Meadows of Dan (band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Meadows of Dan


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Background = group_or_band
Origin = Archdale, North Carolina, USA
Genre = Jam, rock, jazz, funk
Years_active = 2005 — present
Label = Key
URL = http://www.myspace.com/meadowsofdan

Meadows of Dan (sometimes abbreviated MOD or MoD) is an instrumental American rock band which combines various genres of music including funk, reggae, blues, jazz, and occasionally techno through catchy melodies and extended jam sessions. Since the band's formation in 2005, Meadows of Dan has released a wide array of albums including demos, EPs and, most recently, a comprehensive set entitled Third Anniversary Collection. As of 2008 the band has released nine official studio albums, between which many rarities and obscure tracks have fallen.

History

Meadows of Dan, taking its name from the town in Virginia though formed in Archdale, North Carolina, began in various early forms in 2005 by drummer Trey Liebscher, guitarist and keyboardist Will Huffman, guitarist Cole Liebscher, and bassist and recording engineer CS Key. That same year marked the beginnings of the band's sporadic style of recording and touring, combined in 2006 to mark Meadows of Dan's first and only live album. The band's history has also been marked by its infrequent existence and random terms of hiatus. Early in their career the band mainly relied on guitar, bass, and drums, but as of 2007's Born For Fun, Loyal To None began more regularly incorporating a typically densely layered keyboard into many jams (courtesy of Will Huffman).

Meadows of Dan is most renowned for their hits "Island Music," "Underwater," "Sensareo," "Croxbury's Afternoon," "The Cat's Azz," and their 2007 cover of John Carpenter's theme from Escape From New York (recorded for the End Of An Error album, marking the ten-year anniversary of Snake Plissken's mission on Manhattan Island). Dukeman and Steel of the techno duo Dukeman Steel have, on several occasions, been credited with penning "Croxbury's Afternoon." Members from both Meadows of Dan and Dukeman Steel, however, deny this claim.

Though many of Meadows of Dan's songs are entirely improvised in the vein of jazz or blues and without pre-planned structure, at various times members of the band have made vague mentions of a "Dan", a possible unconfirmed composer working within the band. More recently the name "Dan Meadows" surfaced in text originating from the band's official website. Whether this is aimed at throwing reporters off or nothing more than a symbol of the band is currently unknown.

It should be noted that Meadows of Dan's official Third Anniversary Collection is technically the "Special Edition" version as the album's cover is markedly different from the original edition. There is no differentiation in the arrangement, selection, or number of tracks from collection to collection, yet only one copy of the non-"Special Edition" Third Anniversary Collection exists in print, valued, as of August 2008, at twelve-hundred American dollars. This one-of-a-kind disc is rumored to be at various places around the world and alternately believed to be currently held in a secret room located within The Museum of Technology and Textile Industry by eccentric museum shareholder S.R. Downfield who has also publicly recognized A Gradual Dismissal Of Humans By Machines! as a subtle warning to mankind, citing, among other points, that both this album and Third Anniversary Collection end on the troubling, hectic mood of "Something Went Terribly Wrong," a track that Downfield has described as "sheer robotic terror." In a 2008 interview with guitarist/keyboardist Will Huffman he revealed that this was not intentional and that the world was "probably not very likely" to witness an exchange of power with robots.

Recording Style

Meadows of Dan's recording quality varies from album to album, ranging from early 4-track recordings released independently to relatively low-fi tracks to high-quality studio endeavors which have become increasingly common for the band. Their discs are typically short by usual album standards but are very much concentrated on flow. The band is known to enter the studio and come out with a fresh album after only weeks, days, or even hours. [http://thecrookedroad.org/vasearch.asp?ID=MUSIC] A prime example of this is 2007's Born For Fun, Loyal To None which was recorded in two one-hour sessions a week apart from one another, ending with "Croxbury's Afternoon," all of which was written minutes before being recorded save for the ending riff.

Other Projects

Will Huffman and Trey Liebscher wrote and recorded the soundtrack to the independent 2006 film Mr. T, Mr. C, Mr. W, and Introducin' Mr. Z which failed to elicit any awards at Sundance 2007. The entire soundtrack, however, was later run through on piano, drums, and bass by Huffman, Liebscher, and CS Key, respectively, and recorded as one track under the name "Rent Man," appearing on Fresh Produce.

In early 2008 a short documentary about Meadows of Dan by Zach Huffman, a filmmaker and brother of bandmember Will Huffman who is also responsible for the 2007 tell-all film , was released. It featured an interview with Will Huffman detailing the background and origins of the band and behind-the-scenes footage of a rare guitar and drum only session between Huffman and Trey Liebscher. The film was showcased few times and is currently unavailable on DVD with no word on a future release.

The opening notes of "Clap Your Hands" from Heist, also appearing as the first track on Third Anniversary Collection, are now widely associated with the To Catch a Predator spoof for which they served as the opening credit music and for advertisement purposes.

Discography

Prior to any studio albums, Meadows of Dan released several demos which currently float around in one form or another but are absent from the list below due to obscurity.
* 57 (2005)
* Mexi-Muffin (2006)
* Heist (2006)
* Sabertooth (2006)
* Fresh Produce (2006)
* Born For Fun, Loyal To None (2007)
* End Of An Error (2007)
* Beer, Smoke, And Urine (2007)
* A Gradual Dismissal Of Humans By Machines! (2008)
* Third Anniversary Collection (2008)

VHS

* (2005) - out of print