Denali: "Relief" Video
Related Videos
In a story that never suffers from its retelling, Denali formed in 2000 when an unheard of singer named Maura Davis asked her brother, Engine Down's Keeley Davis, if he wanted to start a band with her. One could only imagine his surprise. Not only had the then-19-year-old enchantress yet to write a proper song, but no one knew she had a voice in her as powerful and as compelling as the one that would easily exhale the band's first dozen songs-all of which would lead to the recruiting of fellow Richmond, VA scene vets Cam DiNunzio and Jonathan Fuller, who under the name Denali would quickly became one of the hardest sought after bands in the underground. Signing to Jade Tree a year later, the dramatic four piece has since taken on a chilly place in the indie rock landscape by writing truly cinematic and spacious pop songs, that come from behind you both softly and slowly. As if there were any other way.
Longtime musical collaborators Kyle Fischer (guitar, vocals) and William Kuehn (drums) began writing a new batch of songs in the late summer of 1995, thinking they lacked only a bassist. When they found Caithlin De Marrais (vocals, bass), they knew they had found a uniquely captivating voice to front the band as well. Fischer and Kuehn had met at all-ages shows in Madison, Wisconsin, where Kuehn was cajoled into replacing Fischer on the drums in Ezra Pound (with Matt Tennessen of Pele). Fischer switched to guitar, and the two departed together a year later in search of broader sonic horizons. Meanwhile, Fischer had met De Marrais in a University of Wisconsin poetry workshop where the two had organized extra evening sessions of the class and soon found they were the only ones attending. Here they wrote the poems that would later become songs on the band's first album. Rainer Maria's various releases began mapping their trajectory. The original demo cassette, a run of 350 now long out of print, documents the excited initial efforts of a band just 6 weeks old. Their debut self-titled EP appeared on Polyvinyl as a result of the experience of early tours, playing house shows or all ages "spaces" from Austin TX to Kent OH, even a double-wide house trailer in rural Mississippi packed with 100 melting kids. With the "New York, 1955" single, the band began experimenting with what happened when they turned the volume down. Past Worn Searching signaled the beginning of Rainer Maria as a full-time band. Recorded at the sweltering hot, now defunct Ghetto Love studios in Chicago during Summer 1997, Past Worn Searching and its stripped-down production ushered the full arrival of dueling vocals, sonic excess, and youthful exuberance. That fall, Rainer Maria toured the entire continental U.S. for the first time--more than 50 shows booked by Kuehn himself, including a west coast tour with Braid. The band?s second LP, Look Now Look Again, was released in April 1999 to the open arms of fans and critics alike. Look Now Look Again climbed to 19 on CMJ?s top 200 and spent 16 weeks on the charts. Stellar reviews and write-ups appeared in The New York Times, Alternative Press, Magnet, CMJ, and The Village Voice to name a few. Rainer Maria appeared in Spin three times in the latter half of 1999 and Look Now Look Again was named one of the magazine?s 20 best records of the year. The band would go on that year to record and release Atlantic, a three-song CDEP recorded at Pachyderm Studios (P.J. Harvey, In Utero) in August. Just days later, they band relocated to the East Coast. Rainer Maria then spent the better part of a year holed up in a converted cow barn, the previous home of Pepperidge Farm Bakery?s original dairy farmer. There, they wrote their third and most ambitious album, A Better Version of Me, which was released in January 2001. The album hit the #1 spot on CMJ and was supported by a relentless tour schedule of over 200 shows. Fall 2002 the band again returned the studio to record Long Knives Drawn, their fourth album. As a teaser, the Ears Ring EP appeared early November 2002 and was the band's first new material in over a year-and-a-half. Two months later Long Knives Drawn was released and the band embarked on a two month tour with Mates of State followed by a mini-tour in Canada, and then a tour with Denali. Next up for Rainer Maria is a three week tour with Coheed and Cambria in support of their newest release, Anyone in Love with You (Already Knows) , a DVD of their 3/11/03 Cat's Cradle show filmed by members of Bifocal Media (Braid Killing a Camera, Michigan Fest 2002) which includes a bonus audio CD featuring selected various live tracks the band has been accumulating over the years. Anyone in Love with You (Already Knows) will be released on March 9, 2004.
