In 1994, Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock teamed up with Monty Messex and “Crazy Tom” Davis to form a hardcore punk band called DFL (Dead Fucking Last). Now, the band is reissuing their debut album My Crazy Life in a deluxe package that arrives August 11th via Trust Records.
While the ’90s saw the rise of pop punk, DFL sought to return to the fast and raw sounds of the ’80s, when hardcore orginated. Monty Messex, who had previously been in The Atoms, recalled the formation of the side project in a statement.
“In 1993, I was obsessively listening to Bad Religion’s How Could Hell Be Any Worse,” he said. “I had this beat up cassette that I’d listen to over and over and over and over again on my Walkman. That record brought me back to the early 80s hardcore scene I grew up on — that included Circle Jerks, the Germs, The Adolescents. I wanted to make a record that called back to the initial rush I got from the early hardcore scene.” Messex “kinda half jokingly” asked Adam Horowitz to join him on bass, and soon enough, they’d enlisted skateboarder Tom Davis to provide vocals and Tony Converse to play drums.
In true punk rock fashion, My Crazy Life crams 15 songs into 20 minutes. The new deluxe reissue — which marks the first pressing of the album in 29 years as well as its first release on 12-inch vinyl — features the original songs, remastered by original producer Mario Caldato Jr., on Side A, while Side B boasts Live at G-Son Studios, a previously unreleased set DFL performed right after putting their album to tape.
The package also features expanded album artwork, unreleased photos of the band by Sofia Coppola, flyers, archival images by Bryan Ray Turcotte, and a 10,000-word oral history on the project. Pre-orders are ongoing.
Check out the artwork and tracklist for the My Crazy Life reissue below, then listen to remastered versions of two songs from the LP, “Pizza Man” and “America’s Most Hardcore.”
My Crazy Life Deluxe Reissue Artwork:
My Crazy Life Deluxe Reissue Tracklist:
Side A – Original Album (Remastered by Mario C)
01. DFL
02. The Mosher
03. U Don’t Understand
04. Pizza Man (Official Music Video)
05. Metermaid
06. Monks Honor
07. Knucklehead Nation
08. America’s Most Hardcore
09. Get the Fuck Out
10. Think About the Pit
11. FFF
12. Smokebomb
13. Don’t Be a Kook
14. Creamcheese N’ Handgrenades
15. My Crazy Life
Side B – Live at G-Son Studios (Previously Unreleased)
01. Intro
02. DFL
03. The Mosher
04. U Don’t Understand
05. Pizza Man
06. Metermaid
07. Monks Honor
08. Knucklehead Nation
09. America’s Most Hardcore
10. Get the Fuck Out
11. Think About the Pit
12. FFF