My Dad is Dead

**My Dad Is Dead** was a recording project of musician Mark Edwards. The project began in Cleveland, Ohio in 1984. My Dad Is Dead has released twelve full-length albums before it officially ended in 2011.

## History

Mark Edwards first played drums during the very early portion of the 1980s, performing in the bands Thermos of Happiness and Riot Architecture before they both dissolved by 1984. In August that same year, Edwards began to learn guitar and started to write music under the name of My Dad Is Dead. Early live shows consisted of him performing guitar and vocals with percussion duties done by a drum machine. The name of the project was taken from the fact that both of Edward's parents were dead by the time he was only 21 years old.

After the independent release of a self-titled cassette album in 1985, Edwards released ...and He's Not Gonna Take It Anymore through local label St. Valentine in 1986. A second LP album, titled Peace, Love and Murder came out a year later on Birth Records. Edwards was signed onto Homestead Records in early 1988, and released three albums through them: The Best Defense, Let's Skip The Details, and finally The Taller You Are, the Shorter You Get, the last of the three being released in 1989.[5] Let's Skip The Details also marks as the first release by the project to feature musicians other than Edwards, allowing for My Dad Is Dead to tour as a full band.

The Shine double seven-inch, Chopping Down the Family Tree, and Out of Sight, Out of Mind were all released via Scat Records in 1990, 1991, and 1993 respectively. In 1990 they recorded a session for the John Peel show on BBC Radio 1 with songs Without a Doubt, Water's Edge and Nothing Special.

1995 saw the split Emperor Jones/Trance Syndicate release For Richer, for Poorer, and also the My Dad Is Dead entry in the Hello Recording Club subscription EP series. Emperor Jones also released Everyone Wants the Honey But Not the Sting in 1997. In 2002, Vital Cog issued The Engine of Commerce. A Divided House and A New Clear Route were issued independently on Edwards' self-run Unhinged imprint in 2005 and 2009, and in 2011 the project officially came to an end. In January 2012 Edward's new band, Secular Joy, released the album, Made for Better Things.

## Members

* Mark Edwards
* Chris Burgess
* Doug Gillard
* John McEntire
* Matt Swanson
* Scott Pickering
* Shayne Ivy

## Discography

#### **Albums**

* My Dad Is Dead (Album) (Self-released, 1985)
* ...and He's Not Gonna Take It Anymore (St. Valentine, 1986)
* Peace, Love & Murder (Birth, 1987)
* Let's Skip the Details (Homestead Records, 1988)
* The Taller You Are, the Shorter You Get (Homestead Records, 1989)
* Chopping Down the Family Tree (Scat Records, 1991)
* Out of Sight, Out of Mind (Scat Records, 1993)
* For Richer, for Poorer (Emperor Jones/Trance Syndicate, 1995)
* Everyone Wants the Honey But Not the Sting (Emperor Jones, 1997)
* The Engine of Commerce (Vital Cog, 2002)
* A Divided House (Unhinged, 2005)
* A New Clear Route (Unhinged, 2009)

#### **Extended plays**

* Shine 2x7" (Scat Records, 1990)
* My Dad Is Dead, also known as the Hello EP (Hello Recording Club, 1995)

#### **Compilations**

* The Best Defense (1988 Homestead Records)
* Shine(r) (Emperor Jones/Trance Syndicate, 1996)

#### **Compilation appearances**

* "Time Has Come Today", from Human Music (Homestead Records, 1989)
* "Old Toys or A Boat", from split 7" with Prisonshake (Scat Records, 1990)
* "Flesh Colored House", from split 7" with Bastro (Clawfist, 1990)
* "Time and Again", from Hotel Cleveland Vol III (Scat Records, 1991)
* "Where's Our Reason", from split 7" with Rastro! (Simple Machines, 1993), later compiled on Working Holiday! cd (Simple Machines, 2004)
* "Second Thoughts" and "Nothing Special", from Cle Magazine cd (1995)
* "Mysterious Ways", from Cleveland Squawks CD, included in Cle Magazine (1997)
* "Just Pretending", from Pet Sounds Volume 1 (Vital Cog, 2000)
* "The Memory of Your Kiss", from split 7" with Duochrome (Vital Cog, 2001)