The Somnambulants: "Take It On"
Stylistically, The Somnambulants are even more driven by cinematic influence, as evidenced in their lyrical imagery and spacious production. Joseph White built the first Somnambulants songs from music soundtrack pieces composed during his tenure as a film student. In fact, their name was taken from the somnambulist character Cesare - in the 1920 German film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Its fitting, therefore, that the title track from their previous album, Evacuation, appeared in the soundtrack for the Oscar-nominated film Half Nelson (Lakeshore Records).
On their 2001 self-titled debut, the five-piece band KINKY (Gilberto Cerezo, Ulises Lozano, Carlos Chairez, Omar Gongora, Cesar Pliego) emerged from the desert city of Monterrey, Mexico with a set of world-savvy songs that belied the fact that most of the ideas were birthed in their small home studio. As musicians who not only knew their various instruments but each other for many years within the small but supportive music scene of Monterrey, a collective vision of channeling sounds across the globe was definitely within reach. To work on thier second album, Atlas, they headed deep into the jungle, uprooting their studio and taking up temporary residence in an isolated ranch in Quintana Roo, Mexico for a month. From there, KINKY traveled to a different sort of jungle - Los Angeles - in order to write a few more songs and work with venerable engineer Thom Russo (System of a Down, Audioslave). Russo helped the band bring out a more raw and rock-driven sound in comparison with their electro-pop dominated debut (though they haven't abandoned their love of the machines either). "The approach for this album was different from the first in that on this one we wanted to focus on a live, organic band sound," says Ulises. "In the first album we recorded ourselves and made loops. On this record we didn't use as many loops or samples. It was more like a live session where we'd record the whole track on tape [too], rather than just digital. You can hear all the organic sounds like guitar, drum, bass and vocals all sounding live." It's this contrast of environments - represented by the image of a fantastical grasshopper-jetliner hybrid on the album cover - and constantly being on the road that makes up the themes of Atlas. Sonically it is a clash of the organic and the digital; lyrically it roams from remembering to grab and savor the moments maybe you can ("Snapshot", which owes its rhythms to "quebradita", a northern Mexican music style) to finding something special in what most take for granted as those in-between times when you're waiting for something else to happen ("Airport Feelings"). But they start right at home in Mexico, with the propulsive single "Presidente." "We're asking, which color is our president? Green, white or red?" explains Gil. "These are the colors of our flag and they cover different ideas. Red can be very drastic or violent, or mean danger. White means peace or being clean. Green means things are growing up or developing. So each color represents state of mind or feeling and I think it's a good analogy with our flag."
The Enemy Surf Band: "The Ballad of Enemy Surf"
The first ever song/video release from The Enemy Surf Band. Shot on location over six weekends on Adelaides southern beaches, summer 2002. Thanks to all the cast and crew and everyone who supports independent song writing and filmmaking.
"Strip away all the fluff. Does the song still speak the same way when performed with just a voice and a single piano or single guitar?? This is Copeland?s test of a well written song. Lead vocalist and principal songwriter, Aaron Marsh was bred in the diverse Florida music scene where he started the band with his close friend, bassist James Likeness. During their search to finish off the line-up, Aaron found a kindred spirit in Maryland native guitarist Bryan Laurenson, with a mutual appreciation of quality pop melodies to push his writing to new levels. With a concerted effort to weave memorable melodies with insightful lyrics, the band began crafting their intelligent brand of anthemic pop songs in 2000. Atlanta producer, Matt Goldman engineered Copeland?s first release in late 2000. This split EP with glam pop band Pacifico, not only earned Copeland some music industry attention, but also their first national audience in the form of a half dozen small East Coast US tours. For that first year, the band excitedly played in any venue that would have them, for whoever wanted to listen. This deep appreciation for their supporters has stuck with them as they?ve begun to see bigger tours. In the summer of 2002, Copeland signed a record deal with So-Cal independent label The Militia Group and started making plans to focus on the band full time. The band felt it was in need of a fresh start in a new scene. They relocated to Atlanta in the fall. This location seemed more conducive to full time touring and closer to producer Matt Goldman?s studio where they would start a 2 month recording session for their debut full length album. The fruit of those two months was their acclaimed opus entitled ?Beneath Medicine Tree.? Tragically beautiful, and emotionally charged with themes of love, loss, and hope, the album delighted