The Damnwells
Encyclopedia
The Damnwells are an indie rock
band originally from Brooklyn
, New York
The band formed in 2001 and has released four full length albums, Air Stereo
(2006, Epic Records
/Rounder Records
), Bastards of the Beat (2003, Epic Records
), and One Last Century (2009, self released). The original members of the Damnwells were Alex Dezen (lead vocals, guitar, piano), David Chernis (lead guitar), Ted Hudson (bass), and Steven Terry (drums/percussion). Over the years, they have toured extensively throughout the United States and have had numerous television and radio appearances. Although David Chernis and Steven Terry left the band in 2007, the Damnwells, with core members Alex Dezen and Ted Hudson, still appear in changing formations.
(Sony/BMG) in April 2003. The Damnwells' second full length album, Air Stereo
, was recorded at Brooklyn Recording studios in Brooklyn, NY for Epic Records
, but was licensed to Zoe/Rounder Records
after the band was let go from their recording contract with Epic Records
in January 2006. Air Stereo
was released in stores nationwide on August 15, 2006.
The 2008 motion picture Chaos Theory
featured five Damnwells songs on its soundtrack. The Damnwells came into media spotlight in 2007, when Chaos Theory
lead actor Ryan Reynolds
and actress Scarlett Johansson
were seen as a couple at a Damnwells concert in Hollywood.
The Damnwells have shared the stage with many bands over the years, such as The Dixie Chicks, Cheap Trick
, Blue October
, The Fray
, Bob Dylan
, The Twilight Singers
, and Old 97s. They have appeared at major music festivals such as South by Southwest, and play with some regularly at music venues around the country.
On April 4, 2008, Alex Dezen announced through the band's website that the band would most likely not appear in its original formation anymore. "The Damnwells has always been about my songs with extremely talented musicians and producers collaborating," Dezen wrote. "The personnel has changed, but the essence [...] remains the same." Over the years, the band collective has included artists like Julian Velard
, Jay Barclay (member of Ben Kweller's
band), and Alex Dezen's wife and Hollywood actress, Angela Dezen. The same year, the Damnwells posted acoustic versions of four new songs on YouTube
.
On February 10, 2009, the third full-length LP, One Last Century, was released as a free download from Paste Magazine. It was recorded together with drummer Andrew Ratcliffe, bassist Adrian Dickey, producer/guitarist Freddy Wall, and producer Wes Kidd
. About the record, Alex Dezen had this to say: "I just want people to hear this music, and I don’t want them to have to enter into some kind of contractual agreement with a third party to do so. Download the record, copy it and give it to your friends, lovers, and enemies. Whatever. It’s so hard these days just to get the actual music into people’s houses and cars, let alone their ears. Besides, I know everyone’s broke, maybe I can supply the soundtrack. So, I just want to give this music away because I want people to hear it. I should have done this years ago. I’m starting over." The album is still available as a free download from the band's own website.
The Damnwells have announced their new record, No One Listens to the Band Anymore, will be released in the US on March 1, 2011 via Pledge Music Recordings.
Alex Dezen is a graduate of the MFA program at the University of Iowa's Iowa Writers' Workshop
, where he also taught Rhetoric and Creative Writing from 2008-2010.
, entitled "Golden Days," was completed in 2007. The film was directed and shot by documentary filmmaker Chris Suchorsky, who also directed music videos for the Damnwells' songs "Kiss Catastrophe" and "Sleepsinging," and won Best Documentary at the 2007 Phoenix Film Festival
in April 2007 after appearing at over a dozen film festivals in the US and Europe. DVDs of the film are currently available through various online retailers. Netflix.com also carries the film for rental viewing.
/ Fan-funded music platform, Pledgemusic
. As of October 9, 2010, the band had raised over $34,547, 173% of their initial goal of $20,000, and released two songs to pledgers, "She Goes Around" and "Feast of Hearts," from the new Pledgemusic
funded record. $2,909.40 has been donated to United Against Malaria as part of the pledge campaign charity drive.
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...
band originally from Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, 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...
The band formed in 2001 and has released four full length albums, Air Stereo
Air Stereo
Air Stereo is The Damnwells' second full length album, released on August 15, 2006.-Track listing:# "I've Got You" – 3:32# "Accidental Man" – 4:29# "You Don't Have to Like Me to Love Me " – 3:47# "Golden Days" – 4:19...
(2006, Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
/Rounder Records
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
), Bastards of the Beat (2003, Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
), and One Last Century (2009, self released). The original members of the Damnwells were Alex Dezen (lead vocals, guitar, piano), David Chernis (lead guitar), Ted Hudson (bass), and Steven Terry (drums/percussion). Over the years, they have toured extensively throughout the United States and have had numerous television and radio appearances. Although David Chernis and Steven Terry left the band in 2007, the Damnwells, with core members Alex Dezen and Ted Hudson, still appear in changing formations.
