Dead Air Fresheners
Encyclopedia
The Dead Air Fresheners are a Portland, Oregon
, Olympia, Washington
, and Seattle, Washington-based experimental
and post-punk
musical group with a somewhat fluctuating membership. They have been described by Portland's KPSU as "A long-time mainstay of the Experimental Rock Scene."
in Thurston County, Washington" (Eld Inlet is the site of The Evergreen State College
); in any event, they first performed publicly in the late 1990s at Olympia, Washington
's annual Olympia Experimental Music Festival
.
Their instrumentation has been known to include Moog synthesizer
, and tape samples
, drums, ambient vocals, distorted feedback, electric guitar, computers and digital toys, and digeridoo. The Dead Air Fresheners state in interviews and on their My Space page that they do not play improvised music despite frequent perceptions to the contrary. Rather they use a process of Chance Music composition influenced by the work of John Cage
(also called Indeterminate music) and their Myspace page provides several examples of scores from past performances.
They have done several live radio performances; portions of their hour-long session with poet Chuck Swaim on KEXP
's "Sonarchy Radio" were included as songs in the self-released album Pleasure Is Where All Labor Ends and two performances on KPSU are on that station's archives.
have reported them to have included at various times members of such bands as Olympia's now defunct Karp
, Austin, Texas
' ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
, Bellingham, Washington
's Noggin, and Portland, Oregon
's Nice Nice.
In Signum magazine, writer Tiffany Lee Brown
implies strongly that Olympia Experimental Music Festival founder Jim McAdams is one of the anonymous musicians in the group. Matt Driscoll of the Weekly Volcano
(South Puget Sound
) states this outright.
McAdams's wife, Deanne Rowley McAdams, died 3 August 2011. Her obituary in The Olympian
indicates that she was a member of the group, and that she had also played with Texas and Pacific Northwest bands Plain Jane, [...And You Will Know Us By the] Trail of Dead, Pro-Ex Marauders, and Cherry 2000, and that she had a band of her own called Leopards.
Also included in compilations:
Source for discography (except as noted):
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Olympia, Washington
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
, and Seattle, Washington-based experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
and post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
musical group with a somewhat fluctuating membership. They have been described by Portland's KPSU as "A long-time mainstay of the Experimental Rock Scene."
Band history
The band formed around 1996. They claim to have first formed "in a dilapidated beachfront mansion on the Eld InletEld Inlet
Eld Inlet is an inlet at the southern end of Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies between Budd Inlet to the east and Totten Inlet to the northwest. Eld Inlet is about long.-History:...
in Thurston County, Washington" (Eld Inlet is the site of The Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College is an accredited public liberal arts college and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. It is located in Olympia, Washington, USA. Founded in 1967, Evergreen was formed to be an experimental and non-traditional college...
); in any event, they first performed publicly in the late 1990s at Olympia, Washington
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
's annual Olympia Experimental Music Festival
Olympia Experimental Music Festival
The Olympia Experimental Music Festival, also known for a time as The Olympia Festival of Experimental Musics, has been produced annually in Olympia, Washington since 1995. Organizers have included festival founder L. Jim McAdams, Arrington de Dionyso , Aerick Duckhugger, and Domenica Clark...
.
Their instrumentation has been known to include Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
, and tape samples
Tape Music
Tape Music is an experimental 10" vinyl release by Jack Dangers. The vinyl release was coupled with the album Sounds Of The 20th Century No2 when released as a flexi disc vinyl....
, drums, ambient vocals, distorted feedback, electric guitar, computers and digital toys, and digeridoo. The Dead Air Fresheners state in interviews and on their My Space page that they do not play improvised music despite frequent perceptions to the contrary. Rather they use a process of Chance Music composition influenced by the work of John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
(also called Indeterminate music) and their Myspace page provides several examples of scores from past performances.
They have done several live radio performances; portions of their hour-long session with poet Chuck Swaim on KEXP
KEXP
KEXP-FM is a public radio station based in Seattle, Washington, that specializes in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys. Its broadcasting license is owned by the University of Washington, which operates the station in a partnership with Paul Allen's Experience Music Project...
's "Sonarchy Radio" were included as songs in the self-released album Pleasure Is Where All Labor Ends and two performances on KPSU are on that station's archives.
Band members
Because of their penchant for anonymity, masks, and costumes, there is no definitive list of the group's membership. Nonetheless, several publications covering either the experimental music scene or entertainment in the Pacific NorthwestPacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
have reported them to have included at various times members of such bands as Olympia's now defunct Karp
Karp
-People:*Algo Kärp , Estonian cross-country skier*Barrie Karp , U.S. philosopher and visual artist*Bob Karp , U.S. comics writer*Brad S. Karp , U.S. litigator*Carol Karp , U.S...
, Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
' ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead is an American alternative rock band from Austin, Texas. The chief creative members of the band are Jason Reece and Conrad Keely . The two switch between drumming, guitar and lead vocals, both on recordings and live shows...
, Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
's Noggin, and Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
's Nice Nice.
In Signum magazine, writer Tiffany Lee Brown
Tiffany Lee Brown
Tiffany Lee Brown is an American writer, editor, and interdisciplinary artist. Author of A Compendium of Miniatures , she is the Executive Director of the 501c3 non-profit organization New Oregon Arts & Letters...
implies strongly that Olympia Experimental Music Festival founder Jim McAdams is one of the anonymous musicians in the group. Matt Driscoll of the Weekly Volcano
Weekly Volcano
Weekly Volcano is a weekly entertainment newspaper in the South Puget Sound, based in Tacoma, Washington. The Weekly Volcano reports on film, theater, food, art and music in the South Sound as well as providing comprehensive arts and music calendars...
(South Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
) states this outright.
McAdams's wife, Deanne Rowley McAdams, died 3 August 2011. Her obituary in The Olympian
The Olympian
The Olympian is a McClatchy newspaper in Olympia, Washington, in the United States.-History:The Olympian started in 1860 as "The Washington Standard" a weekly paper. Daily papers did not start until February 1889. The Olympian started daily service as a way to lead the crusade to make Olympia the...
indicates that she was a member of the group, and that she had also played with Texas and Pacific Northwest bands Plain Jane, [...And You Will Know Us By the] Trail of Dead, Pro-Ex Marauders, and Cherry 2000, and that she had a band of her own called Leopards.
Discography
- I Try To Show My Love, Plastic Duck Records, 1999
- Verses of Echo, Bastard Customer, and Pleasure Is Where All Labor Ends, with poet Chuck Swaim, (self-released) 2001–2003
- An Ulcer is a String of Pearls, 2006, Kill Pop Tarts (CDR-ep)
- a Slip Inside the Quiet Room, 2007, Icky Recordings
Also included in compilations:
- Infamous Polywogs Vol. 1?, Inlet Recordings, 2002
- Infamous Polywogs Vol. 2?, Kill Pop Tarts, 2004
- Reek of Influence, Icky Recordings, 2006
Source for discography (except as noted):
External links
- Dead Air Fresheners MySpace page
- Recordings by Dead Air Fresheners on the KPSU archives.
- KMLP archive including a 2002 performance by the Dead Air Fresheners. Archived on the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
10 February 2006.