PET YOUR FRIENDS - Dishwalla

Dishwalla: J.R. Richards (vocals, Hammond organ, piano, synthesizer); Rodney Browning (guitar, vocals); Scot Alexander (bass, tabla, bells, synthesizer, vocals); George Pendergast (drums, percussion, vocals).
Additional personnel: Andy Kravitz (programming).
Recorded at Studio 4, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania and Skip Saylor Recording, Hollywood, California.
Dishwalla's debut album features alternative pop-rock with a hint of soul, and it's distinguished by powerful melodies and edgy guitars. "Explode" is a nice dichotomy of '80s pop and rough guitar noise, creating a tension characteristic of Dishwalla's music. The band often uses contrasting musical styles in the same song to keep things interesting.
"Counting Blue Cars" catches the listener's attention with the line, "Tell me all your thoughts on God/I'd really like to meet her," addressing religion from an appealingly innocent perspective. Kitschy, pop-culture references lend a retro appeal to both "Charlie Brown's Parents," which is about communication problems (remember the unintelligible adult voices from "Peanuts" movies?), and "Miss Emma Peel," a tribute to the character from television's "Avengers."
Personnel: Dishwalla (programming); Rodney Browning (vocals, guitar); J.R. Richards (vocals, piano, organ, keyboards); Scott Alexander (vocals, keyboards, tabla, bells); George Pendergast (vocals, drums, percussion); Ian Cross (guitar); Jim Wood (keyboards); Andy Kravitz, Phil Nicolo (programming).
Audio Mixer: Phil Nicolo.
Recording information: Skip Saylor Recording, Los Angeles, CA; Studio 4, Conshohocken, PA.
Photographers: Jon Brenneis; Michael Lavine.
Like many mid-'90s alternative rock bands, Santa Barbara's Dishwalla are probably doomed to one-hit wonder status, despite the quality songwriting pervading 1995's Pet Your Friends. The album sat in record stores collecting dust for over a year before its third single, "Counting Blue Cars" (best known for its lyric "Tell me all your thoughts on God/'Cause I really want to meet her"), became a number one smash on rock and alternative radio. The album contains a set of well-crafted songs (notably "Haze" and "Give") with rich guitar textures, complemented by vocalist J.R. Richards' silky vibrato. "Charlie Brown's Parents" is another fine song that became a live favorite, though it failed to repeat the previous single's sales success. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

• Genre: Pop
• Genre: Pop
• Released: 08/22/1995
• Released: 08/22/1995
• Released: 8/22/1995
• Format: CD
• Format: CD