat is an American independent record label, originally based in Arlington, Virginia, now based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded by Mark Robinson (of Unrest) in 1984 at Wakefield High School, along with Phil Krauth (of Unres ...

in 1989, followed by ''Geek Drip'' later that year and ''Struggling Electric and Chemical'' in 1990. The

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-produced ''Struggling'' was released jointly by TeenBeat and Matador, and opened with a cover of "Hip Priest" by The Fall, which was described by

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

as "a mind-blowing masterpiece of corrosion and decay." Jaqi and Michael split in 1993, which left Michael to look for replacement vocalists. Also that year,

Gerard Cosloy Gerard Cosloy (born 1964) is an American music industry executive. Biography Cosloy was raised in Wayland, Massachusetts, a western suburb of Boston. While he was in high school, he became involved in the local hardcore punk scene, put together ...

stopped playing with the band as their stand-in bassist.

Discography

*''Seeds In The Spoil'' — 1987 (Rouska) *''Rhenyard's Grin'' — 1987 (Rouska) *''Mother Shipton'' — 1987 (Rouska) *''The Dropping Well'' — 1987 (Rouska) *''Gutter Light'' — 1988 (Rouska) *''Geek Drip'' — 1989 (Matador) *"... Is Big Leggy" — 1989 (Teenbeat) *''Struggling Electric and Chemical'' — 1990 (Teenbeat/Matador) *"Extant" — 1996 (Matador)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from New York City American noise rock music groups Musical groups established in 1984 Matador Records artists Musical groups disestablished in the 1990s TeenBeat Records artists