Gavin Hammon

Dance Hall Crashers (often abbreviated to DHC) is an American ska punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Initially founded by former Operation Ivy members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, the band has had a fluid lineup over its career, with the most recent lineup including Elyse Rogers and Karina Deniké on vocals, brothers Jason Hammon and Gavin Hammon on guitar and drums respectively, and Mikey Weiss on bass as of 2025. They have released four studio albums, highlighted by the 1995 release '' Lockjaw'' which featured the minor hit song "Enough", produced by Rob Cavallo and featured in the film ''Angus''.

Biography

Early years

The original incarnation of the Dance Hall Crashers (named after the Alton Ellis song "Dance Crasher") was formed in 1989 by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong, formerly of the seminal Bay Area ska-punk band Operation Ivy, after both musicians expressed an interest in starting a band rooted in more traditional ska and rocksteady than what they had been playing with Operation Ivy. The first line-up featured Armstrong on vocals and Freeman on guitar, as well as drummer Erik Larsen (whom they specifically lured away from a rocksteady band called "The Liquidators"). The band also featured keyboardist Joey Schaaf, vocalists Ingrid Jonsson and Andrew Champion, guitarist Grant McIntire, and bassist Joel Wing.

The band experimented with various songs and styles until they played their first show at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley in 1989. Shortly after their debut, however, Freeman and Armstrong left to pursue other interests, mainly another punk-based ska project called Downfall.

After numerous membership changes which eventually left only the original drummer Larsen and bassist Wing, DHC solidified a line-up with dual vocalists Karina Schwarz and Elyse Rogers, guitarists Jason Hammon and Jaime McCormick, and drummer Gavin Hammon (Jason's brother). Following a period of steady gigging, DHC finally caught a break after being booked at an all-ska Earth Day festival at Berkeley's Greek Theatre in 1990, opening for Bad Manners. During this time they would occasionally open for The Toasters playing alongside other up-and-coming ska bands, including Let's Go Bowling. That year, the band recorded their self-titled debut album for Moon Ska Records, though trouble within the band led to a break-up soon after. Elyse Rogers revealed in a 1993 interview with the ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' prior to a show in Hawaii that part of the reason for the band's breakup was a result of much of the band being under 21 years of age at that time, which prohibited those members from leaving the backstage area during shows.Page 35
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Breakthrough

Their debut album became a word-of-mouth underground hit even with the band disbanded, and the group reunited in 1991 at Slim's for a sold-out performance. In 1992, bowing to fan pressure, DHC reunited for a one-off series of gigs (occasionally playing alongside Hepcat), but after the positive response to their performance, the band chose to reform on a permanent basis. In 1993, to commemorate their reunion, Moon Records released a CD compilation of the band's entire body of work from 1989 to 1992, appropriately titled ''1989–1992''. The August 1993 lineup consisted of co-vocalists Elyse Rogers and Karina Schwarz, Jason Hammon and Scott Goodell on guitar and saxist Dean Olmstead; Rogers was also serving as Hepcat’s manager. A revised lineup in April 1994 added Jason Hammon's brother Gavin on drums, Mikey Weiss on bass, plus John Pantle and Mason St. Peters as the horn section. "Go", which would later be incorporated into '' Lockjaw'', was released exclusively to Hawaii in early-1994 as a cassette single.

As the band began touring nationally by the mid-1990s, the line-up changed once again, now featuring Rogers, Denike, Hammon, his brother Gavin Hammon on drums, guitarist Scott Goodell and bassist Mikey Weiss. In 1995, DHC were the very first group signed to MCA Records subsidiary 510 records, and issued their second LP ''Lockjaw'' the same year. ''Lockjaw'' was the first DHC release without a horn section, and had a harder, guitar-driven pop punk sound than the band's prior recordings. The album's single, "Enough", was featured on the soundtrack to the film ''Angus'', and the accompanying music video received moderate airplay on MTV's ''120 Minutes''. Weiss recalls that he was working in a record store when ''Lockjaw'' was released; curious customers would ask about the band or their sound, and the other employees would point him out as the bass player.

A re-issue of ''1989–1992'' was released as ''The Old Record'' in late 1996 on Fat Wreck Chords' Honest Don's label. DHC's second MCA record, '' Honey, I'm Homely!'', was released in 1997. This proved to be the band's breakthrough album, peaking at No. 22 on '' Billboard's'' Top Heatseekers. The leading singles "Lost Again" and "Mr. Blue" enjoyed steady rotation on local and college radio stations across the United States, and music videos were filmed for both tracks.

The band toured extensively throughout the mid to late 1990s, both as a headliner and opening for bands such as The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Bad Religion, and The Lemons. In addition, the band played festivals such as the Warped Tour and Lilith Fair. Due to the heavy touring schedule, Scott Goodell bowed out from his guitar duties in 1996; the band asked Phil Ensor from Limp and later, Billy Bouchard to stand in for live shows until the need for a second guitarist was nixed and Hammon handled all guitar parts himself.

