when i first heard...dillinger four

so i've decided that i am going to use mog as my way to share my stories of how i first heard certain artists/groups/bands (all referred to as bands from now on in my posts - which means forever - that is, unless they aren't a band...whatever, you get my point). this will probably be more fun for me than you for two reasons:1) i get to reminisce about 'back when...' (and in some cases WAY back when).b) i'm not a writer so you could possibly potentially be annoyed by reading my posts. and i am known to use run-on sentences and leave hanging participles and/or conjuctions on the ends of my sentences and starting sentences with 'and' to.i picked dillinger four because i'm a little homesick. i'm originally from minneapolis, minnesota (as is dillinger four) and am now living in france, about 40 minutes south of paris. long story - you can check out my blog if you want to read about it...the year is 1995. i'm 20 years old, a student at the university of minnesota and was working three part-time jobs. i also played guitar in a punk band. we rehearsed in this old crappy warehouse by the university that someone bought and started converting into practice spaces. there was no soundproofing or anything - totally ghetto. the noise bled from room to room. good thing we always practiced late. anyway, the other guitarist from the band tells me about this 7" that just came out by a minneapolis band called "dillinger four":http://www.angelfire.com/mn/dillingerfour/. it was called 'higher aspirations: tempered and dismantled'. from the second that the needle hit the record, i was hooked. it was a perfect blend of punk, pop, and straight up rock and roll. they did the multi-singer thing, too, and although the vocals were opposite ends of the style spectrum, they somehow complimented each other perfectly. i loved the short dialogue sample they used at the beginning of it, as well (something they've done on all of their subsequent releases).after having to live on those four songs for well over a year, they released their second 7" called 'the kids are all dead'. one word 'brilliant!'. i remember liking this one more than the first one - i noticed an improvement in production, too. another six months went by and now a split 7" with the strike (from chicago, i believe). two more songs to add to their catalogue including a cover of the pogue's 'sally maclennane'. another six months and another 7" - 'more songs about girlfriends and bubblegum'. when were these fuckers going to put out a full length???anyway, they finally got to it in june of 1998 with 'midwestern songs of the americas'. needless to say, i loved it. since then, they've released two additional full lengths, a rarities collection, a live album, a split release with billy joe/aaron cometbus collaboration, pinhead gunpowder, and have appeared on numerous compilations. i've also heard rumors that their newest full length is due out on halloween this year, but haven't been able to find any confirmation on that.support local music. not all bands break up before they release material. and even if they do, you'll have had the priviledge to enjoy their music for as long as you did.