Dead Pioneers are the kind of band that make you sit up and listen musically and politically. Paul F Cook, who reviewed 2024’s eponymous album and their most recent release PO$T AMERICAN, described them as “a furious collage of spoken word, punk swagger and TED Talk”. Josh Rivera (guitar), Abe Brennan (guitar), Lee Tesche (bass), and Shane Zweygardt (drums) bring the fire and fury in their powerhouse backing but at the centre of it all is writer, activist and vocalist Gregg Deal who brings “righteous vitriol” to the cause of the Native American community. We wanted to find out the songs that have entertained and inspired Gregg Deal so asked him to give us his ‘Life in 10 Songs’ and tell us why they mean so much.
Nervous Breakdown – Black Flag
The simple, but impactful entryway into the beginnings of hard core punk. Tied to skateboarding, anger, angst, but also within the bounds of mental health for young people when everything is driving you crazy. It was one of the perfect songs that didn’t just articulate how I felt, but also sounded like it.
The World Up My Ass – Circle Jerks
From the iconic record “Group Sex”, this was the exact record I hid from my parents because it was a two for one: a band called Circle Jerks and a record called Group Sex. This song though, it’s a fantastic song about angst. Of course Dead Pioneers covers this song, and we play it faster, but it still feels the same. This song is everything.
10:15 Saturday Night – The Cure
I dated a girl whose brother was super into some of this new wave gothy music that I hated. He introduced this record to me, which at the time was only an import which means it was expensive and hard to find in the early 90’s. I feel in love with this record. Low fi, coming off of classic UK Punk ethos with a healthy dash of melancholy. That’s a sweet spot for me, if I’m honest. All the hard core punk in my life when all I really want is a morose song that makes me feel my feelings. Ha, ha, ha, ha!
Low Self Opinion – Rollins Band
For people my age into this kind of music, this feels like a cliche choice. Henry has become a bit of a mythical figure among us. This record, End of Silence, was life changing for me. Coming out when I was midway through high school, it somehow embodied my own feelings while also pointing the figure at others. Seemingly angry, yet legitimately emotional with scathing indignation? Yes please. I attribute this record as one of the single most important for me. It was my entry way in discovering writing, poetry and unapologetic articulation.
MTT 420 – IDLES
This song is in the mix because it fits in the space of being morose, dramatic and genuinely beautiful. While I have two songs on here from IDLES form the same record, I find Joe’s delivery and words along with the musical soundscape of the rest of the fellas to be the most exciting thing I’ve heard in a very long time. It strokes the mind of a younger version of myself while being relevant to me as an adult. No apologies.
Burning Light – Inside Out
Before Rage Against the Machine, Zack de la Rocha was in this fantastic hardcore band. I grew up in the hardcore straight edge scene listening to legendary bands out of the NYxHC scene like Judge, Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits, but the spread of this type of music into the west coast created bands like Inside Out. Political, spiritual, mindful, angry, unapologetic. Hell, even now I try to be this. I have a lot of memories of this band and their reunion show. We were all there. Everyone came. It was wild.
Just Can’t Hate Enough – Sheer Terror
This song. Such an anthem for me growing up. Self righteous anger while also stating your understanding of being a working class kid. This song also gives permission to be angry, and that anger towards racism isn’t just ok, but righteous. This song is jarring, real and like a car crash, I can not look away.
It’s Okay to Punch Nazis – Cheap Perfume
This song is on this list for a few reasons: a transition from Just Can’t Hate Enough to the modern relevance to the relationship my fist has with Nazis and Fascists. I didn’t have enough access to women in music and find myself so enamored with riot grrrrl music in it’s presentation and articulation. Yes, Bikini Kill of course, but I am obsessed with Cheap Perfume. They’re a local Denver band, and we have performed with them a few times and I can’t get over how talented this band is. And the relevance of punching Nazis will always be in vogue, right?
All The Young Punks – The Clash
I mean, The Clash. This is my favorite song. As the hardcore scene in Salt Lake City grew more violent, I found myself exploring music I wasn’t connected with. Going backwards, if you will. Enough references to understand the existence of Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Black Flag and the like, but I went on a tear and found myself grateful for Joe Strummer. This is a nostalgic song that makes me think of my friends, old and gone.
The End – IDLES
As a band that has somehow become everything to me in my old age, I am drawn by the artistic articulation of IDLES. Every album, greater than the next, pushing a progression and narrative rarely seen in music today. I can only hope to have a semblance of this. The End is the last song on my favorite record, Crawler, and fits in this list as being a thunderstorm of music and emotion while also finding beauty. I am in this moment right now, in the chaos of my own life, with Dead Pioneers growing, I find myself drawn to gentleness, compassion and love while witnessing the beauty of existing. Joe articulates it so beautifully while not pulling punches to the hardness of it all. I feel this moment. I honestly didn’t think much of this song until I saw them last. My oldest kid, Sage, was with me. They were in the pit while I watched from afar. This kid, in the thick of it got up to the front. At the end of the show, Joe handed a cheat sheet to a staff member and they handed it to Sage. On this paper was a few prompting lines for The End. It wasn’t a set list, but some lines of the chorus. Joe had cut himself and somehow bled on the paper. The juxtaposition of this paper that said, “Goddamn! In spite of it all, life is beautiful” with his blood on it after we gave everything we could to be in the pit screaming the words of this song was just breathtaking. Sage still has that paper and I’m fully jealous. What an incredible example of how music connects us, makes us feel and changes us for the better.
Both Dead Pioneers and PO$T AMERICAN are available on their Bandcamp page and we cannot recommend them highly enough. Below is the video to ‘My Spirit Animal Ate Your Spirit Animal’ and ‘The Caucasity’, a taste of their most recent album.
Dead Pioneers: Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Introduction by Paul F Cook
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