The Dishes' debut, "The Dishes," a 28-minute whirlwind of raucous hey-hey-heys, possessed growls, and sharp dual guitar riffs, came out in March 2000 on the Chicago band's own label, No. 89 Records. It's harder to find in stores than the band's second album, "1-2." In the year that followed the release of "The Dishes," the Dishes contributed to the soundtrack of the cable-access dance-party show Chic-a-Go-Go, played the rock parts on the Aluminum Group's cover of Kiss's "Plaster Caster" and punked up the Mary Poppins number "The Perfect Nanny" on commission from the hit public-radio show This American Life. At the start of 2001 Alternative Press featured the band prominently in its annual "100 New Bands to Know" roundup. The Dishes considered offers from several small labels for their next album, but decided that it made the most sense for the time being to stick with No. 89. The new album, 1-2, came out in April 2002. A year and a half of recording with two different engineers (mostly the Nerves' Elliot Dicks) and three different drummers was boiled down into a 14-song, 30-minute sock in the eye. The taut, cohesive feel of 1-2 is a testament to the strength of Staskauskas' wickedly catchy post-garage songwriting. The songs go by quick, but most are more than three chords and a shout, with off-kilter instrumental interplay ("Outta Sight," "Don't Need"), bass lines that stick in your head all by themselves ("Fishnets"), and efficient but searing solos ("The Fight" and "Shotgun," for starters). In December 2001 the band released a 7-inch, "Girls Can't Play" / "Crying Shame," on Glazed Records, a small label in Columbus, Ohio, that had issued vinyl by Rocket From the Crypt, the New Bomb Turks, and a host of Swedish garage bands. The Dishes also contributed an exclusive track to Fields & Streams, a various-artists comp from Kill Rock Stars that also included the Mooney Suzuki, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Neko Case, and Erase Errata. At the end of April, 1-2 entered CMJ's Top 200 chart. The Dishes completed their first national tour in August and will concentrate on writing and recording through the winter. In September they recorded a track for a Thick Records compilation, OIL: Chicago Punk Refined, which will also feature the Detachment Kit, Alkaline Trio, and Owls, among others. All bands recorded over the course of a couple weeks, all with the same engineer, in a working oil factory on Chicago's south side. The comp, which features enhanced video footage of the recording process, will be released in February 2003. Also in early 2003, the Dishes' "H2O," from 1-2, will be included on a benefit comp assembled by Versus Press and Substandard Records for the Prison Literature Project, alongside tracks by Propagandhi, Chumbawamba, the Aislers Set, American Steel, Noam Chomsky (the radical, not a band), and more.