Cherry Poppin' Daddies A pianist since childhood, Lanker joined the
Cherry Poppin' Daddies in early 1997 at age 20, first recording on the
supplemental tracks for their compilation album
Zoot Suit Riot, including the
eponymous single which would later serve as the band's commercial breakthrough. Lanker briefly left the Daddies at the height of their fame in October 1998, being replaced by
Johnny Goetchius of
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones before returning to the band in February 2000. Lanker officially left the band in early 2012, though was able to contribute a majority of the keyboard and piano tracks for the Daddies' 2013 studio album
White Teeth, Black Thoughts before his departure.
The Visible Men In 1999, Lanker and Daddies bassist
Dan Schmid formed the Eugene-based rock trio
The Visible Men with a number of different drummers, where Lanker acted as pianist, lead vocalist and songwriter. During the Daddies' hiatus in the early 2000s, Lanker and Schmid focused heavily on The Visible Men, recording two albums on the Leisure King Productions label and extensively touring the western half of the United States before going on hiatus themselves in 2007. The Visible Men played a one-off reunion show in November 2009, though there has been no official announcement as to whether the group will continue recording or performing in the future.
Mad Caddies and Ellwood Lanker served as a touring keyboardist for the Northern Californian
ska punk band the
Mad Caddies for numerous years, as well as an occasional musical collaborator, having lent
organ and partial songwriting credit to the Caddies' 2007 album
Keep It Going. In 2013, Lanker was added to the band's line-up as an official member. In 2009, Lanker joined Caddies frontman
Chuck Robertsons
reggae side project
Ellwood. In 2011, Ellwood released their debut album
Lost in Transition on
Fat Wreck Chords, which was followed by brief touring in the UK and US.
Other projects In 1998, Lanker briefly served as a touring keyboardist for the newly reformed,
Neville Staple-fronted incarnation of
The Specials, accompanying the band on the 1998 Warped Tour, alongside the Daddies. In 2011, Lanker collaborated on a
ragtime-styled soundtrack to a fetish film entitled
Rubber Bordello with Fat Wreck Chords owner and
NOFX frontman
Fat Mike. The soundtrack, credited to "Fat Mike and Dustin Lanker", was released on January 30, 2012. The film was nominated for eight awards at the
30th AVN Awards, including Best Music Soundtrack and Best Original Song ("She-donistic Society"), winning both of them as well as Best BDSM Release. Lanker is the son of the
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer
Brian Lanker. ==Discography==