Copeland?s small existing following and earned the band a quickly growing audience. Copeland hit the road with a rigorous tour schedule, hopping from one tour to another with the likes of Switchfoot, The Juliana Theory, The Early November, Hopesfall, Mae, and countless others. They stayed on tour for an exhausting 15 months, playing over 400 shows in that time, but not just playing music every night. Every different city became a chance to meet a new group of kids at the show. Whether playing 4-square in front of the venue, eating dinner after the show, or hanging out at the merchandise table talking about music, Copeland was always excited to turn their fans into their friends. In December of 2003, during a short break from the road, Copeland took a week to record a covers EP to be released before they begin work on their follow-up to ?Beneath Medicine Tree.? Aaron said about the EP, ?We wanted to give our supporters something to listen to while we worked on another record. We knew it might take us a while and we didn?t want everyone to forget about us. These were all songs that we grew up listening to that we thought we could bring something new to.? The EP, entitled ?Know Nothing Stays the Same,? features Copeland?s renditions of songs by Stevie Wonder, Carly Simon, Phil Collins, Berlin, and Billy Joel. Copeland released their second full-length album, "In Motion", in March of 2005. It was produced by Matt Goldman and Aaron Marsh. Ken Andrews mixed the album. The band has been touring around the world in support of the record. This fall, they will be touring in England and all over the United States. Look for them in other continents in the coming months.
Niveus Media Center Denali Edition
The Denali is for a select audience that's willing to pay a premium for design and DVR muscle and also willing to sacrifice some performance.
Onelinedrawing: "We Had a Deal"
As the driving force behind Onelindrawing, Jonah Matranga had spent years handcrafting his confessional pop songs-often recording them at home and selling his records on his website-until Jade Tree signed the 34-year-old songwriter as not only a solo act, but as the leader of the now defunct rock band New End Original. He had some chops, too, but it seemed just a bit off as his visions on love both lost and found sounded best in small basements, not huge arenas. Personal to the touch, it's not difficult to see why Matranga has ammassed a cult following that includes everyone from Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba to Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda, playing his songs like they were touching letters he creased in small squares before passing them along to his adoring fans. Listen closely: the story of your life may be buried in the folds.
As the driving force behind Onelindrawing, Jonah Matranga had spent years handcrafting his confessional pop songs-often recording them at home and selling his records on his website-until Jade Tree signed the 34-year-old songwriter as not only a solo act, but as the leader of the now defunct rock band New End Original. He had some chops, too, but it seemed just a bit off as his visions on love both lost and found sounded best in small basements, not huge arenas. Personal to the touch, it's not difficult to see why Matranga has ammassed a cult following that includes everyone from Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba to Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda, playing his songs like they were touching letters he creased in small squares before passing them along to his adoring fans. Listen closely: the story of your life may be buried in the folds.
The brief, brief from the band for this song was "lapdancers" which became a man obsessed with a lap dancer. Just so long as it involved the band and a lapdancing club. So we came up with the idea of a man so consumed with rage that it ultimately becomes his salvation..and er..some lapdancers. The shoot began in a nite club in Margate, Kent, co-owned by one of the bands brothers, however the nitemare began a few hours earlier, when at 4pm our lead actress had to pull out leaving us four hours to find a replacement who would be prepared to come to Margate and pole dance in front of a bunch of strangers all night for free. Further more our first A.D was on a shoot and over running. Many frantic calls and emails later the planets aligned and we found Joceline, an actress and model, who as luck would have it lived moments away from the studio where our first A.D had just wrapped. So off we all convoyed down to the coast. We arrived at the nite club at 11 to start shooting at midnight only to find out that it closed at 2am. The sunrise was at 4am so this left us two hours to shoot. We threw half the storyboard in the sea. The club cleared an area upstairs so we could shoot close ups of the dancers, meanwhile our extras got stuck into the free bar. Unfortunately our extras idea of smart dress wasn't quite the same as ours, so we wrangled the four guys who did wear suits into the front of every shot. The bar was cleared by 2.30am and we were done by 5am following some sneeky lighting miracles to cheat the threat of impending daylight that was creeping through the windows. More information is available at www.visualabuse.com
