| Chicago's FIG DISH didn't name themselves after a soft, sweet, fleshy fruit; rather, the name is a phonetic approximation of the German expletive, fick dich. (make of that what you will). FIG DISH were four high school friends: guitarists/vocalists Rick Ness and Blake Smith, bassist/vocalist Mike Willison, and drummer Andy Hamilton. In their day (a day that began in the late Winter of 1991 and ended in the early summer of 1998), they were known for catchy songs, memorable (often booze-fueled) live shows, and self-sabotage. In July 1995, FIG DISH's debut That's What Love Songs Often Do was released. And just like that, the band was catapulted from regional obscurity into national obscurity. MTV played the video for the band's first single, "Seeds" and FIG DISH toured the U.S. and Canada relentlessly with bands like Veruca Salt, The Muffs, Letters to Cleo, Juliana Hatfield, Local H, and The Rentals. In 1997, their sophomore album When Shove Goes Back To Push, was sunk by a risque music video for the single "When Shirts Get Tight" featuring adult film stars that MTV refused to play and the band was dropped by an indifferent Polygram Records in the summer of 1998. FIG DISH returned from hybernation in 2024 with two sold out shows in Chicago and the release of Feels Like The Very First Two Times, the band's first "new" release in 27 years, collecting unreleased tracks recorded in the late 90s. On August 1, 2025, Forge Again Records will be reissuing That's What Love Songs Often Do on vinyl for the first time, 30 years after the original release. The officially licensed 2xLP features colored vinyl, reworked gatefold jacket art by Wall of Youth and vinyl mastering by Carl Saff. |
