Disposable Culture is a band that captures the 80's music you remember
and love. You can see them at the tail end of your "Black Friday"
festivities one week from today.
So don't wear yourself out running around for bargains that day - you'll want to save plenty of energy to dance to these folks.
The band arose out of fortuitous circumstances - an impulsive purchase for James Edward, a music producer and keyboard player in several area bands. A new Kursweil keyboard bought for another purpose had all these extra '80's' effects built in. James found himself drifting over to them time and time again, noodling around on various 'New Wave" tunes that he had grown up loving.
"I couldn't resist." James recalled "For me, this was completely intoxicating. It took me back to my initial love for music, and I started thinking that there should be a place for this genre's music in our market's live music spectrum. Certainly, it was still getting plenty of airplay and DJ spins. But I looked around, asked friends, etc., but couldn't find anyone who was playing this music live."
Finally, it became clear. If he was going to get to hear the music he wanted to hear, he was going to have to form the band himself.
The good news is that James was not alone in his thinking. He had affiliations with several area bands, and colleagues who shared the love of the genre. "When I mentioned the process of forming a group to play this music live, I barely got the idea out before I received an enthusiastic 'Oh, yeah'!"
First to sign on was David Andrews, a keyboard colleague who relished the chance to play guitar in this formation. In rapid fashion, so did Mike Janike on bass and Al Onderchain on drums. All had been colleagues, friends and credentialed musicians with leading bands such as the Refrigerators, Soul Session and Raisinhead.
So all the elements were in place, except one: a lead vocalist. Enter the secret weapon.
Doria Michelle came to the music a different way. From a musical family, she was spotted in an open mic situation performing her own original music by drummer Al, and something went off in his head: this could be 'the one.' For in truth, they had needed a counter-point to the monolithic bloc of middle-aged white guys, with someone esoteric and exotic to give the band a unique look and hook.
Doria fits the bill, with both modeling and vocal credentials - a fresh face, and yet a strength to stand up to the experienced musicians behind her. For the guys, 80's/new wave music was like revisiting an old love; for Doria it was a deepening affection for something relatively new. In fact, some of the songs she sings with the band are older than she is! The gap is filled by preparation: "I don't do anything without really organizing and setting up a plan...once I feel comfortable, that's where the opportunity to improvise comes in. But I have to feel ready."
Important to all was not to come off as a costume-character version of 80's groups, but to strike a balance between being faithful to the arrangements, yet making the presentation unique and their own.
The band placed a premium on being sure that everything was in place before taking it 'pro,' actually turning down a few gigs before this; they had the luxury of time as all of them have viable careers both in and out of music. But next Friday will launch them into the market, and if preparation and affection count for anything, we could be seeing the beginning of a phenomenon.
The band arose out of fortuitous circumstances - an impulsive purchase for James Edward, a music producer and keyboard player in several area bands. A new Kursweil keyboard bought for another purpose had all these extra '80's' effects built in. James found himself drifting over to them time and time again, noodling around on various 'New Wave" tunes that he had grown up loving.
"I couldn't resist." James recalled "For me, this was completely intoxicating. It took me back to my initial love for music, and I started thinking that there should be a place for this genre's music in our market's live music spectrum. Certainly, it was still getting plenty of airplay and DJ spins. But I looked around, asked friends, etc., but couldn't find anyone who was playing this music live."
Finally, it became clear. If he was going to get to hear the music he wanted to hear, he was going to have to form the band himself.
The good news is that James was not alone in his thinking. He had affiliations with several area bands, and colleagues who shared the love of the genre. "When I mentioned the process of forming a group to play this music live, I barely got the idea out before I received an enthusiastic 'Oh, yeah'!"
First to sign on was David Andrews, a keyboard colleague who relished the chance to play guitar in this formation. In rapid fashion, so did Mike Janike on bass and Al Onderchain on drums. All had been colleagues, friends and credentialed musicians with leading bands such as the Refrigerators, Soul Session and Raisinhead.
So all the elements were in place, except one: a lead vocalist. Enter the secret weapon.
Doria Michelle came to the music a different way. From a musical family, she was spotted in an open mic situation performing her own original music by drummer Al, and something went off in his head: this could be 'the one.' For in truth, they had needed a counter-point to the monolithic bloc of middle-aged white guys, with someone esoteric and exotic to give the band a unique look and hook.
Doria fits the bill, with both modeling and vocal credentials - a fresh face, and yet a strength to stand up to the experienced musicians behind her. For the guys, 80's/new wave music was like revisiting an old love; for Doria it was a deepening affection for something relatively new. In fact, some of the songs she sings with the band are older than she is! The gap is filled by preparation: "I don't do anything without really organizing and setting up a plan...once I feel comfortable, that's where the opportunity to improvise comes in. But I have to feel ready."
Important to all was not to come off as a costume-character version of 80's groups, but to strike a balance between being faithful to the arrangements, yet making the presentation unique and their own.
The band placed a premium on being sure that everything was in place before taking it 'pro,' actually turning down a few gigs before this; they had the luxury of time as all of them have viable careers both in and out of music. But next Friday will launch them into the market, and if preparation and affection count for anything, we could be seeing the beginning of a phenomenon.
Main Menu
Leave a comment