Dahlia Seed
Encyclopedia
Dahlia Seed was an influential indie rock
/post-hardcore
band from the New York
/New Jersey
area, that was instrumental in defining the sound which is now termed Emo
.
suburb
s as a four piece band
that played a tight, and aggressive version of the indie pop
that was prevalent at the time. With all the musician
s having a background in the New York hardcore scene, the sound of Dahlia Seed was a bit tougher than the other indie
stalwarts of the era, but the most distinctive aspect was the vocals of Tracy Wilson. Her "in your face" vocal style and delivery, coupled with a raw, and honest "open book" lyrical
narrative
, made her one of the most unusual vocalists of the scene.
Dahlia Seed added a second guitarist (Jon Procopio) in 1993, and proceeded to release their first record, a 10" split w/Brokenmouth. It wasn't until their third single, a split 7" with Greyhouse, that the band started to gain some real notice and popularity. Their side of the split, a song called "Milk", won them new fans, especially from the tight-knit, and cliqueish Riot Grrrl
scene.
/CD
culled from various demo recordings done in 1993. While the sound was a bit dated on the LP, it did give fans something more than split singles, and one-off compilation
tracks to listen to. Jon Procopio left the band in summer 1994, and was replaced with Mike O'Keefe on guitar
.
Dahlia Seed played extensively in 1994 and early 1995, with such varied acts as Archers of Loaf
, Everclear
, Built to Spill
, Texas is the Reason
, Avail
, Los Crudos
, Heavens to Betsy
, etc, and in the summer of 1995, headed off to Philadelphia to record their first proper record "Survived By". Although "Survived By" is considered by many to be the quintessential Dahlia Seed record because it captures the band at its zenith of songwriting
, and performance
, the overall production of the record betrays the undeniable power of Dahlia Seed as a live act, and tends to leave the listener a bit underwhelmed.
/Canadian
tour. Two weeks into the tour, guitarist Mike O'Keefe unexpectedly quit the band, which brought the tour to a halt somewhere in the mid-west
of America. Dahlia Seed returned home to re-group, and added new guitarist Kevin McManus.
With the addition of Kevin McManus, 1996 became a banner year for Dahlia Seed. "Survived By" was released in the spring to much praise, and critical acclaim, and shortly after that the band set out on a very successful U.S. tour.
Upon return from the tour, the members of Dahlia Seed decided that it was time to call it quits, and finished up their run in August 1996, with a sold out farewell show at Maxwell's
in Hoboken, New Jersey
Some reports had fans as far away as Toronto
, and Chicago
making the trip for the show, only to be turned away at the door.
In 1999, Dahlia Seed's parting shot to the world was the release of "Please Excuse All The Blood". This CD was a posthumous release that compiled all the singles, comp tracks, and unreleased material that Dahlia Seed had left scattered about during their four years, including the last three recordings Dahlia Seed did, (with Alap Momin of Dalek fame), before their break-up. The songs "Standing 8 Count", "Greg Leto's Tears", and a cover
of VoiVod
's "Missing Sequences" are considered by fans to be some of the band's best work, and serve as a lament to what the future might have held for the band.
. The album features collaborations with members of Cave In
, Isis
, Sunn O)))
, Jessamine
, Fontanelle
, Film School
, Denali, Engine Down
, and Dalek
.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
/post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
band from the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
/New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
area, that was instrumental in defining the sound which is now termed Emo
Emo (music)
Emo is a style of rock music characterized by melodic musicianship and expressive, often confessional lyrics. It originated in the mid-1980s hardcore punk movement of Washington, D.C., where it was known as "emotional hardcore" or "emocore" and pioneered by bands such as Rites of Spring and Embrace...
.
The beginning
Dahlia Seed began in the summer of 1992, in the northern New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s as a four piece band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
that played a tight, and aggressive version of the indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
that was prevalent at the time. With all the musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s having a background in the New York hardcore scene, the sound of Dahlia Seed was a bit tougher than the other indie
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
stalwarts of the era, but the most distinctive aspect was the vocals of Tracy Wilson. Her "in your face" vocal style and delivery, coupled with a raw, and honest "open book" lyrical
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
, made her one of the most unusual vocalists of the scene.
Dahlia Seed added a second guitarist (Jon Procopio) in 1993, and proceeded to release their first record, a 10" split w/Brokenmouth. It wasn't until their third single, a split 7" with Greyhouse, that the band started to gain some real notice and popularity. Their side of the split, a song called "Milk", won them new fans, especially from the tight-knit, and cliqueish Riot Grrrl
Riot grrrl
Riot grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement based in Washington, DC, Olympia, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and the greater Pacific Northwest which existed in the early to mid-1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism...
scene.
Rising Popularity
1994 saw the release of "Valentine Kid's Litter", a full-length LPGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
/CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
culled from various demo recordings done in 1993. While the sound was a bit dated on the LP, it did give fans something more than split singles, and one-off compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
tracks to listen to. Jon Procopio left the band in summer 1994, and was replaced with Mike O'Keefe on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
.
Dahlia Seed played extensively in 1994 and early 1995, with such varied acts as Archers of Loaf
Archers of Loaf
Archers of Loaf is an American indie-rock band originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, formed in 1990. The group toured extensively and released a total of four studio albums, a collection album, numerous singles and EPs, and a live album which was released after the band broke up in...
