Dan Deacon

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Dan Deacon

Dan Deacon in 2008
Background information
Born August 28, 1981[1]
West Babylon, New York,  United States
Origin Baltimore, Maryland,  United States
Genres Electronic
Instruments Effects pedals, wave function generators
Years active 2003–present
Labels Carpark Records, Mistletone, Wildfire Wildfire, Psych-o-path, Standard Oil Records, Comfort Stand
Website http://www.dandeacon.com

Dan Deacon (born August 28, 1981) is an American electronic musician who originates from Babylon, New York and Baltimore, Maryland.

Contents

[edit] Life and music history

Dan Deacon fronted the Long Island ska band Channel 59 in the mid-late 90s.[citation needed] In 2000 he attended the Conservatory of Music at State University of New York at Purchase in Purchase, New York, where he played in many bands, including tuba for Langhorne Slim and guitar in the improvisational grindcore band Rated R, and was composition classmates with electronic artist Nite Club and singer–songwriter Regina Spektor. He completed his graduate studies in electro-acoustic and computer music composition. He studied under composer/conductor Joel Thome and Dary John Mizelle.[2][not in citation given]

He also went to the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida.[citation needed] In 2004 he moved to Baltimore, Maryland and moved into the Copycat Building and started Wham City, an arts and music collective.[citation needed]

His first two albums as a solo artist, Meetle Mice and Silly Hat vs Egale Hat were released on CD-R on the Standard Oil Records label in 2003 while he was a student at Purchase. The albums are both collections of computer music and live recordings of ensemble pieces. They are markedly different from his most popular record, 2007's Spiderman of the Rings, in that they contain almost no tracks where Deacon sings or uses vocal manipulation. Most of the pieces are instrumentals or sound collages.

Following those two albums came another set of records that were pieces of sine waves. 'Green Cobra is Awesome Vs The Sun' is a 42-minute piece of six sine waves that slowly drift. 'Goose On The Loose' is a 60-minute piece of Wavetek 180 signal generator being processed through a Digitech Whammy Pedal and a Line 6 Loop/Delay pedal.

His next two releases were the EPs Twacky Cats on Comfort Stand Recordings and Acorn Master on Psych-o-path Records. These were the first releases that contained material with which most of his current listeners would associate him.[citation needed]

Spiderman of the Rings was Deacon's first commercially distributed full-length album, released by Carpark Records in May 2007. The album was well received by the press[3] and was included in the Best New Music section of Pitchforkmedia.com. The album was also ranked as number 24 on the website's "Top 50 Albums of 2007".[4]

Ultimate Reality was released as a DVD in November 2007. It was a return for Deacon to composing music for others to perform. The pieces for percussion and electronics were performed by Jeremy Hyman of Ponytail and Kevin Omeara of Videohippos. The pieces were set to collaged and heavily altered video created by Deacon's long time friend and collaborator Jimmy Joe Roche.

Deacon has performed at several leading art centers including Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, Getty Center in Los Angeles, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC. Originally to be released in the fall of 2008, Deacon's new album entitled Bromst was released on March 24, 2009. [5]. It, like Spiderman of the Rings, was also very well received.[citation needed] Pitchfork gave it an 8.5/10, and it made it to the "best new music" section. [6]

In February 2009 he received mainstream exposure with a mention on the Opie and Anthony radio show, regarding an animated short he profanely narrated, 'Drinking out of Cups', which was produced with Liam Lynch.

[edit] Live shows

Dan Deacon is famed for his live shows.[citation needed] When playing solo he performs on floor level within the audience, his musical devices being set up on a low table, and surrounded by the crowd. The Bromst tour was with a 14-person ensemble and for most of the dates on that tour Deacon performed on the stage or on a small platform within the audience.[citation needed] His live performances involve constant audience participation, often requiring the attendees to perform physical tasks and games en masse during the songs, like dance circles, human tunnels, stretching, ridiculous countdowns, etc.[citation needed]

In the summer of 2009, Dan Deacon went on tour with two other notable acts, Deerhunter and No Age, on the "No Deachunter" tour.

[edit] Discography

  • Green Cobra Is Awesome vs. the Sun (single EP) (2003)
  • Goose on the Loose (2003)
  • Silly Hat vs. Egale Hat (2003)
  • Meetle Mice (2003)
  • Live Recordings 2003 (2004)
  • Twacky Cats (2004)
  • Porky Pig (Standard Oil Records New Music Series) (2004)
  • Acorn Master (2006)
  • Spiderman of the Rings (2007)
  • The Crystal Cat (single) (2007)
  • Ultimate Reality (soundtrack) (2008)
  • Bromst (2009)

[edit] Media appearances

[edit] Charts

[edit] Awards

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Dan Deacon", Discogs, http://www.discogs.com/artist/Dan+Deacon, retrieved 2009-08-01 
  2. ^ Nite Club Band Interview, http://www.redefinemag.com/music/interviews_music_2.php?artist=Nite-Club&id=157, retrieved 2009-07-30 
  3. ^ Marc Hogan, "Dan Deacon, 'Spiderman of the Rings' (Carpark): Baltimore Goofball Packs Ingenious Sonic Punch", Spin.com (accessed September 11, 2009).
  4. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2007", Pitchfork Media, Retrieved on 2008-09-01.
  5. ^ http://www.carparkrecords.com carparkrecords.com
  6. ^ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12833-bromst/
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