# The Dead C
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{{Short description|New Zealand experimental rock band}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=November 2012}}
{{Infobox musical artist
|name = The Dead C
|image =
|caption =
|background = group_or_band
|alias =
|origin = [Dunedin](/source/Dunedin), New Zealand
|instrument =
|genre = {{hlist|[Experimental rock](/source/Experimental_rock)|[post-rock](/source/post-rock)|[psychedelia](/source/Psychedelic_music)|[noise rock](/source/noise_rock)|[free rock](/source/Free_improvisation)|[drone](/source/Drone_music)|[Dunedin sound](/source/Dunedin_sound)}}
|occupation =
|years_active = 1986–present
|label =
|associated_acts = [2 Foot Flame](/source/2_Foot_Flame), Gate
A Handful of Dust, [Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos](/source/Wreck_Small_Speakers_on_Expensive_Stereos)
|website =
|current_members = [Bruce Russell](/source/Bruce_Russell_(musician))
[Michael Morley](/source/Michael_Morley_(musician))
Robbie Yeats
|past_members =
}}
'''The Dead C''' are a [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand) music and art trio consisting of members [Bruce Russell](/source/Bruce_Russell_(musician)), [Michael Morley](/source/Michael_Morley_(musician)) and Robbie Yeats, formed in [Dunedin](/source/Dunedin).[{{cite web |first=Ned |last=Raggett |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000261942|pure_url=yes}}|title=The Dead C: ''Harsh 70's Reality'' > Review |publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=1 March 2013}}][{{cite magazine |first=David |last=Sprague |url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=dead_c |title=Dead C |magazine=[Trouser Press](/source/Trouser_Press) |year=2007 |accessdate=11 March 2016}}] Russell is a co-lead guitarist, Morley sings and plays guitar or laptop, and Yeats is a drummer. They have been variously praised and cited as an influence by [indie](/source/Indie_rock) musicians such as [Thurston Moore](/source/Thurston_Moore) and [Pavement](/source/Pavement_(band)), as well as the [post-rock](/source/post-rock) acts [Bardo Pond](/source/Bardo_Pond), [Flying Saucer Attack](/source/Flying_Saucer_Attack) and [Labradford](/source/Labradford).[{{Cite web|date=|title=Dead C|url=http://www.flyingnun.co.nz/archive_site/bands/general/deadc.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091024045912/http://www.flyingnun.co.nz/archive_site/bands/general/deadc.htm|archive-date=2009-10-24|access-date=2021-02-18|website=[Flying Nun Records](/source/Flying_Nun_Records)}}]
== Overview ==
The Dead C formed in Dunedin in 1987, following Morley's previous musical project [Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos](/source/Wreck_Small_Speakers_on_Expensive_Stereos).[{{Cite web|date=2010-10-04|title=The Dead C|url=https://beat.com.au/the-dead-c/|access-date=2022-02-24|website=Beat Magazine|language=en-AU}}] Their first Auckland show was in 1989, by which point they had already released two albums on [Flying Nun](/source/Flying_Nun_Records) who Russell had been doing [copywriting](/source/copywriting) work for.[{{Cite web|title=The Dead C Finds Life in the Shadows|url=https://consequence.net/aux-out/the-dead-c-finds-life-in-the-shadows/|access-date=2022-02-24|website=Consequence|language=en-US}}] They became known internationally through their releases on the Philadelphia record label [Siltbreeze](/source/Siltbreeze), especially the 1992 double LP ''[Harsh 70s Reality](/source/Harsh_70s_Reality)''. Their records are typically composed of improvised material, and are not recorded in a standard professional music studio; for instance, their [2000 self-titled album](/source/The_Dead_C_(album)) was largely recorded with a digital camcorder.[{{Cite web|date=2016-09-15|title=In Praise of Miscompetence: Noise Icons the Dead C Remain Mysterious as Ever|url=https://observer.com/2016/09/in-praise-of-miscompetence-noise-icons-the-dead-c-remain-mysterious-as-ever/|access-date=2022-02-24|website=Observer|language=en-US}}]
The group performs infrequently outside of New Zealand, although they did travel to the US in March 2002 to perform at the [All Tomorrow's Parties](/source/All_Tomorrow's_Parties_(music_festival)) festival (curated by [Sonic Youth](/source/Sonic_Youth)), as well as shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco. They also performed for the first time in Europe in May 2004 at Le Weekend, a new music festival in Stirling, Scotland and returned to the UK to play at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival again in December 2006.[{{Cite web|date=2012-09-05|title=The Dead C|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nat-music/audio/2530573/the-dead-c|access-date=2022-02-24|website=[RNZ](/source/RNZ) |language=en-nz}}] In 2008, they played a short tour in the United States, and returned to the UK to play All Tomorrow's Parties in December 2010. In September 2016, they played a few US dates including Cropped Out festival in Louisville, Kentucky
A compilation album covering their first 18 years entitled ''Vain Erudite and Stupid: Selected Works 1987-2005'' was released on the [Ba Da Bing](/source/Ba_Da_Bing_Records) label in 2006.