Band History
The Damnwells first album, Bastards of the Beat, was recorded in a Manhattan Mini-Storage space and in lead singer and songwriter Alex Dezen's bedroom. It was initially picked up for release by Sixthman Records (now Brash Records), but soon caught the attention of former Sony Music A&R representative, Ben Goldman, who signed the band and released the album on Epic RecordsEpic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
(Sony/BMG) in April 2003. The Damnwells' second full length album, Air Stereo
Air Stereo
Air Stereo is The Damnwells' second full length album, released on August 15, 2006.-Track listing:# "I've Got You" – 3:32# "Accidental Man" – 4:29# "You Don't Have to Like Me to Love Me " – 3:47# "Golden Days" – 4:19...
, was recorded at Brooklyn Recording studios in Brooklyn, NY for Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, but was licensed to Zoe/Rounder Records
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
after the band was let go from their recording contract with Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
in January 2006. Air Stereo
Air Stereo
Air Stereo is The Damnwells' second full length album, released on August 15, 2006.-Track listing:# "I've Got You" – 3:32# "Accidental Man" – 4:29# "You Don't Have to Like Me to Love Me " – 3:47# "Golden Days" – 4:19...
was released in stores nationwide on August 15, 2006.
The 2008 motion picture Chaos Theory
Chaos Theory (film)
Chaos Theory is a 2007 comedy-drama film starring Ryan Reynolds, Stuart Townsend, Emily Mortimer, and Sarah Chalke. The film was written by Daniel Taplitz and Kathy Gori and was shot in Vancouver, Canada.- Plot :...
featured five Damnwells songs on its soundtrack. The Damnwells came into media spotlight in 2007, when Chaos Theory
Chaos Theory (film)
Chaos Theory is a 2007 comedy-drama film starring Ryan Reynolds, Stuart Townsend, Emily Mortimer, and Sarah Chalke. The film was written by Daniel Taplitz and Kathy Gori and was shot in Vancouver, Canada.- Plot :...
lead actor Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Rodney Reynolds is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his roles in such films as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Waiting..., The Amityville Horror, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, Buried, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Green Lantern.One of his best known...
and actress Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...
were seen as a couple at a Damnwells concert in Hollywood.
The Damnwells have shared the stage with many bands over the years, such as The Dixie Chicks, Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, Blue October
Blue October
Blue October is a rock band from Houston, Texas. The band was formed in 1995 and currently consists of Justin Furstenfeld , Jeremy Furstenfeld , Ryan Delahoussaye , Matt Noveskey , and Julian Mandrake .-History:Blue October was formed by lead...
, The Fray
The Fray (band)
The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado. Formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King, they achieved success with the release of their debut album, How to Save a Life in 2005, which was certified double platinum by the RIAA and platinum in Australia, Canada, New Zealand...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, The Twilight Singers
The Twilight Singers
The Twilight Singers is an American indie rock band. The group was initially formed as a side project of The Afghan Whigs leader Greg Dulli in 1997...
, and Old 97s. They have appeared at major music festivals such as South by Southwest, and play with some regularly at music venues around the country.
On April 4, 2008, Alex Dezen announced through the band's website that the band would most likely not appear in its original formation anymore. "The Damnwells has always been about my songs with extremely talented musicians and producers collaborating," Dezen wrote. "The personnel has changed, but the essence [...] remains the same." Over the years, the band collective has included artists like Julian Velard
Julian Velard
Julian Velard , is an American pianist and singer-songwriter, born and raised in New York City.-Biography:Velard was born and raised in New York City, New York. He attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and Hampshire College, in Amherst, Massachusetts, where...
, Jay Barclay (member of Ben Kweller's
Ben Kweller
Ben Kweller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.-Early life:Ben Kweller was born in San Francisco, CA in 1981. In 1982, his family relocated to Emory, Texas, where his father, Howard Kweller, became the town's first doctor. In 1986, the Kwellers moved to a much larger city,...
band), and Alex Dezen's wife and Hollywood actress, Angela Dezen. The same year, the Damnwells posted acoustic versions of four new songs on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
On February 10, 2009, the third full-length LP, One Last Century, was released as a free download from Paste Magazine. It was recorded together with drummer Andrew Ratcliffe, bassist Adrian Dickey, producer/guitarist Freddy Wall, and producer Wes Kidd
Wes Kidd
Wes Kidd was a founding member of Rights of the Accused and Triple Fast Action, the latter signing to Capitol Records and Deep Elm Records. He grew up in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and attended Glenbard West High School. After Triple Fast Action disbanded in 1998, he went on to produce several albums...
