Wikipedia

Draft:Dirty Pictures


Dirty Pictures
OriginCzechoslovakia
GenresPunk rock
Years active
  • 1992–1995
  • 2013
  • 2015
LabelBengal Records
Past members
  • James Donahower
  • Zdeněk Marek
  • Pavel Špaček
  • Lukáš Vincour

Dirty Pictures (stylized in lowercase) is a Czech-American punk rock band formed in 1992 in Prague, Czechoslovakia.[1][2] In 1993, they entered the Marlboro Rock In competition, placing second out of nearly six hundred bands. Their debut album, Escape from Sloppy Lake, was released in January 1994, with one review dubbing it one of the best Czech rock records. The band split up after the release of an EP in 1995. They reunited briefly in 2013 and 2015, also issuing a new single that year.

History

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Formation

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In 1992, the American singer and guitarist James "Huckleberry Dirt" Donahower[1][3] moved to Czechoslovakia and joined forces with bassist Zdeněk Marek and drummer Pavel "the Walking Fly" Špaček to form the band Dirty Pictures.[1][4]

They played their first show on 11 December 1992 at the club U Zoufalců.[5][6]

Debut album

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In February 1993, Dirty Pictures recorded a four-song demo[1][7] that caught the attention of Vladimir Vintr and Pavel Holý[7] of Bengal Records (a sub-label of Panton),[3][4] who signed the band to a record deal in April.[1]

In April and May, Dirty Pictures competed in the first-ever Marlboro Rock In. Nearly six hundred bands entered the competition, from which a jury selected twelve semifinalists. The band ultimately took second place at the final in Prague's Lucerna Palace.[8][9]

Dirty Pictures recorded their debut album, Escape from Sloppy Lake, in 1993, at Studio West in Plzeň;[7][1] it was released in January 1994[10][11] and produced by Eric Grossman.[12][13]

Two songs from Escape from Sloppy Lake, "Custom Auto" and "Don't Be a Slut", appeared on Czech radio charts in 1994.[14][15][16] The band also recorded a video for "Custom Auto", which was picked up by MTV.[4][1] In 1994, Dirty Pictures became the first Czech group to have a video selected for MTV Europe's 120 Minutes "Best Of" compilation.[12][17]

The Czech music press responded positively, with publications such as Rock & Pop and Bang![18] devoting features and cover stories to the band and praising their melodic songwriting and hip-hop-infused punk energy.[6][3][19] One writer said the music "strongly hits the dance nerve",[20] while another highlighted the "epic" lyrics as "entirely stripped of pomp and artificial profundity".[1] A March 1994 review called the album "one of the highest quality rock records created on Czech soil".[3]

Dirty Pictures also performed in Germany and other European countries.[20][6][21][22]

Rock for Refugees benefit concert

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Joe Strummer of the Clash, a fan of Escape from Sloppy Lake,[23][24] joined Dirty Pictures for a set of Clash songs at the Rock for Refugees benefit concert in Prague's Obecní dům on 16 April 1994.[25][26][27][28] Organized by the band, their manager Kyle Carmone,[6][24] and Organizace pro Pomoc Uprchlíkům (the Refugee Assistance Organization),[29][24] the event featured more than 20 acts[30][22] and raised funds for refugees from the former Yugoslavia.[31][24]

Final EP

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In 1995, Dirty Pictures released a final maxi single before disbanding.[31]

Reunion

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They reformed to play a reunion show at Rock Café in Prague on 14 September 2013, with the three founding members being joined onstage by Eric Grossman, who had produced Escape from Sloppy Lake, on guitar.[12][31] The band reunited again in 2015 for several shows in Czechia, with Lukáš Vincour replacing Špaček on drums.[31] Also in 2015, they released their first new recording in 20 years, the single "Letiště", which featured Huckleberry Dirt singing in Czech.[17][31]

Band members

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  • James Donahower – vocals, guitar
  • Zdeněk Marek – bass
  • Pavel Špaček – drums
  • Lukáš Vincour – drums

Discography

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  • Escape from Sloppy Lake (1994)

