A Band We Can All Agree On...

I've been called a lot of things in my day...but one of the funniest is definitely "music nazi". Is it really my problem that I get up in people's faces when I catch them listening to the radio or to the same "party mix" from 4 years ago? That old classic "Party Like a Rockstar" or "I'm In Love With A Stripper" should have been put to bed a long time ago - a bed of fucking nails. I know that the real music-heads, even the ones that love mainstream club tracks, moved on when the time was right, but it seems like too many people only eat what they're fed; whatever MTV and the radio force down their welcoming gully holes. Me, on the other hand, I find that the meat tastes much better when I hunt it down and kill it with my own bare hands, which, of course, is a metaphor for google searching and downloading music torrents.

The point of all this ranting is that there is one band that me and almost all my friends can agree on. That's because this band satisfies all the needs of every middle-class, suburbanite stoner. They were there with us back in the day when bands like Deftones and Soulfly were the heaviest shit we could ever imagine, and this band was heavy back then too. But, when we all grew up and our musical tastes changed - some got heavier, some got lighter, some got weird - Dredg remained right there by our sides. As we all grew out of our Limp Bizkit phases and maybe stopped wearing those E-Town Concrete T-shirts, Dredg was right there to say: "Yea, we're bored with that shit too."

What's great about Dredg is that they're all skill and no gimmick: just a bunch of normal guys who have committed themselves to making the kind of music they like. Which is a culmination of the entire alternative rock evolution that I have witnessed along with them. They incorporate that great tremolo guitar sound heard from instrumental (post-)rock gods like Explosions In The Sky, Mono, and, of course, the local champs: IREPRESS. I think it was either Explo or Irepress that I heard it from first, but no matter how much new bands are over using it, I still fall for it every time. They traded their screaming/singing vocal style for straight singing around the same time their fans were reconsidering their stance on that very issue. Musically, I feel like I grew up with Dredg; they were right by my side during that awkward time in every boy's life when he realizes he'll never make new friends driving around bumping rap-rock.

They started out as some kind of heavier, yet more mature incarnation of Incubus(S.C.I.E.N.C.E.-era) way back in the day with their Orph EP, which my friends and I have only recently stumbled upon. I advise any other Dredg fans to look into it as well.

Then they got a little more experience and dropped Lietmotif, which was still heavy but it had obviously been given a lot of thought. This was about the time I think they committed to making nothing but epic albums, meant to be listened to front to back with lyrics that are deep yet accessible for anyone. They certainly aren't trying to impress anybody with intellectualism, they are some of the most modest musicians I've ever seen.

El Cielo is where they found their balance; that is a well thought out juxtaposition of heavy and melodic sections all buffed to a glossy shine by the singer's epic vocal style. But I must admit the sudden drop in heaviness scared me a little.

Catch Without Arms impressed all the Dredg fans I knew when it came out, and it proved that they were going to stay with the formula they found in El Cielo. I was worried about the old boys; bands usually seem to get more and more mellow and then next thing you know you're dad wants a copy of the CD and they're getting air time on the easy listening channels. Nope, not Dredg; still too rugged for old people and still keeping it real.

Now they're dropping a new album on June 9th and I know everybody around here is excited about it. If you've been to some of the recent shows in Boston, then you saw some of their new songs and it looks like its going to be a great album. One thing did worry me though, at the Middle East, I noticed most of the kids at their show didn't know who they were. Instead they were there to see this band Torche, who I didn't know; but when I heard them I was pleasantly surprised, and I've since procured two of their albums. I want to make sure people who don't know about Dredg find out quick; they could very well satisfy a really large void in the music world. They can appease almost any musical taste; I hate to say it but they're almost mainstream status. Who cares though. They're about as far as a band can get from selling out, I'm confident that every song they put out is because they genuinely like it, not because it will sell. Seeing Dredg get the recognition they truly deserve is like watching the big brother I never had graduate from college, I'm happy for them and I hope they'll let me come party with them in the big leagues. So go out and buy the new record when it comes out...for now here's some live footage of my favorite new song: "Irelund".



Sidenote: Going through YouTube to find all those videos of bands has made me really miss the mid 90's and that whole phase of music. And goddammit I still love the Deftones.