Dustin Ross Lanker (born October 7, 1976) is an American

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...

, known for his work as a member of the

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

- swing band the

Cherry Poppin' Daddies The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American swing music, swing and ska band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by singer-songwriter Steve Perry (Oregon musician), Steve Perry and bassist Dan Schmid, the band has experienced numerous ...

and the

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...

band the

Mad Caddies The Mad Caddies (or the Caddies) is an American ska punk band from Solvang, California. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. The Mad Caddies sound has influences from broad ranging g ...

, as well as the singer-songwriter for the rock trio The Visible Men.

Career

Cherry Poppin' Daddies

A pianist since childhood, Lanker joined the

in early 1997 at age 20, first recording on the supplemental tracks for their compilation album '' Zoot Suit Riot'', including the eponymous single which would later serve as the band's commercial breakthrough. Lanker briefly left the Daddies at the height of their fame in October 1998, being replaced by Johnny Goetchius of

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (informally referred to as The Bosstones and often stylized as The Mighty Mighty BossToneS) were an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky ...

before returning to the band in February 2000. Lanker officially left the band in early 2012, though was able to contribute a majority of the keyboard and piano tracks for the Daddies' 2013 studio album '' White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' before his departure.

The Visible Men

In 1999, Lanker and Daddies bassist Dan Schmid formed the Eugene-based rock trio The Visible Men with a number of different drummers, where Lanker acted as pianist, lead vocalist and songwriter. During the Daddies' hiatus in the early 2000s, Lanker and Schmid focused heavily on The Visible Men, recording two albums on the Leisure King Productions label and extensively touring the western half of the United States before going on hiatus themselves in 2007. The Visible Men played a one-off reunion show in November 2009, though there has been no official announcement as to whether the group will continue recording or performing in the future.

Mad Caddies and Ellwood

Lanker served as a touring keyboardist for the Northern Californian

band the

for numerous years, as well as an occasional musical collaborator, having lent

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

and partial songwriting credit to the Caddies' 2007 album '' Keep It Going''. In 2013, Lanker was added to the band's line-up as an official member. In 2009, Lanker joined Caddies frontman

Chuck Robertson The Mad Caddies (or the Caddies) is an American ska punk band from Solvang, California. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. The Mad Caddies sound has influences from broad ranging gen ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

side project Ellwood. In 2011, Ellwood released their debut album ''Lost in Transition'' on

Fat Wreck Chords Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is an independent record label based in San Francisco focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike) and his wife at the time, Erin Burkett in 1990. ...

, which was followed by brief touring in the UK and US.

Other projects

In 1998, Lanker briefly served as a touring keyboardist for the newly reformed,

Neville Staple Neville Eugenton Staple (born 11 April 1955), sometimes credited as Neville Staples, is a Jamaican-born British singer, known for his work with the 2-tone ska band the Specials, the pop group Fun Boy Three, as well as with his own group, th ...

-fronted incarnation of

The Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...

, accompanying the band on the 1998 Warped Tour, alongside the Daddies. In 2011, Lanker collaborated on a

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

-styled soundtrack to a fetish film entitled ''Rubber Bordello'' with Fat Wreck Chords owner and

NOFX NOFX () was an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Bassist/lead vocalist Fat Mike, rhythm guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin were original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...

frontman

Fat Mike Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He was the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the cofounder and bassist of the punk rock supergroup cov ...

. The soundtrack, credited to "Fat Mike and Dustin Lanker", was released on January 30, 2012. The film was nominated for eight awards at the 30th AVN Awards, including Best Music Soundtrack and Best Original Song ("She-donistic Society"), winning both of them as well as Best BDSM Release. Lanker is the son of the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning photographer

Brian Lanker Brian Lanker (August 31, 1947 – March 13, 2011) was an American photographer. He won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for a black-and-white photo essay on childbirth for ''The Topeka Capital-Journal'', including the photograph ...

.Howlett, Philip G
Letter to the Editor
''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

''. December 27, 1982.

Discography

Cherry Poppin' Daddies

''See: Cherry Poppin' Daddies discography for complete list of recordings'' * '' Zoot Suit Riot'' – keyboards (on tracks 1, 7, 12) * '' Soul Caddy'' (2000) – keyboards (on tracks 1-3, 8-9) * '' Susquehanna'' (2008) – keyboards, vocals * '' Skaboy JFK'' (2009) – keyboards, vocals * '' White Teeth, Black Thoughts'' (2013) – keyboards, vocals (on tracks 1-5, 8-10, 12, 21)

The Visible Men

* '' In Socks Mode'' (2002) – vocals, keyboards * '' Love:30'' (2005) – vocals, keyboards

Mad Caddies

* '' Keep It Going'' (2007) - keyboards * ''

Dirty Rice Dirty rice is a traditional Louisiana Creole dish made from white rice which gets a "dirty" color from being cooked with small pieces of pork, beef or chicken, green bell pepper, celery, and onion, and spiced with cayenne and black pepper. Pars ...

'' (2014) - keyboards * '' Punk Rocksteady'' (2018) - organ

Ellwood

* ''Lost in Transition'' (2011) – keyboards, vocals

Miscellaneous

* ''One Man Submarine'' (2003) – Dan Jones – keyboards,

stylophone The Stylophone is a miniature analog synthesizer played with a stylus. Invented in 1967 by Brian Jarvis, it entered production in 1968, manufactured by Dubreq. Some three million Stylophones were sold, mostly as children's toys, but they we ...

* ''Sad Bear'' (2011) –

Tony Sly Anthony James Sly (November 4, 1970 – July 31, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the front man of the punk rock band No Use for a Name. In his later years he also gained attention for his acoustic mu ...

– piano, keyboards * ''Rubber Bordello'' Soundtrack (2012) –

and Dustin Lanker – keyboards, piano * '' Acoustic Volume Two'' (2012) –

Joey Cape Randall Joseph Cape (born November 16, 1966) is an American singer and musician. Active since 1989, Cape is best known as the frontman of the Punk rock in California, California punk rock band Lagwagon. Cape released his first solo album, ''Br ...

– piano, keyboards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanker, Dustin 1976 births Living people American male singer-songwriters American pop keyboardists American pop pianists American rock keyboardists American rock pianists American male pianists American rock songwriters American rock singers Singer-songwriters from Oregon University of Oregon alumni South Eugene High School alumni 21st-century American keyboardists 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male singers The Visible Men members Mad Caddies members 20th-century American keyboardists 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singer-songwriters