Dredg

Dredg
Origin	Los Gatos, California, USA
Genres	Alternative rock Experimental rock Art rock Progressive rock
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Ohlone Recordings, ILG, Universal, Interscope, Woven
Website	dredg.com
Members
Gavin Hayes Drew Roulette Mark Engles Dino Campanella

Dredg (styled as dredg) is an American rock group formed in 1993 in Los Gatos, California. The band consists of vocalist Gavin Hayes, guitarist Mark Engles, bassist Drew Roulette and drummer Dino Campanella.^[1]

The band established themselves in the indie scene with their 1998 release of the concept album Leitmotif, landing them a deal with Interscope Records. Dredg released El Cielo in 2002, Catch Without Arms in 2005, The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion in 2009, and Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy^[2] in 2011.

History

Early years (1993-1997)

While attending middle school in Los Gatos, California, Engles and Campanella started playing music together. After Engles and Campanella graduated to Los Gatos High School, older friends Hayes and Roulette joined the group.^[3][4]

The name Dredg may have come from the English word dredge, which in its verbal usage means to unearth or widen/deepen a river or channel; dredge is also the name of the device used to perform this function. In 2005, Campanella added, "It was so long ago that we named it I can't even remember. Honestly, we don't even like the name anymore. We mostly don't like the way it sounds. It doesn't roll off the tongue well."^[5]

The band's logo can be found in the book "The I Ching and The Genetic Code; The Hidden Key to Life" by Dr. Martin Schonberger on page 89. In 1996, Dredg recorded and released their first demos of original material, the Conscious EP, garnering them exposure as far away as Boston.^[3] Currently, very little information has ever been released about these demos. In 1997, they released what would become the early stages of their musical transition, the Orph EP. It includes the group's first instrumental track, "Orph". Additionally, the track "Kayasuma" shares its title with the name of the shaman in Leitmotif's liner notes for "Lechium".^[6] With the release, Dredg slowly built a name for themselves in the Bay Area, as well as on the East Coast, such as in Boston and New York.^[3]

Leitmotif (1998-2001)

In 1998, Dredg released their first full-length, Leitmotif. The album was independently released in May 1998. Leitmotif was a concept album about a man traveling the world to cure his moral disease.^[7] The story was included in the liner notes, in lieu of the actual lyrics. Written by Roulette, the band had planned to release a movie of the story;^[7] however, upon the death of the lead actor, the project was scrapped.^[8]

Over the next two years, Dredg toured mostly within California,^[9] slowly expanding their fan base. The band began sending out a demo tape to several labels with four new songs intended for their next album, "Of the Room", "Redrawing the Island Map", "Running Through Propellers" and "The Papal Insignia".^[10] In February 2001, Dredg was offered a deal by Interscope Records.^[11] As part of the deal, Leitmotif was re-released by Interscope on September 11, 2001.

With the re-release of Leitmotif, Dredg toured nationally and internationally in support of the record with bands such as Alien Ant Farm, Pressure 4-5, The Apex Theory, Taproot, Deadsy and Onesidezero.^[9]

El Cielo (2002-2004)

After signing to Interscope Records, the band began work on their major label debut, El Cielo. Like its predecessor, El Cielo was a concept album. Initially intended to revolve around Salvador Dali's Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee around a Pomegranate One Second Before Awakening, the band expanded the focus to include sleep paralysis after learning of Dali's own influences.^[12] As they had done with the liner notes of Leitmotif, Dredg chose not to include the lyrics; instead, they printed letters sent to them by people suffering from sleep paralysis. Several songs on the album even included lyrics taken directly from the letters.^[13]

When the band began writing material for the new album, they secluded themselves in the deserts around Palm Desert.^[4] The majority of the album was recorded at Skywalker Ranch.^[14] The band used three producers, Ron Saint Germain, Tim Palmer and Jim Scott, on the record, adding an additional layer of diversity to the album.^[11] Completed in May 2002, the album was widely available on the internet before being released on October 8, 2002.^[15] Dredg made music videos for two of the album's tracks, "Same Ol' Road" and "Of The Room".