. About the record, Alex Dezen had this to say: "I just want people to hear this music, and I don’t want them to have to enter into some kind of contractual agreement with a third party to do so. Download the record, copy it and give it to your friends, lovers, and enemies. Whatever. It’s so hard these days just to get the actual music into people’s houses and cars, let alone their ears. Besides, I know everyone’s broke, maybe I can supply the soundtrack. So, I just want to give this music away because I want people to hear it. I should have done this years ago. I’m starting over." The album is still available as a free download from the band's own website.
The Damnwells have announced their new record, No One Listens to the Band Anymore, will be released in the US on March 1, 2011 via Pledge Music Recordings.
Alex Dezen is a graduate of the MFA program at the University of Iowa's Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
, where he also taught Rhetoric and Creative Writing from 2008-2010.
Golden Days Documentary
An independent documentary detailing The Damnwells' struggles on Epic RecordsEpic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, entitled "Golden Days," was completed in 2007. The film was directed and shot by documentary filmmaker Chris Suchorsky, who also directed music videos for the Damnwells' songs "Kiss Catastrophe" and "Sleepsinging," and won Best Documentary at the 2007 Phoenix Film Festival
Phoenix Film Festival
Phoenix Film Festival is a festival that celebrates feature films and their creators. The celebration takes place annually in the city of Phoenix, Arizona...
in April 2007 after appearing at over a dozen film festivals in the US and Europe. DVDs of the film are currently available through various online retailers. Netflix.com also carries the film for rental viewing.
PledgeMusic Project
In February 2010, the Damnwells began a pledge drive to cover the production costs of a new studio record through a Direct-to-FanDirect-to-Fan
Direct-to-Fan is a business model used by independent musicians, independent music labels, music marketing professionals, promoters, and others in the music industry...
/ Fan-funded music platform, Pledgemusic
Pledgemusic
PledgeMusic is an online Direct-to-Fan / Fan-funded music platform utilising a Threshold Pledge System / Provision Point Mechanism, launched in August 2009, that facilitates musicians reaching out to their fan-base to financially contribute to upcoming recordings or other musical projects...
. As of October 9, 2010, the band had raised over $34,547, 173% of their initial goal of $20,000, and released two songs to pledgers, "She Goes Around" and "Feast of Hearts," from the new Pledgemusic
Pledgemusic
PledgeMusic is an online Direct-to-Fan / Fan-funded music platform utilising a Threshold Pledge System / Provision Point Mechanism, launched in August 2009, that facilitates musicians reaching out to their fan-base to financially contribute to upcoming recordings or other musical projects...
funded record. $2,909.40 has been donated to United Against Malaria as part of the pledge campaign charity drive.
Film
- Just MarriedJust MarriedJust Married is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed by Shawn Levy and written by Sam Harper starring Ashton Kutcher and the late Brittany Murphy. In its opening week, the film was number one, making $17 million at the box office. It stayed in the Top 10 for 4 weeks.-Plot:The film starts...
Soundtrack (2003) (song: "For My Own Good") - Chaos Theory (film)Chaos Theory (film)Chaos Theory is a 2007 comedy-drama film starring Ryan Reynolds, Stuart Townsend, Emily Mortimer, and Sarah Chalke. The film was written by Daniel Taplitz and Kathy Gori and was shot in Vancouver, Canada.- Plot :...
Soundtrack (2008) (song: "Electric Harmony," "Say," "Graceless," "Tonight & Forever," "Golden Days")
Television
- "Ed (TV series)Ed (TV series)Ed is an NBC television program co-produced by David Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated, NBC Productions, and Viacom Productions that aired from 2000 to 2004....
" - Wheel of Justice (2002) (song: "4th Avenue") - "Life As We Know It (TV series)" - A Little Problem (2005) (song: "Star/Fool")
- "Brothers & Sisters (2006 TV series)" - From France with Love (2009) (song: "Come to Me")
Albums
- Bastards of the Beat (2003)
- Air StereoAir StereoAir Stereo is The Damnwells' second full length album, released on August 15, 2006.-Track listing:# "I've Got You" – 3:32# "Accidental Man" – 4:29# "You Don't Have to Like Me to Love Me " – 3:47# "Golden Days" – 4:19...
(2006) - One Last Century (2009)
- No One Listens To The Band Anymore (2011)
EPs
- Heart Hazard
- PMR ("Poor Man's Record") (2002), re-released as PMR+1 (2003)
- There's No One Left in Brooklyn But You (2005, iTunesITunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
digital download exclusive)