CALM @ THE MEADOWLARK (4.6.11)

I captured the audio from the show at the Meadowlark last Wednesday with a new digital recorder I recently purchased so I can share said audio with wonderful people like you. Unfortunately I'm still in the process of learning how to use this confounded device properly, which resulted in me setting input volume way too high, ultimately leading to 90% of the set sounding distorted and unpleasant. I did manage to get a good recording for Calm though. I promise I'll figure this out for future shows so I can post entire sets and not just one measly tune. In the meantime, you can view most of the set through a series of videos I posted on my YouTube Channel - I think there's 13 songs total amongst the four videos...Thanks for listening/watching/reading.

WDCV INTERVIEW

Hey everyone. Here's an interview that the nice folks over at WDCV conducted with me last week in case you're interested:

WDCV: What is your sign?
D: Sagittarius

WDCV: Who is your favorite Beatle?
D: John Lennon

WDCV: What’s the last thing you listened to in the car?
D: Panorama by Birds & Batteries

WDCV: How did you first get into playing music?
D: When I was in middle school in Louisville, KY I started going to lots of local underground punk rock shows, which is where I first felt the desire to create my own songs and perform them. So many amazing bands came out of that scene in the early 90s that I count myself very fortunate to have seen: Slint, Endpoint, Crain, Sunspring, the list goes on and on and on. It was a special time in Louisville music history to be sure…

WDCV: What is the songwriting process like for you? What are you most inspired to write about?
D: I usually find a chord structure and then choose words that seem appropriate. As far as what inspires me, it obviously depends on what has recently transpired in my life, how I’m feeling at that particular point in time, and what I feel called to expound upon – lately it’s been the search for truth and asking questions about the meaning of life.

WDCV: Who are your greatest musical influences?
D: There have been so many over the years, but a very short list would include Talking Heads, Neutral Milk Hotel, Prince, Peter Gabriel, Fugazi, The Magnetic Fields, Cole Porter, Uncle Tupelo, John Lennon, Brian Eno, King Crimson, Richard Buckner, Slint, Nina Simone, Modest Mouse, Steve Earle, Little Richard, Oingo Boingo, Vic Chesnutt, Freddie King, Sunspring, The Gourds, Dan Bern, Minor Threat, Sam Cooke, The Cure, Howlin’ Wolf, and George Gershwin.

WDCV: Here at WDCV we are famous for our bluegrass show (no, really), and we heard a rumor you have some bluegrass in your past. Is that rumor true? Is that something that still influences your music?
D: Oh absolutely – I love bluegrass music. In my opinion it has a lot of rhythmic similarities to punk rock, so perhaps the bands from my early Louisville days paved the way. I’d love to make a bluegrass album someday actually.

WDCV: Where is your favorite place to play live?
D: Anywhere people come to see me…

WDCV: Calm seems like it has a very different sound from your previous releases. Is there a story behind this change? How do you think your sound will evolve in the future?
D: The songs on my previous EP, By The Numbers, were primarily written on a computer – they were very rigidly structured and laden with effects. The opposite was true on Calm, which was written mostly late at night in the tiny confines of my basement apartment in New York – I guess it was a way of bringing myself into balance with the multitudinous activity of the city that surrounded me.

WDCV: Along those lines, you also have a release called “By the Numbers” with songs called “The Golden Ratio” and “Easy as Pi.” Are you, sir, a not-so-secret math nerd?
D: Well it’s true that the study of mathematics is something I’ve always been fascinated with since I was very young – I believe most musicians possess some basic connection to numeric qualities, although it must vary from person to person. Aside from the meaning we attach to emotion, I believe that there is definitely truth in numbers too…

WDCV: Do you have any big future plans for the world of music?
D: I’m going to rob all the major labels and distribute their assets evenly to every independent musician in the world.

WDCV: State your life philosophy in seven words or less.
D: Be nice. Keep learning. Don’t panic.

WDCV: Okay, Bonus Question: If you had to choose between being a deciduous tree and a coniferous tree, which would you choose and why?
D: That’s an amazing question. It would depend on many factors, but if I absolutely had to choose, I’d be deciduous. I’d be ugly in the winter, but who’s beautiful all the time, right?

THE TOBOLOWSKY FILES

We’ve been re-watching Deadwood over the past few weeks, which has been excellent following going through the entire series of The Wire again through the winter. There’s an actor named Stephen Tobolowsky who appears in Deadwood who I’ve thoroughly enjoyed in a myriad of films over the years, from Spaceballs to Groundhog Day to Memento and many others. My wife, a far more reliable source of all things media, turned me on to the Tobolowsky Files (www.tobolowskyfiles.com), a series of stories read by the actor. Here’s a link to one of the most recent, “The Time Machine Deconstructed” – many thanks to Stephen for telling these wonderful tales.