, Everclear
Everclear (band)
Everclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1992 best known for their radio hits spanning more than a decade. For most of its existence, Everclear has consisted of Art Alexakis , Craig Montoya , and Greg Eklund . Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994...
, Built to Spill
Built to Spill
Built to Spill is an American indie rock band based in Boise, Idaho. The band has released seven full-length albums. Their most recent album, There Is No Enemy, was released on October 6, 2009.-History:...
, Texas is the Reason
Texas Is the Reason
Texas Is the Reason was an American post-hardcore band founded by former Shelter guitarist Norm Arenas and 108 drummer Chris Daly in 1994. They disbanded in 1997...
, Avail
Avail
Avail is a punk band from Richmond, Virginia. Originally from Northern Virginia, the band formed in 1987, its members including Joe Banks, Doug Crosby, Brian Stewart, and Mikey Warstler. The only original remaining member, guitar player Joe Banks, teamed up with rival band LDK's Tim Barry...
, Los Crudos
Los Crudos
Los Crudos was an American hardcore punk band from Chicago, Illinois that existed from 1991 to 1998. The band played in the hardcore punk style, and were a popular act within the DIY underground of the 1990s. Being Latino, they paved the way for later Spanish-speaking punk bands and helped to...
, Heavens to Betsy
Heavens to Betsy
Heavens to Betsy was an American indie-punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1991. They were part of the DIY riot grrrl movement in the punk rock underground in the early 1990s, and were the first band of Sleater-Kinney vocalist/guitarist Corin Tucker....
, etc, and in the summer of 1995, headed off to Philadelphia to record their first proper record "Survived By". Although "Survived By" is considered by many to be the quintessential Dahlia Seed record because it captures the band at its zenith of songwriting
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, and performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
, the overall production of the record betrays the undeniable power of Dahlia Seed as a live act, and tends to leave the listener a bit underwhelmed.
The Breakup
After production wrapped on "Survived By", Dahlia Seed headed out on their first ill-fated U.S.United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
/Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
tour. Two weeks into the tour, guitarist Mike O'Keefe unexpectedly quit the band, which brought the tour to a halt somewhere in the mid-west
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
of America. Dahlia Seed returned home to re-group, and added new guitarist Kevin McManus.
With the addition of Kevin McManus, 1996 became a banner year for Dahlia Seed. "Survived By" was released in the spring to much praise, and critical acclaim, and shortly after that the band set out on a very successful U.S. tour.
Upon return from the tour, the members of Dahlia Seed decided that it was time to call it quits, and finished up their run in August 1996, with a sold out farewell show at Maxwell's
Maxwell's
Maxwell's is a music club in Hoboken, New Jersey that also has a restaurant. The intimate venue often attracts a wide variety of acts looking for a change from the New York City concert spaces across the river.-History:...
in Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
Some reports had fans as far away as Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
making the trip for the show, only to be turned away at the door.
In 1999, Dahlia Seed's parting shot to the world was the release of "Please Excuse All The Blood". This CD was a posthumous release that compiled all the singles, comp tracks, and unreleased material that Dahlia Seed had left scattered about during their four years, including the last three recordings Dahlia Seed did, (with Alap Momin of Dalek fame), before their break-up. The songs "Standing 8 Count", "Greg Leto's Tears", and a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of VoiVod
Voivod
Voivode is a Slavic title that originally denoted the principal commander of a military force. The word gradually came to denote the governor of a province. The territory ruled or administered by a voivode is known as a voivodeship...
's "Missing Sequences" are considered by fans to be some of the band's best work, and serve as a lament to what the future might have held for the band.
Post-Dahlia Seed
Tracy Wilson has also recorded under the name Ringfinger. Under this moniker she has released the vinyl-only LP DecimalDecimal
The decimal numeral system has ten as its base. It is the numerical base most widely used by modern civilizations....
. The album features collaborations with members of Cave In
Cave In
Cave In is an American rock band that formed in 1995, in Methuen, Massachusetts. After several members changes in the late 90's, their lineup solidified with the 1998 release of Until Your Heart Stops through Hydra Head Records. Their early albums were prominent releases in the independent...
, Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...
, Sunn O)))
Sunn O)))
Sunn O))) is an American doom metal band known for its synthesis of diverse genres including drone, ambient, noise, and black metal. Supported by a varying cast of collaborators, the band has two core members: Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson .-History:Sunn O))) is named after the Sunn...
, Jessamine
Jessamine
Jessamine may refer to:* Jessamine , a 1990s post-rock band from Ohio* "Jesamine" , popular UK song recorded by The Casuals-Plants:* Cestrum, a genus of flowering plants...
, Fontanelle
Fontanelle
A fontanelle is an anatomical feature on an infant's skull.-Anatomy:Fontanelles are soft spots on a baby's head which, during birth, enable the bony plates of the skull to flex, allowing the child's head to pass through the birth canal. The ossification of the bones of the skull causes the...
, Film School
Film school
The term film school is used to describe any educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training are usually incorporated into...
, Denali, Engine Down
Engine Down
Engine Down was a four-piece rock band from Richmond, Virginia, active from 1996-2005. They were a part of the Washington, D.C. area post-hardcore movement, along with bands like The Dismemberment Plan, Q and Not U, and Faraquet...
, and Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
.
Previous Members
- Tracy Wilson - vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Chris Skelly - GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Darin Galgano - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Brian Getkin - BassBass (instrument)Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
- Mike O'Keefe - Guitar
- Kevin McManus - Guitar
- Jon Procopio - Guitar