DUST FOR LIFE *****

Dust for Life was a post-grunge band from Memphis, Tennessee formed in 1999.

 

 

Formation and Initial Success

After the dissolution of the Memphis grunge band Bacchanal, Jason Hughes recruited three members from the local Memphis rock band Spaceman to form DFL. Chris Gavin of the band Burning Blue was added and became the second main songwriter of the group.

In late 1999, DFL self-released a nine-track eponymous album. Then in April 2000, DFL recorded four songs ("Step into the Light," "Dirt into Dust," "Dragonfly," " and "Where the Freaks Go") at Ardent Studios. This demo was overnighted to Jeff Hanson, manager of the band Creed, and they were subsequently signed to Wind-Up Records.

In October 2000, DFL released another eponymous album (containing two re-recorded songs from their 1999 release). The album reached #26 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. Two singles from the album also charted. Shortly after, DFL's drummer left and joined the band Course of Nature.

Touring And Troubles

For much of 2001, DFL toured with Creed, 3 Doors Down, The Cult, Tantric, Disturbed, Orgy, Cold and Saliva.

In May of 2001, DFL discovered its publishing money had been spent frivolously by their management and subsequently released the company. In July, they parted ways with Wind-Up Records due to contractual elements not being honored. At the end of the year, Jason Hughes also released an album with the band Third Harmonic Distortion. In early 2002, DFL embarked upon a headlining national tour with Tantric. The song "Poison" was used in the movie Dragonball Z Cooler's Revenge.

Separate Ways & Reformation

After taking a break, the band's two primary songwriters (Hughes and Gavin) began work on the band's next release in July 2003. Later that year, DFL self-released an eight-song EP titled Degrees of Black.

Eventually DFL went on an indefinite hiatus. Chris Gavin formed the band Memphis Sound. Vocalist Jason Hughes formed the band Dark Things with Saving Abel guitarist Scott Bartlett in late 2006 with the intention of releasing an album on Warner Bros. Records.Yet the project never came to fruition. Instead, Hughes and Gavin announced on their MySpace blog in 2007 that DFL was to begin recording new material. In April 2008, the band released The Consequence Of Vanishing. Scott Bartlett was featured on the album. Hughes announced a line of clothing based on the title of the song "Dark Things Betray". The song "Release The Flood" was used by TNA Wrestling as the theme song for Slammiversary (2008).

Another Indefinite Hiatus

In 2009, Jason Hughes released an album with the band Driving Eternity. Chris Gavin currently plays in the bands Kings Trio, White Noise Theory, and the cover band Hi-Fi Allstars. DFL is presumably on another indefinite hiatus as their current projects list them as former members of DFL and dustforlifemusic.com is inactive.