CALM

CALM

CALM, WHEN YOU’RE ALL ALONE

WARM, WITH THE VINYL TONE

SAFE, WHERE THE TURF IS KNOWN

 

REST, FOR YOUR WEARY MIND

FREED, FROM THE TIES THAT BIND

SOLVED, WHAT YOU WERE ASSIGNED

 

AND INTO THE NIGHT

YOU SET THE NEEDLE DOWN

YOU SET THE NEEDLE DOWN

YOU SET THE NEEDLE DOWN

 

WORK, IT’S JUST ANOTHER YEAR

WITH THOUGHTS, OF A NEW FRONTIER

OFF, WHERE YOU CAN DISSAPPEAR

 

INTO THE NIGHT

AND SET THE NEEDLE DOWN

AND SET THE NEEDLE DOWN

AND SET THE NEEDLE DOWN

 

WORN WHEN YOU’RE ON THE WING

TORN FROM THE WORDS THEY SING

REBORN FROM WHAT THE SPEAKERS BRING

BUILDING PROGRESS FROM DECAY

AND ORDER OUT OF DISARRAY

 

HOME, WHERE WE’RE OUT OF VIEW

I HOPE WE CAN FOLLOW THROUGH

AND OWN WHAT WE CAN’T UNDO

 

AND INTO THE NIGHT

WE’LL SET THE NEEDLE DOWN

WE’LL SET THE NEEDLE DOWN

WE’LL SET THE NEEDLE DOWN

WE’LL SET THE NEEDLE DOWN

WE’LL SET THE NEEDLE DOWN

WE’LL SET THE NEEDLE DOWN

WE’LL SET THE NEEDLE DOWN

  

I LET IT LIE

HAVE ALL OF THESE ACTIONS BEEN DECIDED?

ARE THESE OPERATIONS MANUFACTURED BY DESIGN?

OR IS THIS ALL RANDOM AND UNFORESEEN?

IS IT NATURAL OR SOME MACHINE?

WOULD WE ACT THE SAME IF WE KNEW WHAT IT MEANS?

 

WARM AT HOME, I FAIL TO THINK ABOUT IT

COLD AND ON THE ROAD, IT ALWAYS SEEPS INTO MY MIND

AND BRINGS ME LOW BECAUSE I CAN’T EXPLAIN

WHAT ALL THIS IS MEANT TO ATTAIN

AND UNTIL I DO, I’LL GRIN AND BEAR THE PAIN

 

OH, I LET IT LIE

OH, I LET IT LIE

ALL IS ALL & WHY IS WHY

OH, I LET IT LIE

 

THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I DON’T SEEM TO MIND IT

THEN IT SPOTS A WAY TO REAPPEAR AMONG MY THOUGHTS

WHERE IT’S BEEN WAITING PATIENT FOR A LULL

SHOWING ME WHAT’S CRUCIAL AND WHAT’S NULL

KEEPING TRACK OF THINGS HIDDEN WITHIN MY SKULL

 

OH, I LET IT LIE

OH, I LET IT LIE

ALL IS ALL & WHY IS WHY

 

ARE WE FATEFUL DEVOTEES?

OR SAILORS ON AN ENDLESS SEA?

 

I RECKON THERE’S NO USE IN BEING FRIGHTENED

I RECKON THERE’S NO REASON TO BE STRESSED OR OVERWROUGHT

BUT STILL, IT’S TOO IMPORTANT TO IGNORE

THOUGH IT ALWAYS LEAVES ME WANTING MORE

CAN I SHUT OFF ALL THE AFTERS AND BEFORES?

CAN I STRIP IT BACK TO SEE WHAT’S AT THE CORE?

WHERE I HOPE TO FIND THE TRUTH I’M LOOKING FOR?

 

DIG DOWN

ARE THEY KNOCKING IT DOWN

AS YOU’RE LAYING THE BRICKS?

ARE YOU WAITING OUTSIDE

AS THEY’RE WORKING BETWIXT?

IS YOUR BODY IN MOTION

AS THEY’RE ALL TRANSFIXED ON THE HYPE?

COME ON NOW, SPEAK UP!

ARE THEY HIDING THE CRUMBS

AS YOU’RE CHASING THE CLUES?

ARE THEY DOUSING THE FIRE

AS YOU’RE LIGHTING THE FUSE?

DO YOU WANT TO BE CHOSEN

OR DO YOU WANT TO CHOOSE YOUR SIDE?

 

DON’T YOU KNOW?

