I never thought I’d find a band that I liked even more than Daniel Amos, a treasure trove of rich, prophetic message accompanied by some of the best rock music I’ve ever heard, or Crashdog, a driving, angry punk assault on Christian passivity and self-righteousness. I still think DA is a gift to the world, and the fine young men behind Crashdog some of the best preachers I’ve ever heard. And I’m still crazy about The Clash; Combat Rock, even more than London Calling, remains relevant and vital even after 30 years. Daniel Amos, The Clash, Crashdog, Minor Threat and The Star F—ing Hipsters (hey, I don’t name ’em) are a few of the bands I like, and they trump pretty much anything else out there. I’m sure the 49-year-old evangelical homemaker demographic wasn’t part of the plan, but I’m glad they’re making music — even if not really making music for me.
But there’s a band out there you need to know about. The Dingees are a dub-influenced ska/punk band from Orange County, and their CD “Sundown to Midnight” is my all-time favorite CD. Sadly, the band has drifted apart, but their music is still available on three original CDs. The band members, who got together in the mid-90s, identify as Christians, but they’re not, thankfully, a “Christian band” full of earnest, young, unashamed evangelicals striving to be earnest, young, only-a-little-ashamed hipsters. The Dingees, who I imagine you’ll never hear on FM Christian stations, are achingly honest, tremendously gifted, and clearly prophetic — they’re unflinching in their condemnation of social ills and write and sing like people who’ve suffered from them. The lyrics are rich, the music full and stirring, and I’m pretty sure “World’s Last Night” from “The Crucial Conspiracy,” with its inclusion of Romans 8:38-39 (“neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons . . . can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”), will wake you up from the affluence-born slumber we all drift into.
So. Check them out, quick. Rally-O!!!