Upon releasing the album, the band once again returned to their hectic touring schedule, including their first national headline tour with Codeseven, a then-unsigned Strata and either STUN or Woven supporting. They also toured with acts such as Ozomatli, Deftones, Chevelle, Hoobastank and Phantom Planet, as well as earning a spot on the Sno-Core Tour with Sparta, Glassjaw and Hot Water Music.^[9][16]

Catch Without Arms - Live at the Fillmore (2005-2006)

Lead singer Gavin Hayes playing the slide guitar at The Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia on May 24, 2005.

While touring in support of El Cielo, Dredg began work on their third album, Catch Without Arms, spending 8 months writing material before taking another 10 months to record and mix the album.^[5] Like their previous albums, Catch Without Arms was a concept album; however, differing from the concrete stories and events surrounding their earlier releases, Catch Without Arms was about opposites, mainly focused on positives and negatives.^[14] Produced by Terry Date, Catch Without Arms was Dredg's most successful album, debuting at 124 on the Billboard album charts and eventually reaching the top of the Heatseekers chart.^[17][18] The only single on the album, "Bug Eyes", was made into a music video directed by Philip Andelman.^[14]

With the release of Catch Without Arms, Dredg began a treasure hunt based around the Bay Area. The three winners each received a painting from Catch Without Arms, as well as the opportunity to name a song for the next album, "Vague Clues and Long Days".^[19][20]

Dredg headlined several tours in support of Catch Without Arms, playing with bands such as Circa Survive, Day One Symphony, Delta Activity, Vedera, Ours and Ambulette. They played the Taste of Chaos tour in 2006 with Deftones, Atreyu, Thrice and Story of the Year,^[21] as well as shows with Coheed and Cambria, The Blood Brothers and MewithoutYou.^[9] Engles and Campanella also took some time to record the soundtrack for the 2005 independent film, Waterborne.^[14]

On May 11, 2006, Dredg recorded their concert in San Francisco for a live CD entitled Live at the Fillmore. Released on November 7, 2006, Live at the Fillmore contained songs from all three studio albums, as well as a new song titled "The Warbler". A remix of "Sang Real" by Dan the Automator was released with purchase of the album on iTunes.

On September 14 and 15, 2006, Dredg played two special shows at The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, California, playing Leitmotif and El Cielo in their entirety on separate nights. During these shows the band played songs from Catch Without Arms before diving into the full album of the night.^[22] Of note, each night they played a very early version of "It's Not Worth It" (a song that did not make it into the final album) at about the mid-point of each album. On the second night, as a segue into El Cielo, they performed an early instrumental version of "Wonderous Miracle" (another song that did not make it into the final album).

Exit from Interscope and The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion (2007-2009)

Roulette and Campanella during a concert at "The Exit" in Fresno, California on April 23, 2008.

On February 14, 2007, Dredg issued an update indicating production had begun on their next album and released several new song titles as part of the update. Gavin Hayes posted a Myspace blog on July 8, 2007 with new information that the band had 12-15 songs that might or might not make the final cut. Of the songs previously written, only a few were being worked on from prior updates. Hayes stated that on December 21, 2007 the writing process for their new album was almost done, and they planned to enter the studio in early 2008 to start recording. This would be followed by extensive touring in the spring.^[23] The songs that were played at live shows during the writing process but were not released on the album include: "Wondrous Miracle", "It's Not Worth It", "Push Away", "Holding a Remedy Potion", "Hurricane Felix", "Pieces of Gold", "Fleeing to Mexico", "2001", "MacGuffin" and "Fucking Smile Pt. 2".

The band played at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California on April 26, 2008 during their tour to introduce the new tracks to their fans, with the exception of a few past hits and some tracks already performed such as "Long Days and Vague Clues". After Coachella, Dredg released demos for songs rumored to be on their upcoming album up to February 2009. They also added a song entitled "entire new album", which was a track consisting of every song played simultaneously. Also on February 23, 2009, Dredg announced their exit from Interscope Records as well their new record's title, The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion. They confirmed joining with Independent Label Group (ILG, which is a part of Warner Music Group), and Ohlone Recordings. The album was released on June 9, 2009 with a Limited Edition release with alternate artwork (as well as a Vinyl recording) made available to the public. Music videos have been made for "Information" and "I Don't Know".

