{{Short description|Australian rock band}} {{about|the Australian band|similarly named topics|DC3 (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Use Australian English|date=July 2011}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = The DC3 | alias = | origin = Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | genre = Alternative rock | years_active = 2010–2013 | label = Meek Joe Records | current_members = Damian Cowell<br />Henri Grawe<br />Douglas Lee Robertson }} '''The DC3''' were an Australian rock band who were composed of three members of Root!. They were known for lead singer Damian Cowell being a member of TISM. They released their first single, "I Was the Guy in TISM" in 2010. A remixed and extended version appears on their debut album ''The Future Sound of Nostalgia'', released in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.nibblesmusic.com/?p=215 |title=The DC3 debut album The Future Sound of Nostalgia & launch tour |publisher=Nibbles Music |accessdate=2011-07-15}}</ref>
== History == In 2010, Damian Cowell was contracted to write an album for the Museum of Old and New Art.<ref>{{cite web|author=Damian_Cowell |url=http://www.thedc3.com.au/2011/04/18/whats-all-this-solo-album-shit/ |title=What is all this 'solo album' shit? « the DC3 |publisher=Thedc3.com.au |accessdate=15 July 2011}}</ref> The album, titled ''Vs Art'', was composed of new songs about the artwork at MONA. Cowell split his alt-country band Root! up soon after but reformed it with fewer members under the name the DC3. The DC3 gained a following among former TISM and Root! fans after the band's first single "I was the guy in TISM" was released in November 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/au/album/i-was-the-guy-in-tism/406582652 |title=I Was The Guy in TISM by The DC3 - Download I Was The Guy in TISM on iTunes |publisher=iTunes |date=26 November 2010 |access-date=15 July 2011}}</ref>
The DC3's first show was at the opening of MONA in Hobart. In December 2010, ''Vs Art'' was released. The band began to play live in Melbourne and around Australia.
Cowell originally intended to call the band "The Future Sound of Nostalgia"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undercover.fm/videos/548-the-dc3-undercover-interviews |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401025417/http://www.undercover.fm/videos/548-the-dc3-undercover-interviews |url-status=usurped |archive-date=1 April 2011 |title=The DC3 - Undercover Interviews - Undercover.fm Videos |publisher=Undercover.fm |accessdate=15 July 2011}}</ref>", but he thought it was too long. This is instead the name of the band's official debut album which was released on 1 September 2011.
The DC3's second and final album, ''May Contain Traces of Nut'', was released on 7 February 2013. It was funded by a Pozible project which raised $12,590. In April 2013, The DC3 performed an hour-long show ''The Ringtone Cycle'' at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/comedy/triple-bill-of-comedy-mostly-on-song-20130402-2h4uv.html|title=Triple bill of comedy mostly on song|date=3 April 2013|access-date=16 August 2025|website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>
At the end of 2013, the DC3 broke up so Cowell could concentrate on his solo project Damian Cowell's Disco Machine. Their final two songs, "Bryan Miller" and "Martin Wagner" (outtakes from the ''May Contain Traces of Nut'' sessions), were released on SoundCloud in early 2014. In an interview in 2015, Cowell stated that the breakup was in part due to Robertson's and Grawe's desires to live normal lives.
== Style == The DC3 mainly played standard alternative rock with social commentary as the lyrics, as heard in songs like "I Was the Guy in TISM" and "Henry Fucking Wagons". The sound is reminiscent of White Albun-era TISM. The band itself described its style as "motorik punk rock Eurodisco".<ref>https://www.facebook.com/TheDCThree/info {{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}</ref>
Some DC3 songs (e.g. "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Shut the Fuck Up", "Henry Fucking Wagons") were performed as Root! songs as early as 2008 before the name-change to the DC3. {{Listen |filename=Guyintism.ogg |title="I Was the Guy in TISM" |description=Sample of the single version of "I Was the Guy in TISM" |format=Ogg }} {{Listen |filename=HFW.ogg |title="Henry Fucking Wagons" |description=Sample of "Henry Fucking Wagons" (live at the Northcote Social Club) |format=Ogg }}
== Discography == ===Albums=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" ! Title ! Details |- ! scope="row"| ''The Future Sound of Nostalgia'' | * Released: 2011 * Label: Meek Joe Records (DC3#1) |- ! scope="row"| ''May Contain Traces of Nut'' | * Released: 2013 * Label: Meek Joe Records (DC3#2) |}
== Footnotes == <references /> {{Authority control}}
{{TISM}} {{DEFAULTSORT:DC3, The}} Category:Musical groups from Victoria (state) Category:Musical groups established in 2010 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2013 Category:TISM Category:2010 establishments in Australia
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