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Koral, Petr (14 March 1994). "Útěk ze spárů tuctovosti" [Escape from the clutches of fatness]. Rock & Pop (in Czech).
  2. ↑ "Hudební Hromobití" [Musical thunder]. Elle (in Czech). April 1994.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Vlasák, Vladimír (14 March 1994). "Energie Dirty Pictures" [The Energy of Dirty Pictures]. Lidové Noviny (in Czech). p. 6. Retrieved 11 May 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. 1 2 3 Rychetský, Jan (8 February 1994). "Chyby v angličtině se špinavému obrázku nelíbi" [Dirty Pictures don't like mistakes in English]. Česky Denik (in Czech). p. 8.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ U Zoufalců, December 1992 official calendar
  6. 1 2 3 4 Milec, Oldrich (21 September 1993). "Pravidost sprostých obrázků" [The regularity of Dirty Pictures]. Bang! (in Czech). p. 24.
  7. 1 2 3 Špulák, Jaroslav (9 March 1994). "Přes to všechno být prvni" [To be the first despite everything]. Bang! (in Czech). p. 14.
  8. ↑ Příborská, Michaela (18 May 1994). "V Lucerně za dolary" [At Lucerna for dollars]. Telegraf, May 18, 1994 (in Czech).
  9. ↑ Bachorikova, Ivana (26 April 1993). "Vyhrála česko-americká kapela" [Czech-American Group Wins]. Blesk (in Czech). p. 13.
  10. ↑ Špulák, Jaroslav (9 February 1994). "Escape from Sloppy Lake". Bang!. p. 14 (in Czech).
  11. ↑ Staff writer (2 February 1994). "Dirty pictures na trhu" [Dirty Pictures on the market]. Bang! (in Czech).
  12. 1 2 3 Klose, Michaela (15 September 2013). "Legenda 90. let Dirty Pictures odehraje první koncert po 20 letech" [90s legends Dirty Pictures will play their first concert in 20 years]. Kids & Heroes (in Czech).
  13. ↑ Pešek, Robert (20 April 1994). "Ohlas: Co v rozhovoru nebylo?" [Feedback: what wasn't in the interview?]. Bang! (in Czech).
  14. ↑ n/a (6 March 1994). "Hitparáda Radia Panag (Pardubice)" [Radio Panag hit parade (Pardubice)]. Bang! (in Czech).
  15. ↑ n/a (23 March 1994). "Domoparáda Radio Hády (Brno)" [Radio Hady Home home parade (Brno)]. Bang! (in Czech).
  16. ↑ n/a (12 April 1994). "Velká Sedma česká hitparáda Radio 1 (Praha)" [Radio One's Big Seven Czech hit parade (Prague)]. Bang! (in Czech).
  17. 1 2 Koral, Petr (27 December 2015). "Dirty Pictures vydali novou skladbu po dvaceti letech" [Dirty Pictures release first new track in twenty years]. Rock & All (in Czech).
  18. ↑ Frýdová, Tereza (28 December 2020). Vývoj hudební publicistiky od roku 1963 po současnost [The development of music journalism from 1963 to the present] (in Czech). Prague: Charles University. p. 23.
  19. ↑ Koral, Petr (14 March 1994). "Špinavé obrázky v čistých písničkách" [Dirty Pictures, Clean Songs]. Rock & Pop (in Czech).
  20. 1 2 Kiefer, Andreas (1994). "They Know How to Rock". Badische Zeitung.
  21. ↑ Coulter, Steve (September 1993). "Dirty Pictures". Filip.
  22. 1 2 Welch, Matt (29 April 1994). "Rock for Refugees". Prognosis.
  23. ↑ Staff writer (20 April 1994). "Poklídná duše labouristova" [The peaceful soul of a Labour Party member]. Bang! (in Czech). p. 6.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Špulák, Jaroslav (4 May 1994). "Hodiny s Joe Strummerem" [Hours with Joe Strummer]. Bang! (in Czech). p. 6.
  25. ↑ Anthony, Lorrayne (20 April 1994). "Rocking the Casbah for Refugees at Repre". Prague Post.
  26. ↑ Staff writer (30 April 1994). "Rock for Refugees". NME (New Musical Express).
  27. ↑ Svamberk, Alex (23 April 1994). "Stárnutí legendárního punkera Joe Strummera" [The aging of punk legend Joe Strummer]. Dnes (in Czech). p. 11.
  28. ↑ Gray, Marcus (1995). Last Gang in Town: The Story and Myth of the Clash. London: Fourth Estate / Henry Holt. p. 476. On 16 April 1994, he [Joe Strummer] made his first live appearance for years in Prague, joining local band Dirty Pictures at a Rock for Refugees benefit gig to raise money for people fleeing the former Yugoslavia.
  29. ↑ Official OPU Press Release, 13 April 1994
  30. ↑ Rock for Refugees program flyer, April 1994
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 Koral, Petr (October 2020). "Zapomenuté české kapely" [Forgotten Czech bands]. iReport CZ (in Czech).
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