THE BLACK DAHLIAS
Years Played 1996- 2002
Members:
         Charles Lieurance - Vocals
         Kristen Bailey – Vocals, saw, tambourine
         Mark Wohlberg – guitar, Vocals (formerly Matt Silcock, and Pat Noecker)
         Randy Mollner – viola, banjo, guitar, Vocals
         Ben Armstrong – drums, Vocals
         Brian McCue – bass (formerly Terry Pieper)
         Also with: Amoree Lovell on accordion, Eric Ziegler on guitar.
Releases:
         Calaca City - 2000 - Daddy's Circus records
         What I Do At Midnight - 2001 - Daddy's Circus records (never released)
Members came from: Rise Up Beggar, The Self Righteous Brothers
Members went to Mister Baby, The Honey Hush, Suzy Dreamer & Her Nightmares, Head of Femur, Junior Mighty

L-R: Terry Pieper, Ben Armstrong, Charles Lieurance,
Randy Mollner, Kristen Bailey, Amoree Lovell, Mark Wohlberg

Chalres Lieurance's list of essential Lincoln releases:

1. 13 Nightmares "Shit Ride"
Although I may be in the minority, I think Cosgrove's *Soul on Ice* schtick just adds to the charm of this record. And, of course, it rocks like all hell. The riff for the title song is monumental, in every sense of the word, and "Field of Glass" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written, period. It breaks your heart AND makes you want to piss on the flag all at once. Anger, not as an energy, but as an exhausting enema. I am thankful, however, that great live recordings do exist of "FOG" in its more cranked-up pre-"Shit Ride" state. The 13 Nightmares debut cassette, "Hurts to Be Murdered" is worth it for "September" alone. Also, their cover of Bread's "Everything I Own" on Pravda's K-Tel Smash Hits record is great.

2. GC3 - Both unreleased recordings
larke-county-100" class="band-link">Clarke County -- Murder Ballads (recorded live at Duffy's) -- "If You're Goin' Down" (with Nancy)" and "The Double Shift." & the aborted, bungled studio recording Cosgrove still firing on all cylinders with help from great musicians like Colby Starck, Steve Streit, LeAnn Dineson, Nancy Sullivan & the Bros. Zimmerman. "Matt, You Fucker," "Barns in Iowa," "Fear of Lightning," & "Poor Baby Jesus" all find the tarnished rusty link between Paul Westerberg, Van Morrison & Lee Hazlewood. All are woefully unavailable officially.

3. Red Max - Unreleased full-length & "Voodoo Liquor Hot Rod" 3-song single with "VLHR" b/w "I'm Sick" & "Huffer Boy"
Guitarist/singer Randy Doctor is Peter Fonda as the Motor Saint, Heavenly Blue, in Corman's *Wild Angels* channeling Heartbreakers' era Johnny Thunders. The greatest "True Believer" rock n roll to emerge from Lincoln. Gia & Mark Lee's Pull-Out being a close second. Also, Doctor dukes it out with Cosgrove & Jon Taylor for best onstage guitar stance.

4. Drive-by Honky "Thrift Americana"
Grunge without the monosyllabic journal-entry angst. Singer/songwriter lyricism with jittery, buzzing power chords. And a blazing state of the union address for midwestern guitar rock's legitimacy -- fueled by a farmboy sophisticate's take on Kiss, Dylan, Cobain, Mercy Rule & Firehose. Okay, so Jenkins is no farmboy, but that's just my way of saying it's real, says all it needs to say and not a shred more, and is not in the least dodgy.

5. Mannequin Beach - S/T cassette
Dan, Randy & Heath were an explosive, angry Minutemen-esque monster & I accidentally wandered onto their untimely -- from my perspective -- demise at Gilman Street in Berkeley.

6. Crush the Clown -- "Alright, So We're All Going to Hell" & "The Minister's Son"
Pop/psych so celestial & radiant, with such dark undercurrents that no one even questioned their Halloween costumes in 1999 -- Jarek the angel, Nick the Devil.

