D.I. Essentials
Playlist - 17 Songs
D.I. have been one of the stalwarts of Orange County hardcore, with their taut, no-holds-barred songs influencing multiple generations of punks. Formed in the early ’80s by lead snarler and songwriter Casey Royer after his previous band, hardcore pioneers Adolescents, broke up, D.I. combine the surf-rock sounds of their home county with acerbic lyrics and speedy guitars. Royer, the sole constant since D.I.’s formation decades ago, has a nasal voice that cuts through his bandmates’ thrashing chaos and turns songs like the anti-religion broadside “Spiritual Law” and a cover of Devo’s jittery “Uncontrollable Urge” into anthems for the disaffected.