The album was inspired by the essay "Imagine There Is No Heaven: A Letter to the Six Billionth Citizen". The essay was written by British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie, who found controversy in 1988 over one of his books gaining him a religious fatwa for Rushdie's death from Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini which ultimately resulted in United Kingdom and Iran breaking diplomatic ties to each other a year later. In consideration of the essay, the album has common themes in agnosticism and the questioning of beliefs and society. Album and liner notes artwork resembled an Air Mail letter (addressed to "SEVEN BILLIONTH") and was done by Rohner Segnitz of the band Division Day. Segue tracks on the album are called "Stamps of Origin", and unlike prior albums a few of these segue tracks contain lyrics. Hayes tells Broken Records Magazine in Volume 1 Issue 3, Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall have been the most influential albums in my music.

Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy (2010-present)

dredg had suggested on their Twitter account that they began recording their fifth album on June 23, 2010.[1]

On August 17, 2010, Dredg announced via their official website that they have begun the process of recording a new album. Unlike the long gaps between their last two efforts, the band is expecting an early 2011 release. The announcement was posted in the news section and reads as follows: "Yesterday, we began working on our fifth record with musician/producer Dan the Automator. We will be writing and recording it in San Francisco for the next month and a half and are hoping for an early 2011 release. Stay tuned as there will be more updates and studio footage in the coming months."

On February 18, 2011, Dredg announced via twitter that their fifth studio album, entitled "Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy" will be released on May 3, 2011 in the United States and April 29 everywhere else. Song titles so far include "Upon Returning", a title played while touring previously with Circa Survive. The first single will be "The Thought of Losing You". With the collaboration with Dan the Automator, he assisted in the writing of three songs: "The Tent", "Sun Goes Down", and "Before it Began". Lead singer Gavin Hayes has also confirmed on facebook that previous songs "Where I'll End Up", and "The Ornament", will all appear on the new album.^[24]

Members

Current members

• Gavin Hayes - vocals, slide guitar, guitar (1993–present)
• Drew Roulette - bass, synthesizer (1993–present)
• Mark Engles - guitar, backing vocals (1993–present)
• Dino Campanella - drums, piano, organ (1993–present)

Current touring members

• Ben Flanagan - guitar, backing vocals (2008–present)

Discography

Studio albums

• Leitmotif, 1998
• El Cielo, 2002
• Catch Without Arms, 2005, #123 US
• The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion, 2009, #71 US
• Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy, 2011, #177 US
• The Far Copy, October 23, 2012

EPs

• Conscious, 1996
• Orph, 1997
• Extended Play for the Eastern Hemisphere, 2002

Live

• Live at the Fillmore, 2006

Internet EPs

• "Sony Connect Sets", 2005
• "Napster Sessions", 2007

Other

• El Cielo Blueprints, 2000–2002
• Industry Demo, 2001
• Coquette Demo, 2004
• Bug Eyes CD Sampler, 2005
• Bug Eyes 7" Vinyl, 2005
• Information, single, 2009

DVDs

• Crickets, 2003
• Live from the Henry Fonda Theater, 2005

Soundtracks

• Waterborne soundtrack, 2005
• Car Babes soundtrack, 2007

Music videos

• "Same Ol' Road" (2002), from the album El Cielo.
• "Of The Room" (2003), from the album El Cielo.
• "Bug Eyes" (2005), from the album Catch Without Arms.
• "Information" (2009), from the album The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion.
• "I Don't Know" (2009), from the album The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion.
• "Upon Returning" (2011), from the album Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy.
• "The Thought Of Losing You" (2011), from the album Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy.