Hiatus and reunions

In 1998, DHC released their last release with MCA, the EP ''Blue Plate Special''. The EP contained a short collection of songs recorded for other compilations/soundtracks, unreleased and remixed material, and a CD-ROM of photos and the band's four music videos. In 1999, the band signed with independent label Pink and Black Records, releasing their fourth LP ''Purr'' in 1999 and the live album ''The Live Record: Witless Banter and 25 Mildly Antagonistic Songs About Love'' in 2000.

DHC started playing less frequently in the early 2000s as band members either pursued higher education or moved on with their careers outside the band. They limited their performances to West Coast and Hawaiian shows and occasional appearances at events such as the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. In November 2004, the band recorded a show at the Hollywood House of Blues which was later released on DVD by Kung Fu Records as part of their ''The Show Must Go Off!'' series.

2025 reunion

On January 26, 2025, DHC’s official Facebook account posted a reel with the Indian-head test pattern “Please Stand By” test card (featuring their black and white logo) with “Arrived” by CYoung playing in the background. The following day, January 27, a teaser video featuring Kevin Lyman and Elyse Rogers revealed that the band would be playing at the Vans Warped Tour in Washington, DC, and Long Beach, CA, later in 2025, ending a 21-year hiatus for the band. Karina Deniké announced in a video on January 28 that DHC would also be performing a show at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on June 7. The official announcement also stated that no more shows would be added, saying "If you are waiting for more announcements, they will not be coming. No other festivals, not (sic) other cities." However, a second show was added at the same venue on June 6 in an announcement made on the band's official social media accounts. Jon Graber, recording engineer and mixer for Goldfinger, MxPx, and We Are the Union, was a guest guitarist at the San Francisco shows. DHC will host a concert with Hepcat on September 13 at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. They were announced in April 2025 as one of the bands to be performing at Riot Fest in Chicago, which is from September 19-21, on the last day of the event.

References in popular culture

Multiple Dance Hall Crashers songs have been featured in movies/films:

Members

Current

* Elyse Rogers – vocals, manager
* Karina Deniké – vocals
* Jason Hammon – guitar
* Mikey Weiss – bass
* Gavin Hammon – drums

Former

* Mat Snyder – trombone
* Trombone Matt – trombone
* Tim Armstrong – vocals
* Andrew "Andrew Champion" Ataie – vocals
* J. Grant McIntire – guitar
* Alex Baker – bass
* Phil Ensor – guitar
* Billy Bouchard – guitar
* Matt Freeman – vocals, bass
* Scott Goodell – guitar
* Jeremy Goody – trumpet
* Damien Rasmussen – percussion
* Ingrid Jonsson – vocals
* Erik Larsen, aka Erik Kolacek – drums
* Jaime McCormick – guitar
* Leland McNeely
* Gavin DiStasi – trumpet
* Dave Camp† – guitar
* Joey Schaaf – keyboard
* Joel Wing – bass
* Harvey Hawks – trumpet
* Kincaid Smith – trumpet
* Jason Bermak – saxophone
* Efren Santana – saxophone
* Joshi Marshall – saxophone
* Matt Morrish – saxophone
* Dean Olmstead – saxophone
* John Pantle - horns
* Mason St. Peters - horns
* Mike Park - horns
* T-Bone Willy - horns

Discography

Studio albums

*''Dance Hall Crashers'' (1990), Moon Records
*'' Lockjaw'' (1995), MCA Records
*'' Honey, I'm Homely!'' (1997), MCA
*''Purr'' (1999), Pink and Black

EPs

*''Blue Plate Special'' EP (1998), MCA

Live albums

*''The Live Record: Witless Banter & 25 Mildly Antagonistic Songs About Love'' (2000), Pink and Black
*''Live at the House of Blues'' (2005), (''The Show Must Go Off!'' live DVD)

Compilations

*''1989–1992'' (1993), Moon Records (includes most of contents of first two releases, and some single/compilation material)
*''The Old Record'' (1996), Honest Don's Records (reprint of ''1989–1992'' with the song "Time To Ease Up" excluded)

Demos

*''Say Cheese'' (1989), Self-Released Demo ( Cassette Only)

Notes

References

Further reading

*
Joey Schaaf, a Musical biography
at LoudRockMusic.com
*
*Silvers, Emma (June 3, 2025).
Dance Hall Crashers On Their Reunion, 30 Years After Breaking the Boys' Club
. ''KQED''. Retrieved June 4, 2025.

Reviews

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Musical groups established in 1989
Musical groups from Berkeley, California
American ska punk musical groups
Pop punk groups from California
Third-wave ska groups