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The Engine Room

post #1 of 16
10/25/05 at 6:52pm
Thread Starter 
Hi, folks. This will probably quickly get lost in the abyss that is this forum, but I'm playing drums and writing music for a new band (with the singer from my old band, Dimes, which still has that very nice shoutout from the management in the subtitle of this forum). We still haven't played out, and we're looking to fill out the lineup with a guitarist or keyboardist, but we've got some tunes ready, at least.

Here's a link to the 90 percent-completed website, which contains rough demos (recorded on a laptop) of some originals and a probably ill-advised Bowie cover: www.theengineroommusic.com.
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post #2 of 16
10/26/05 at 10:27am
Interesting. You've opened up the Dimes sound with the broader mix and more liberal application of reverb/delay on these recordings, and that's a welcome change.

I've always liked Dimes, but one thing I've always wanted to hear from...er.....Micah...is for him to vary up his vocal range/delivery. It was great hearing you cover "Life on Mars" (no, really...good cover, except for the bridge after the first chorus - which is pretty fucking tricky to get right). It's got great vocal hooks and Micah using his full range, and it not only stands out because it's a great Bowie song, but also because it shows you guys living up to your full potential as musicians and stretching.

I want to hear more of that.
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post #3 of 16
10/26/05 at 11:45am
You guys are good. "Beneath the Waves" is awesome.
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post #4 of 16
10/26/05 at 12:42pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, man.
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post #5 of 16
10/27/05 at 4:27am
About time you started making music again you lazy bastard.

Surprisingly good Bowie cover, the vocals on that song must be pretty tricky.

The other songs I listened to are good, too. You guys ever think about going more shoegazer?
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post #6 of 16
10/27/05 at 11:16am
Thread Starter 
Thanks again!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pariah81
You guys ever think about going more shoegazer?
Actually, the band started out more shoegazer. The previous band those guys played in together was total shoegazer/space rock stuff, and the primary songwriter from that band originally started up this new project with these guys as a more collaborative thing. I came on board when she left specifically because I like the folks involved, but I can't fucking stand playing or writing that stuff. Most of the shoegaze influences you hear are sort of leftover from the pre-Dave version of the band.

Shoegaze almost always sounds to me like overcompensating for lazy songwriting and bad playing with effects, and there's a glut of shoegaze bands in this area probably because it's easier to sound like you know what you're doing when you put tons of reverb on the guitar and vocals and play really slllllooooowwlllly. I like the Verve, Swervedriver (at their most poppy and least shoegazey, actually), and some other bands that might fall roughly into the category (Sigur Ros, maybe?), but the way I see it, the genre has had more of a negative impact than a positive one.
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post #7 of 16
10/27/05 at 6:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveB
...and a probably ill-advised Bowie cover
I love what you did with the verse. You just need to figure out a better way to approach the chorus. But that's probably my personal distaste for power ballads talking. The originals are all good stuff.
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post #8 of 16
10/27/05 at 7:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveB
Thanks again!



Actually, the band started out more shoegazer. The previous band those guys played in together was total shoegazer/space rock stuff, and the primary songwriter from that band originally started up this new project with these guys as a more collaborative thing. I came on board when she left specifically because I like the folks involved, but I can't fucking stand playing or writing that stuff. Most of the shoegaze influences you hear are sort of leftover from the pre-Dave version of the band.

Shoegaze almost always sounds to me like overcompensating for lazy songwriting and bad playing with effects, and there's a glut of shoegaze bands in this area probably because it's easier to sound like you know what you're doing when you put tons of reverb on the guitar and vocals and play really slllllooooowwlllly. I like the Verve, Swervedriver (at their most poppy and least shoegazey, actually), and some other bands that might fall roughly into the category (Sigur Ros, maybe?), but the way I see it, the genre has had more of a negative impact than a positive one.
Ah, so you're moving away from it instead of towards it. Shoegaze is actually one of my favorite genres (MBV, Slowdive, Ride are tops) so I enjoy that influence, but to each his own. I'm interested to see where you guys go with this, especially if you get a keyboard player.
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post #9 of 16
4/16/06 at 9:40pm
So what's been goin' on with you guys, Dave?
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post #10 of 16
4/17/06 at 11:51am
Thread Starter 
Defunct. Micah got a great job in Connecticut and moved about two months ago. Nick and I are just starting to put a new project together.
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post #11 of 16
4/21/06 at 6:53pm
Thread Starter 
This is kind of neat. Newly set up and featuring some Dimes stuff that we never put out before. The video is from a Jeff Buckley tribute we set up and played only a couple months into playing out. I'm, of course, the attractive, shadowy figure behind the drums (don't trust those washed-out press photos - I'm not really unhealthily pale with eyebrows that look like caterpillars). We had the biggest turnout we'd ever get, we played pretty well for a new band, and it's the first time my wife and I were ever in the same room together, though I didn't meet her in person 'til later.

There's also a live performance of one of the songs ("Ready") that we wrote after we put out our album. The five or six post-album songs we had were really fucking cool (better than most of the songs on the album, I'd say), but we didn't manage to get too many recordings of them, unfortunately. Most of those recordings are from the final show we played. That's my disclaimer: good song, okay performance, gratuitous shoutouts to friends' bands in the audience, since it was our last show.
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post #12 of 16
4/21/06 at 7:00pm
Thread Starter 
I just realized I mentioned a "Micah" and a "Nick" in my post above. That could probably be confusing on this board. Totally different people, if you weren't keeping score.
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post #13 of 16
1/13/07 at 5:27pm
[QUOTE=DaveB]Thanks again!



Actually, the band started out more shoegazer. The previous band those guys played in together was total shoegazer/space rock stuff, and the primary songwriter from that band originally started up this new project with these guys as a more collaborative thing. I came on board when she left specifically because I like the folks involved, but I can't fucking stand playing or writing that stuff. Most of the shoegaze influences you hear are sort of leftover from the pre-Dave version of the band.

Shoegaze almost always sounds to me like overcompensating for lazy songwriting and bad playing with effects, and there's a glut of shoegaze bands in this area probably because it's easier to sound like you know what you're doing when you put tons of reverb on the guitar and vocals and play really slllllooooowwlllly. I like the Verve, Swervedriver (at their most poppy and least shoegazey, actually), and some other bands that might fall roughly into the category (Sigur Ros, maybe?), but the way I see it, the genre has had more of a negative impact than a positive one.[/QUOTE


Wow--Swervedriver were a great band. Loved the first two albums and the singles that came in and around that period--b-sides like "Planes over the Skyline" and "Hands" are just awesome.
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post #14 of 16
5/15/07 at 9:22pm
I am goozing over Swervedriver right now, blasting them on my computer, so I searched CHUD and this thread popped up.

Dave, do you still have mp3s of your band or a myspace page? I'd love to hear that shit.
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post #15 of 16
5/16/07 at 11:16am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pop Zeus
I am goozing over Swervedriver right now, blasting them on my computer, so I searched CHUD and this thread popped up.

Dave, do you still have mp3s of your band or a myspace page? I'd love to hear that shit.
We ended up changing our names before we broke up last year, but here's the myspace page.

I've got a new band going now, but we're just getting our shit together.

I also highly recommend checking out this page, with which I (and Chavez) have absolutely no connection.
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post #16 of 16
6/8/07 at 12:25am
Not bad for a demo, Dave. The genre might be a little too mellow for my tastes but I did find the Dimes stuff a lot more to my liking. Seems like that just has more actual drumming and more rocking, which I humbly submit is a good thing.
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