YOU GOTTA DIG DOWN

WHERE IT ALL GETS FOUND

COME ON DIG DOWN

WHERE IT LIVES

 

DO THEY ALL LOOK CONTENT

WHEN YOU’RE FEELING APPALLED?

ARE YOU SEARCHING FOR FACTS

AS THEY HAIL THE SO-CALLED?

DO YOU STRUGGLE TO SOAR

WHEN THE ENGINE HAS STALLED ON HIGH?

COME ON NOW SPEAK UP!

DO YOU FEEL MORE YOURSELF

WHEN YOU USE THAT NAME?

IS ACQUIRING THE ANSWERS

THE AIM OF THE GAME?

IF THE PAST AND THE PRESENT

AND THE FUTURE ARE THE SAME, OH MY…

 

GATHER UP YOUR WITS

AND DIG DOWN

WHERE IT ALL GETS FOUND

COME ON DIG DOWN

WHERE IT LIVES

HAND ME THAT SHOVEL

 

DON’T YOU KNOW?

YOU GOTTA DIG DOWN

WHERE IT ALL GETS FOUND

COME ON DIG DOWN

WHERE IT LIVES

YEAH RIGHT NOW!

WE’RE GONNA DIG DOWN

WHERE IT ALL GETS FOUND

COME ON DIG DOWN

WHERE IT LIVES

SEEK IT OUT

 

SHOULD I

SHOULD I STAY AND FIGHT OR SHOULD I RUN?

SHOULD I TALK PLAIN OR TRY TO MAKE A PUN?

SHOULD I ASSUME THAT,

WHATEVER IT IS THAT I AM,

I’M THE ONLY ONE?

 

SHOULD I LET THEM FEUD OR MEND THE RIFT?

SHOULD I JUMP OR CLING CLOSE TO THE CLIFF?

SHOULD I PASS THE TIME WITH MAKING RHYMES?

OR SIT AND PONDER THE WHAT IFS?

 

OH, I KNOW…

OH, I KNOW…

 

SHOULD I WORRY ABOUT THE BY AND BY?

SHOULD I LAY IT BARE OR KEEP IT ON THE SLY?

SHOULD I ACQUIESCE WITH SKEPTICISM?

OR CONTINUE ASKING WHY?

 

SHOULD I SWITCH OR SEE THROUGH WHAT I PLANNED?

SHOULD I LET IT GO OR KEEP IT CLOSE AT HAND?

SHOULD I EXIT BEFORE THINGS GET VICIOUS?

OR PREPARE TO MAKE MY STAND?

 

OH, I KNOW…

OH, I KNOW…

 

SHOULD I KEEP IT ALL INSIDE MY HEAD?

SHOULD I RISE TO ACTION OR PLAY DEAD?

SHOULD I HAVE WRITTEN SONGS

WITH STUPID QUESTIONS

OR LEFT ALL OF THIS UNSAID?

WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!?!

So I know most of you don't live in Colorado - but if you do, I wanted to make you aware of the Colorado Public Radio Instrument Drive that's happening now through the end of March. If you have an instrument that you don't play please consider donating it - all the instruments go to classrooms around the state for kids to learn and appreciate the craft of music. You can find a donation center close to you right here. If you donate a theremin you receive one billion extra cool points.

MARCH 2011 NEWSLETTER

HIGHER GROUND VETERANS ASSISTANCE
Hey everyone - I just wanted to make you aware of a very important organization called Higher Ground - a veterans rehabilitation program that combines sports, family, and coping therapy to restore and rehabilitate men and women of the armed forces who have been severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over the following week, 100% of sales at dustinedge.com will go to support Higher Ground. Or if you'd prefer to contribute to them directly you can do so through their website.

BOULDER SHOW
I'm playing a FREE show this Friday in Boulder at the Laughing Goat at 8pm - plus it's National Hug a G.I. day, so please please let all your friends in the military know how much you love them.
The Laughing Goat
Boulder, CO, 1709 Pearl St. MAP
3.4.11 @ 8:00pm

Thanks as always for reading - hope to see you soon!

Dustin

EDUCATION

Last night I went to a lecture on the history of the Denver music scene from the mid 80s through the mid 90s - I learned quite a bit and now have tons of music I need to listen to in order to get caught up on that era. For some reason, I feel as if knowing what was before provides a greater appreciation of what is current or what might be yet to come - the whole past is prologue thing I reckon.

THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP...

