The Dambuilders
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The Dambuilders | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
Genres | Indie rock |
Years active | 1989–1998 |
Labels | ¡Cuacha!, Elektra |
Past members |
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The Dambuilders was an
History
Founding
The Dambuilders was a band in the early 1990s Boston rock scene. The founding members—Dave Derby, Tryan George and Eric Masunaga, all from Hawaii—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. With Fox's involvement, nearly all of the band's songs had electric violin tracks. Around 1992, the "classic line-up" consisted of Derby (bass guitar and lead vocals), Masunaga (guitar), Kevin March (drums) and Joan Wasser (violin). Many of the band's early recordings were engineered by Masunaga.
Commercial success
While the Dambuilders are generally considered an "indie" band, they received some commercial airplay with the single "Shrine" from their 1994 Atlantic Records release Encendedor. 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 non-religious, culturally inclusive belief system ("...and call it Rock n' Roll"). "Shrine" was ranked No. 17 in MTV's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s: Lollapalooza list.[citation needed]
Their final studio album, Against the Stars, was released in 1997 by Elektra Records. In 1999, the band performed in Toronto.[1]
After the Dambuilders
Derby later assembled Gramercy Arms, a "revolving collective of musicians and artists".
Wasser began performing under the name
March was also a member of Guided by Voices for several years and continues to do session work and tour with various artists. In 2005, he formed Hot One with his old friend Nathan Larson of Shudder to Think, releasing one self-titled album in 2006.
Masunaga now runs Modulus Studios, a mastering and DVD authoring studio, in Boston.
Discography
Studio albums
- 1989: A Young Person's Guide (¡Cuacha!)
- 1991: Geek Lust (¡Cuacha!)
- 1993: Islington Porn Tapes (¡Cuacha!)
- 1994: Encendedor (Elektra)
- 1995: Ruby Red (Elektra)
- 1997: Against the Stars (Elektra)
Compilations
- 1996: God Dambuilders Bless America (Elektra)
Singles
- 1991: "Pop Song = Food"
- 1992: "Smell"
- 1992: "Shrine"
- 1995: "Teenage Loser Anthem"
Extended plays
- 1993: Tough Guy Problem (spinART)
References
- ^ Burland, Chris (November 1995). "Dambuilders: Eccentric Police & Singing Angels". Chart Attack. Archived from the original on February 19, 1999.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c "Gramercy Arms - About". Gramercy Arms. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
External links
- The Dambuilders at AllMusic
- VH1 page
- "Joan As Police Woman"
- Gramercy Arms Facebook page
- "Gramercy Arms website"