Dishwalla

Dishwalla
Alternative rock band Dishwalla performs at a Fourth of July celebration event at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam (2015)
Background information
Also known as	Life Talking (1990–1992) Dish (1992–1993)
Origin	Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock post-grunge
Years active	1990–2005, 2008–present
Labels	A&M, Interscope, Immergent, Orphanage, Pavement Entertainment
Members	Rodney Browning Cravens Scot Alexander Jim Wood George Pendergast Justin Fox
Past members	J.R. Richards Greg Kolanek Pete Maloney
Website	dishwalla.com

Dishwalla is an American alternative rock band from Santa Barbara, California. Formed by vocalist J.R. Richards, guitarist Rodney Browning, and keyboardist Greg Kolanek, they were initially known as Life Talking and then Dish upon adding bassist Scot Alexander and drummer George Pendergast.^[1] Due to a cease-and-desist letter, the band settled on Dishwalla in late 1993. The Dishwalla name came from a Hindi term for a person providing satellite TV to a neighborhood ("dish" + walla). Kolanek took the name from a Wired magazine article.^[2][3][4] The band is best known for its 1996 hit song "Counting Blue Cars".

J.R. Richards (vocals/rhythm guitar), Rodney Browning (guitar), and Greg Kolanek (keyboards) formed the band Life Talking in 1990. They released one demo album, By the Color, in 1991. Unlike their later output, Life Talking was more synthpop and electronic-oriented.^[1] The following year, the band changed its name to Dish as they added Scot Alexander (bass) and George Pendergast (drums) to the lineup. With a full band, their sound shifted into an alternative rock direction. Dish self-released a demo album in 1993, Dish, as it featured three songs that were later re-recorded for their major label debut ("Charlie Brown's Parents", "Give", and "All She Can See"), one song that was re-recorded from their Life Talking era ("Worthless"), and three exclusive tracks ("The Chair", "Love Sees No Color", and "Tear").^[5] Due to a cease-and-desist letter in August 1993, the band changed their name to Dishwalla, based on a Wired magazine article.^[1]

In 1994, the band recorded "It's Going to Take Some Time" on the tribute album If I Were a Carpenter, which featured cover versions of songs by The Carpenters. Kolanek departed from the band later that year, although the reasoning was not explained (he was given songwriting credits on the band's subsequent release however).^[6] The band continued as a quartet, and they signed a contract with the label A&M Records. Their album Pet Your Friends featured producer Phil Nicolo (known as one half of The Butcher Bros.), and it was released in August 1995. Jim Wood was then brought in as the band's keyboardist. In 1996, the single "Counting Blue Cars" from Pet Your Friends climbed to No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and topped the Modern Rock Tracks chart, bringing the band mainstream success. The track earned them a Billboard Award for "Best Rock Song" for 1996 as well as two ASCAP Awards for "Rock Track of the Year" in both 1996 and 1997. Ultimately, Pet Your Friends was certified gold by the RIAA.

Dishwalla's 1998 follow-up album, And You Think You Know What Life's About, failed to sustain the level of popularity achieved by "Counting Blue Cars". This has led to the band being classified as a one-hit wonder.^[7][8][9] Its lead single, "Once in a While", managed to appear on both the Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts however. Dishwalla toured with Sheryl Crow in promotion of the album, but Pendergast sustained an injury. Initially, Pete Maloney was brought on as a temporary drummer, but Maloney ended up joining the band on a full-time basis.^[10]

In 1999, the band appeared in a Charmed episode (season 2, episode 4). They performed a concert as themselves at "P3", a fictional night-club, during the episode. That same year, the band's song "Find Your Way Back Home" was featured on the soundtrack for the film American Pie. In 2002, Dishwalla released their third album, Opaline, on Immergent Records. The band followed up with the 2005 self-titled album Dishwalla on Orphanage Records. This would be the band's last album with original vocalist Richards.

After deciding to take a break in 2005, the band reformed and began touring in 2008 with a modified lineup consisting of bassist Alexander, guitarist Browning, keyboardist Wood, and drummer Pendergast. The lineup featured long-time friend, Justin Fox, singer of the Santa Barbara band Tripdavon, as a "special guest vocalist". On March 15, 2009, Dishwalla was asked to play a benefit concert for Tea Fire victims Lance and Carla Hoffman, who were badly burned in fires which hit Santa Barbara in November 2008. In September 2012, Dishwalla let it be known that Richards had been permanently replaced with long-time friend and "special guest vocalist" Fox, as Richards focused on his solo albums and production career. In November 2012, in an episode of the TV show How I Met Your Mother, Dishwalla and their song "Counting Blue Cars" was written into a storyline.^[11]

In 2013 and 2014, the band toured extensively across the United States and the world.^[12] The band shared the stage with many other notable acts such as Eric Burdon, Collective Soul, Vertical Horizon, Tonic, Stroke 9, and Nine Days just in 2014 alone.^[13] Although there were initial doubts about Fox's ability to take over as frontman, his longevity in the band and continued touring commitments received support by the band's fans.^[14][15]

The year 2015 was the 20th anniversary of Dishwalla's chart-topping Pet Your Friends album release that launched their careers.^[16] To commemorate the event, the band re-recorded a 20th Anniversary Edition of their hit "Counting Blue Cars" with new vocalist Fox. On July 14, 2017, Dishwalla released their fifth studio album, Juniper Road, marking the band's first full-length studio release in twelve years.^[17] During the summer of 2017, the band joined the "Rockin' Road Trip '17" tour, sharing the stage with notable acts such as Fuel, Marcy Playground, Gin Blossoms, and others.^[18][19] Their summer dates included an appearance at the Santa Barbara Bowl on September 18, 2017 with Tears for Fears.^[20]

Dishwalla released a three-track EP, Alive, in 2022. The title track managed to peak at No. 31 on the Mainstream Rock chart, their first appearance on a Billboard chart in 20 years.^[21]

• Rodney Browning Cravens – lead guitar, backing vocals (1990–2005, 2008–present)
• Scot Alexander – bass, backing vocals (1993–2005, 2008–present)
• George Pendergast – drums (1993–1998, 2008–present)
• Jim Wood – keyboards (1996–2005, 2008–present)
• Justin Fox – lead vocals (2008–present)

• J. R. Richards – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards (1990–2005)
• Greg Kolanek – keyboards (1990–1994)
• Pete Maloney – drums (1998–2005)

• By the Color (1991, as Life Talking)
• Dish (1993, as Dish)

• Gems (2001)
• Santa Claus Lane (2003)
• Live... Greetings from the Flow State (2003)
• Santa Claus Lane II (2004)
• Southeast Asia (2004)
• Alive (2022)

• "It's Going to Take Some Time", featured on the 1994 Carpenters tribute album, If I Were a Carpenter
• "The Thrill Is Gone", featured on the 1995 soundtrack album, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
• "The Other Side of the World", featured on the 1997 compilation, MOM II: Music for Our Mother Ocean
• "Policy of Truth", featured on the 1998 Depeche Mode tribute album, For the Masses
• "Find Your Way Back Home", featured on the 1999 soundtrack album, American Pie

• 1990s in music
• List of alternative music artists

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dishwalla.

• Official website