Yesterday, I went to the Denver Music Summit, an event designed to facilitate interaction between different people in the music industry in order to help them find new methods of enhancing the Denver music scene and assist them with their own independent careers. Governor-elect Hickenlooper made a speech during the luncheon, which I had no idea was going to happen. Listening to him speak, I felt invigorated that the arts and creativity seemed so important to the man who will be in charge of our state over the next few years. Regardless, the entire day was an inspiring piece of work. I met person after person who was not only helpful and nice, but genuinely invested in supporting the music scene here. When I was young and living in Louisville, Kentucky, I exhibited a considerable amount of verve for my hometown (and still do), even with the constant supply of teenage angst that is present within the majority of youthful minds. But until now, through all my travels, I haven't felt anything close to that previous passion for any of my newly adopted surroundings. Nevertheless, for the first time in a long time, I feel moved to participate, to help this city become something even better than it already is and support those who share that same vision. Even though I've only been here for a short time, I already feel like a part of it. And I feel welcomed to become a part bigger part of it. I think this is where I am supposed to be. So let's get to work...

ARTIFACTS

Do any other musicians out there have ideas in their heads that appear right as they’re doing something that prohibits them from being able to record them? Sometimes this happens to me when I’m doing something else that takes precedence or when I’m unable to muster the ability to divorce myself from my surroundings and capture that idea so I can work on it later or even right then for hours on end. Where do those ideas come from and where do they go afterward? Do they reappear someday in the future and make me think hey I feel like I’ve heard this before? Or are they gone forever, a promising notion that simply evaporates back into my psyche? I prefer to believe the former, since the idea emanated from my brain in the first place – if it surfaces again, it will only be from a different version of me, somewhere down the road, hopefully, wiser.

UNRELEASED NUMBERS

Below are five tracks that were recorded at the Gallery in Brooklyn back in late 2009 during the sessions that would ultimately lead to By The Numbers. I'll go into a short explanation for each of them so you can get a better idea of where they came from and why they didn't make it onto the final product. None of them have any vocals because we never got that far, but all the instruments are pretty much in place. Anyway, here we go...

I originally wrote this idea on the computer in Prague. It's in a strange time signature (13/4) and never had any lyrics, which made it a contender for an instrument track. This was the only song (other than NYC 05 below) to be recorded by a full band tracking together instead of a series of overdubs. Everyone happened to be there at the studio that night, so we decided to give it a shot together and find out if we could capture anything worthwhile. There's some very cool stuff here, especially Brian Forbes' guitar solo near the end. Ultimately it didn't fit alongside the other songs that were leading the pack - but it was a fun exercise. It was also the first time I had played with a band in almost four and half years, so that definitely counts for something.

I had high hopes for this tune. I liked its energy and thought it could be very accessible. Unfortunately, it never coalesced with the other ideas enough to make sense to include on the EP. I'm certainly going to re-record this song (as well as numerous others) into something more cohesive. Even though you can't hear them, the lyrics are story-based and have a lot of dark humor to them. And good gracious, Aaron Steel played some amazing drums on this track...

This song was written in New York sometime either in late 2008 or early 2009 (I can't remember exactly when). As you'll hear, it's fairly harmless in its current state, nothing of much consequence in my opinion. The words to this song also contain a liberal smattering of dark humor, which I thought was necessary at the time to offset the politeness of the chord structure. A few other story/character-based songs also came out of this period, all of which were fun to write, but didn't quite fit into the overall scheme of the EP. There's definitely a complete project in my head where all these types of ideas exist - it just hasn't make it to print yet.

This song was written in New York in early 2009. The original demo was on acoustic guitar and was also part of the series of dark humor story-based songs that I was apparently into creating at the time (this one has some unfinished lyrics about zombies I believe). We recorded this on the same evening as PRAGUE 39 - much like that track, this one has some weird time signature changes here and there. Overall I really like the structure of this song - if I can finish the words I think it will come together.

The demo for this idea came near the end of my time in Prague (55 out of 57). I'd been writing a lot of electronic compositions and just needed to rock a bit I reckon. And, as with most of the Prague ideas, I wanted to keep it short and succinct. Again, Aaron played magnificiently, as did Dan Asher on bass guitar. We'd recorded everything except the vocals when I came to the conclusion that this was a perfectly acceptable song that just didn't fit with the others. Once again, the lyrics were story-based and not overtly connected with the numeric theme of the album. I'm sure this will be reworked at some point because, well, it rocks.

Anyway, that's it for these ideas. If you have any questions feel free to email me.

HOME AGAIN HOME AGAIN

We were finally allowed back into our apartment on Saturday evening after a fairly tense 24 hours at a friends house, mostly spent wondering if we'd return to anything at all. It was definitely strange to see large plumes of smoke coming from the nearest ridge across the street from us - thankfully the firefighters were able to contain the fire overnight and prevent it from spreading much further. Thanks firefighters - you guys are kind of awesome.

domefire_small_2.0.jpg