==Discography==
===Albums===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Release date
!Title
!Label
|-
|1988
|''[DR503](/source/DR503)''
|[Flying Nun Records](/source/Flying_Nun_Records)
|-
|1989
|''[Eusa Kills](/source/Eusa_Kills)''
|Flying Nun Records
|-
|1990
|''[Trapdoor Fucking Exit](/source/Trapdoor_Fucking_Exit)''
|Precious Metal
|-
|1992
|''[Harsh 70s Reality](/source/Harsh_70s_Reality)''
|[Siltbreeze](/source/Siltbreeze){{ref label|a|a}}
|-
|1992
|''[Clyma est mort](/source/Clyma_est_mort)''
|Siltbreeze{{ref label|b|b}}
|-
|1992
|''Metric''
|Majora
|-
|1994
|''[The Operation of the Sonne](/source/The_Operation_of_the_Sonne)''
|Siltbreeze
|-
|1995
|''[The White House](/source/The_White_House_(album))''
|Siltbreeze
|-
|1996
|''[Repent](/source/Repent_(album))''
|Siltbreeze
|-
|1997
|''[Tusk](/source/Tusk_(The_Dead_C_album))''
|Siltbreeze
|-
|2000
|''[The Dead C](/source/The_Dead_C_(album))''
|[Language Recordings](/source/Language_Recordings)
|-
|2001
|''[New Electric Music](/source/New_Electric_Music)''
|Language Recordings
|-
|2003
|''[The Damned](/source/The_Damned_(album))''
|[Starlight Furniture Company](/source/Starlight_Furniture_Company)
|-
|2007
|''[Future Artists](/source/Future_Artists)''
|[Ba Da Bing](/source/Ba_Da_Bing_Records)
|-
|2007
|Untitled Split LP (with Hi God People)
|[Nervous Jerk Records](/source/Nervous_Jerk_Records)
|-
|2008
|''[Secret Earth](/source/Secret_Earth)''
|Ba Da Bing
|-
|2010
|''[Patience](/source/Patience_(The_Dead_C_album))''
|Ba Da Bing
|-
|2013
|''[Armed Courage](/source/Armed_Courage)''
|Ba Da Bing
|-
|2016
|''Trouble''
|Ba Da Bing
|-
|2019
|''Rare Ravers''
|Ba Da Bing
|-
|2020
|''Unknowns''
|Ba Da Bing
|}
===EPs===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Release date
!Title
!Label
!Format
|-
|1989
|''The Sun Stabbed''
|[Xpressway](/source/Xpressway)
|7"
|-
|1990
|''[Helen Said This](/source/Helen_Said_This)''¹
|Siltbreeze
|12", 33 rpm
|-
|2005
|''Split Series 18'' (with [Konono Nº1](/source/Konono_N%C2%BA1))
|[Nervous Jerk Records](/source/Nervous_Jerk_Records)
|
|-
|2013
|''The Dead C vs Rangda'' (split with Rangda)
|Ba Da Bing
|
|-
|2015
|''Palisadas''
|I Dischi Del Barone
|
|-
|2020
|''All Goodbyes''
|Language Recordings
|
|}
===Cassettes===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Release date
!Title
!Label
|-
|1987
|''The Dead See Perform M. Harris''
|Diabolic Root
|-
|1987
|''43 Sketch for a Poster''
|Diabolic Root
|-
|1988
|''The Live Dead See''
|[Xpressway](/source/Xpressway)
|-
|1989
|''[Perform DR503B](/source/Perform_DR503B)''
|[Xpressway](/source/Xpressway)
|-
|1990
|''[Runway](/source/Runway_(The_Dead_C_album))''
|[Precious Metal](/source/Precious_Metal_(record_label))
|}
=== Compilations ===
{| class=wikitable sortable
!Release date
!Title
!Label
|-
|1995
|''[World Peace Hope et al.](/source/World_Peace_Hope_et_al.)''
|[Shock](/source/Shock_(record_label))
|-
|2006
|''[Vain, Erudite and Stupid: Selected Works 1987–2005](/source/Vain%2C_Erudite_and_Stupid%3A_Selected_Works_1987%E2%80%932005)''
|Ba Da Bing
|-
|}
; Notes
: {{note label|a|a}} 1500 copies made
: {{note label|b|b}} 450 copies made
===Singles===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Single
|-
|1991
|"Hell is Now Love/Bone"
|-
|1991
| "Power/Mighty/Peace"
|-
|1994
|"The Dead C vs. Sebadoh"
|-
|1994
| "Metalheart"
|-
|1995
|"Metalheart" (reissue)
|-
|2000
| "Stealth/The Factory"
|-
|2006
| "Relax Fallujah Hell Has Come"
|-
|2008
| "Golden/Canine"
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180805195237/http://thedeadc.com/ Archive of the Dead C. fansite] with coverage of the fanzine era.
* [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p169395|pure_url=yes}} Biography and Discography] at allmusic.com
* [http://monsterfresh.com/2010/08/27/michael-morley-interview-dead-c-gate/ Michael Morley interview on MonsterFresh.com] Aug. 2010
{{The Dead C}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dead C}}
Category:New Zealand indie rock groups
Category:Flying Nun Records artists
Category:New Zealand musical trios
Category:Free improvisation ensembles
Category:New Zealand experimental rock groups
Category:New Zealand post-rock groups
Category:Musical groups from Dunedin
Category:Musical groups established in 1986
Category:1986 establishments in New Zealand
Category:Siltbreeze Records artists
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Dead C](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_C) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_C?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.