Dambuilders
Encyclopedia
History
The Dambuilders was a band in the early 1990s BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
rock scene. The founding members - Dave Derby
Dave Derby
Dave Derby is an American songwriter, producer, and composer of music for film and television. He was a founding member of the Dambuilders, Brilliantine, and Gramercy Arms. Derby has also released solo records and played bass in Lloyd Cole's band The Negatives....
, Tryan George and Eric Masunaga - hail from Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and had played in a number of bands (such as the Exactones) before moving to Boston in 1990. The band began as the Dambuilders in Hawaii in a three-piece and four-piece configuration. Early violin was provided by Debbie Fox. Subsequent to Debbie Fox's involvement, nearly all of their songs would feature electric violin tracks. Around 1992, the "classic lineup" consisted of Derby (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and lead vocals); Masunaga (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...
); Kevin March
Kevin March
Kevin P. March is an American business executive, and currently Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice-President of technology manufacturing giant, Texas Instruments.-Education:...
(drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s); and Joan Wasser
Joan Wasser
Joan Wasser is a violinist and singer/songwriter in the indie rock world. She began her career playing violin with the Dambuilders. She has released three albums as a singer songwriter, the 2006 Real Life the 2008 To Survive and the 2011 The Deep Field...
(violin). Many of the bands early recordings were engineered by band-guitarist Eric Masunaga.
Their first single was "Pop Song = Food". Other albums include Geek Lust, Islington Porn Tapes, God Dambuilders Bless America, A Young Person's Guide..., Encendedor, Ruby Red and Against The Stars.
Commercial Success
While The Dambuilders are generally considered an "indie" band, they have received some commercial airplay with their single "Shrine" from 1994's "Encendedor". This album was released on Atlantic RecordsAtlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. Although the song has no viable chorus, The Dambuilders manage to create an appealing and memorable single using a distinctly melodic verse and an innovative instrumental section used as an intro, outro, and bridge. In this section, the bass guitar plays a melodic riff using two bass strings simultaneously, as opposed to the more conventional method in which the bass player plays one string at a time. The song tells of a cross-cultural romantic courtship between the singer and a girl who "doesn't speak much English" but is familiar with the American music scene. In the song, the singer is willing to conform to traditional religious practices outside his own cultural sphere ("...if I stay with her I'll lose track of all time, so I light a candle to the shrine..."), but seemingly manages to stay true to his roots by redefining the acts as an aspect of his own a-religious, culturally inclusive belief system ("...and call it Rock n' Roll").
Their 1997 album Against the Stars was released on Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
.
Current activities
Currently Dave Derby and Kevin March are performing together as members of Gramercy Arms. The band, which also includes Sean Eden (Luna), Rainy Orteca (Dead Air, Joan as Police Woman, Lloyd Cole), Hilken Mancini (The Count Me Outs, Fuzzy, Colburn-Mancini), Sandy Smallens (Too Much Joy) as well as guest performances by Doug Gillard (Guided By Voices), Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Renee LoBue (Elk City), Lloyd Cole, Chris Brokaw (Come, Codeine) released its eponymous first album in 2009 and is currently working on a follow up. Dave's other output includes two releases under the "Brilliantine" name, as well two solo albums ("Even Further Behind" and "Dave Derby and the Norfolk Downs."Wasser is now performing under the name "Joan As Police Woman" and released her solo debut E.P. Joan As Policewoman in June 2005. She has gone on to release a full length album with the band, entitled Real Life in June 2006, followed by To Survive in June 2008, Cover in 2009, and The Deep Field in January of 2011.
March was also a member of Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Beginning with the band's formation in 1983, it made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard...
for several years and continues to do session work and tours with various artists. He is currently putting together a new group with his old friend, Nathan Larson of Shudder To Think
Shudder to Think
Shudder to Think is an American indie rock group. Formed in 1986, they released three albums on the Washington, D.C.-based label Dischord Records and were a post-hardcore band, although they drew upon a wide range of stylistic influences, including pop....
.
Masunaga now runs Modulus Studios, a mastering and DVD authoring studio, in Boston.