References

1. ^ "Universal Records Profile". http://umusic.ca/dredg/. 
2. ^ . http://www.theprp.com/2011/02/18/news/dredg-announce-new-album-title/. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Cromwell, Clarence (1997-04-16). "Local band came out of the pit". Los Gatos Weekly Times. http://www.svcn.com/archives/lgwt/04.16.97/dredg.html. Retrieved 2008-04-19. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Hardine, Jessica (2002-09-20). "forceful and FACELESS". Daily Nexus. http://www.dailynexus.com/article.php?a=3367. Retrieved 2008-04-19. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ ^{a b} Dredg (Transcript). Interview with Brandon Herbel. AbsolutePunk.net. http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=80092. Retrieved 2008-04-22. 
6. ^ "Album Analysis: Orph EP". Traversing.net. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20080517162451/http://site.traversingboard.com/orphep.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-19. 
7. ^ ^{a b} . http://www.traversingboard.com/site-leitmotif.html. 
8. ^ Dredg (2006-08-05) (Transcript). Interview with Bobby Gorman. ThePunkSite.com. http://www.thepunksite.com/interviews.php?page=dredg. Retrieved 2008-04-20. 
9. ^ ^{a b c d} "Tour Archive". Traversing.net. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20080517102351/http://site.traversingboard.com/cc.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-20. 
10. ^ Dredg (Transcript). Interview with Zarek Rahman. Kludge Magazine. http://www.kludgemagazine.com/interviews/Dredg_in_London/2002-02-02/. Retrieved 2008-04-25. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Rauh, Joanna (2002-11-06). "LG band dredg gaining fame with original sound". Los Gatos Weekly Times. http://www.svcn.com/archives/lgwt/20021106/lgcover.shtml. Retrieved 2008-04-20. 
12. ^ Oliva, Pete (2007-03-08). "dredg: The best art rock band you've never heard?". The Monitor. http://www.themonitor.com/onset?id=612&template=article.html. Retrieved 2008-04-22. 
13. ^ Martz, Chris (2002-10-17). "CD Review: Dredg's El Cielo". GSU Signal. http://media.www.gsusignal.com/media/storage/paper924/news/2002/10/17/Urbanite/Cd.Review-1759024.shtml. Retrieved 2008-04-28. 
14. ^ ^{a b c d} Harris, Chris (2005-07-07). "Stone Age Success Means Brighter Future For Prog-Rockers Dredg". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1503612/20050607/dredg.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-04-22. 
15. ^ dredg (Transcript). Interview with Nikki Neil. Bite Me!. http://www.bitemezine.net/Archives/dredginterview.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-20. 
16. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2003-01-21). "Sparta, Glassjaw Strap In For SnoCore". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1800492. Retrieved 2008-04-26. 
17. ^ Harris, Chris (2005-06-29). "Coldplay Continue Chart Invasion, Holding #1 For Third Week". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1504914/20050629/coldplay.jhtml?headlines=true. Retrieved 2008-04-22. 
18. ^ "Top Heatseekers: Catch Without Arms". http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=324&cfgn=Albums&cfn=Top+Heatseekers&ci=3060547&cdi=8404691&cid=09%2F10%2F2005. 
19. ^ "Detail of the Treasure Hunt". http://www.traversingboard.com/showthread.php?t=735#5. 
20. ^ "Treasure Hunt song title". http://www.traversingboard.com/showthread.php?t=735&page=2#18. 
21. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2005-12-01). "Thrice, Deftones Lead 2006 Taste Of Chaos Bill". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001612912. Retrieved 2008-04-26. 
22. ^ Schmitz, Katie (2006-08-25). "Dredg Special Santa Cruz Show Details". AbsolutePunk.net. http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=165968. Retrieved 2008-04-22. 
23. ^ MTV News Staff (2005-12-27). "Jessica Alba Gets Engaged; Plus Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Madonna, Trey Songz, Brandy & More, In For The Record". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1578605/20071227/brandy.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-04-26. 
24. ^ http://www.twitter.com/dredg

External links

• dredg.com
• dredgonline.com
• dredg discography at MusicBrainz
• Official dredg forum: Traversing
• Gavin Hayes interview at Silent Uproar
• Drew Roulette interview at nolivelost.com
• Interview with Submerge Magazine "Think for Yourself" August, 2009