7. Some great singles & EPs -- "In the Year 2525" -- Zager & Evans; "Saddle Creek" b/w "Chinese Water Torture" -- Polecat; "Dead Giveaway" b/w "Mobile, Alabama" -- Charlie Burton & Rock Therapy; "Guitar Case" b/w "Dolled-Up Cutie" -- Charlie Burton; "I Beg of You," "I Was the One" b/w "Don't Be a Fool," "Skull & Crossbones" -- Janice K; "Umm Baby," "So in Love with You" b/w "Sixteen Chicks," "I'm a Fool" -- Bobby Lowell & Company.

8. Both Broadside Tapes
Sloppy beautiful all-over-the-place nonsense from a sloppy beautiful all-over-the-place time.

9. Johnny Rocket Science - "Johnny Rocket Science"
Pere Ubu, Rocket from the Tombs & Patti Smith Group all retardedly trying to play Sun Ra. The best thing I'd heard on KRNU in years. Where are they now?

10. Trout Mystery -- s/t tape and Puggy -- unreleased album/released single
Dave Sullivan & Chris Albright were Lincoln's correct answer to Television's twin guitar basket of snakes. I'm too close to this to say more than that.

Honorable mentions to "Drift" by Think, 13 County's debut, Holy Ghost's debut (the Lincoln band, not the New Yawk one) Amoree Lovell's The Burning Bush, and Power of the Spoken Word's LP.

Charles Lieurance was also a member of Rise Up Beggar, The Honey Hush, A-1 House Of Fun, Dietrich Bonhoeffer & Dawn, and is currently living in Chicago, leading his new band, Mansion Drapes.

From Charles Lieurance: The Dahlias started in 1996 with Terry, Pat Noecker, Mark Wolberg, Kristen & myself at our house on Peach Street. Mark drummed and played saw. So did Kristen. I played Keyboards our first show and Noecker played guitar. It was at Knickerbockers. Then Pat left for New Yawk and we put Silcock on guitar. Did Focht play drums for awhile then? I kinda think so. I played guitar as well on our Suicide cover ("Cheree, Cheree") and on "Calaca City Waltz" and we sat down while we played. We played The Cog Factory in Omaha a lot. That's where Ben joined up. Mark moved to just the saw. Then Silcock quit and Mark moved to guitar. Amoree Lovell joined up to play accordion when we practiced in the mine shaft under Knickerbockers. We just moved Mark around to wherever.

From Tery Daly: Some of my fondest show memories are from Black Dahlias shows. For those who weren't there, seeing the Dahlias do their song "Hound Dog Rain" was an experience. One thing you noticed that looked slightly out of place on stage, was a beat up looking old garbage can that was mic'ed. Throughout the show, Kristen Bailey used to circulate the bar and pick up people's empty beer bottles. It got to the point where fans knew to just bring them up and put them onstage. When they'd get to Hound Dog Rain, Kristen would put on her Safety Goggles and drag the garbage can out on the stage a bit. As they played the song, Kristen kept time by smashing beer bottles in the garbage can to the beat. It was a sight to behold, but unfortunately, most club owners didn't like the flying glass that accompanied the song and the fun had to stop, but while it lasted, it was cool as hell.

One of the Dahlias last shows in Lincoln before they took off for Chicago, took place at a private party in the basement of Homers when it was on the corner of 14th & O st. It was an illicit party, as we didn't have permission to be there, we just knew someone who worked there and had the key. My band Starboy played, as did The W.T., Crush The Clown, and maybe some other bands, my memory of that night is a bit foggy, as anyone who saw me there could tell you. Ben Armstrong says it's the first and only time he saw me drunker than he was. Anyway, The Dahlias were doing a kick ass set when they went into Hound Dog Rain. In my state of extreme inebriation, I thought it would be a great homage to Kristen if I broke my beer bottle on the floor while they played the song. I proceeded to do just that, then a few others joined in on the homage as well. I was in the process of looking for more bottles to smash when luckily people with clearer heads than mine convinced me to stop. Julee Dunekacke has the scars on her legs to prove her attendance at this particular bash.