La Dispute (band)

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For the Pierre de Marivaux work, see La Dispute.
La Dispute

La Dispute's singer Jordan Dreyer performing live in January 2010
Background information
Origin Grand Rapids, Michigan
Genres Post-hardcore, progressive rock, spoken word, screamo
Years active 2004 (2004)–present
Labels No Sleep Records, Forest Life
Website ladisputemusic.com
Members
Jordan Dreyer
Brad Vander Lugt
Chad Sterenberg
Kevin Whittemore
Adam Vass
Past members
Adam Kool
Derek Sterenberg

La Dispute is a five piece band from Grand Rapids, Michigan that formed in 2004. As of 2012, they have released two albums and seven EPs. La Dispute consists of lead vocalist Jordan Dreyer, drummer Brad Vander Lugt, guitarists Chad Sterenberg and Kevin Whittemore and bass guitarist Adam Vass.

The band released their debut EP, Vancouver, in 2006 on Friction Records,[1][2] followed by Untitled 7" [3] in parallel with Here, Hear. on May 1, 2008. Here, Hear II. on 7" through No Sleep Records, later in 2008.[4] Their debut album Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair was released November 11, 2008 on No Sleep Records. In 2009, La Dispute released Here, Hear III. as a self-released EP through digital download, followed by their split with Touché Amoré called "Searching For A Pulse/The Worth Of The World" in late 2010. In May 2011 they released a split EP with singer-songwriter Koji titled Never Come Undone.

On October 4, 2011, La Dispute released their second full-length album titled "Wildlife" on No Sleep Records. Two singles were released digitally prior to its release, "The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit"[5] and "Harder Harmonies".[6]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Formation & Somewhere at the bottom of the river...(2004-2008)

[icon] This section requires expansion.

La Dispute was formed in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2004 by Jordan Dreyer, Kevin Whittemore, Brad Vander Lugt, Derek Sterenberg and Adam Kool.[7] The band was primarily a small garage band, playing the occasional show and performing in warehouses and garages. But it wasn't until two years after their formation that they took the project seriously with the loss of Derek Sterenberg and Adam Kool. Chad Sterenberg and Adam Vass later joined the band to occupy the spaces left by Sterenberg and Kool. They then released their debut EP, Vancouver, on April 14, 2006 through Friction Records, being the only release the band produced while on the Friction Records roster.[1][8]

La Dispute signed to Southern California-based record label No Sleep Records in early 2008. Jordan Dreyer describes this move to the label as sharing a similar perspective on music, stating: "The primary attraction with No Sleep for us was that it was obvious through talking to Chris [Hansen] that his intentions with the label were in line with ours as a band."[9] On November 11, 2008 La Dispute released their debut album Somewhere At the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair through No Sleep Records.[10] La Dispute recorded the album at StudiOtte in Grand Rapids with Joel and Troy Otte.[9] It was well received by critics, with positive reviews from AbsolutePunk,[11] Alternative Press,[12] Punknews.org,[13] and Sputnikmusic.[14] They did three release shows to support the album in their home state of Michigan: on November 8 at Skelletones, November 14 at the UAW Retirees Hall in Traverse City, and November 22 at the Howell Opera House in Howell.[9] Their Debut album was released simultaneously with the second extended play in their "Here, hear experiment": Here, Hear II.. The EP also accompanied the first 300 sales of the debut album.[4]

[edit] Wildlife and collaborative efforts (2009-Present)

On December 25, 2009 La Dispute Released Here, Hear III. they released the extended play was self-released via digital download, off their Bandcamp page as well as the re-release of first two extended plays in the Here, Hear series as well as Untitled 7" and a 2 track Christmas ep featuring covers of two Christmas songs: Twas The Night Before Christmas, First Snow in Silent Grand Rapids. All of these became downloadable off La Dispute's Bandcamp site. Although they became free to download it was possible to donate money; all donations went to benefit the well House Community Living of Grand Rapids, a non-profit outreach program in Grand Rapids that provides emergency shelter and permanent housing for homeless families.[15][16] On January 17, 2010 the period of donation ended and $1715 was raised for Well House. All subsequent donations after the period have gone towards covering recording expenses of the band.[17]

Throughout April and May 2010 La Dispute Supported Alexisonfire across the United States alongside Trash Talk and Therefore I Am.[18] La dispute and Touché Amoré released a 7" extended play titled Searching For A Pulse/The Worth Of The World on September 14, 2010. The EP was co written by all members of both bands and features vocal cross-overs from the lead vocalists. Progress on the recording of La Dispute's second album started as early as November 2010. The album was recorded in pieces to wrap round their intense tour schedule, they started with the instrumentation of 6 tracks in Drasik Studios in Chicago.[8] They had Andrew Everding, the keyboardist of Thursday and producer Joe Pedulla as recording engineers at both studios.[19] In April, they revealed the album to be 14 tracks long and have been progressively modifying the music over the tour.[20] La Dispute accompanied Alexisonfire again but on a Canadian leg In November and December 2010, this tour was alongside Norma Jean and Four Year Strong.[21]

The band went into StadiumRed studio in New York City in March 2011 to record the remainder of the album.[19] On May 3, 2011 La Dispute released a Split EP with American acoustic singer-songwriter Andrew Koji Shiraki or known by his performance name as Koji. the split ep was titled Never Come Undone. It involved La Dispute performing an acoustic rendition of "Last Blues For Bloody Knuckles", a song from their debut album while the second song from the band was an original.[22] On July 5, La Dispute started a Canadian tour with Make Do and Mend and No Sleep Records associates Balance and Composure, It was done to promote the La Disputes' extended play Never Come Undone being released.[23] La Dispute, Touché Amoré and Norwegian hardcore punk band Death Is Not Glamourous completed an European tour starting July 27, 2011 and finishing August 12 to coincide with both La Dispute's and Touché Amoré's apperences at Hevy Festival in the United Kingdom and Ieperfest in Belgium in 2011.[24] On August 23, La Dispute announced the title of their second album along with the track listing and album art. The album is called Wildlife and was released on October 4, 2011.[25] Lyrically, Jordan Dreyer has described the album as being "...set-up as a collection of sort of stories/poems annotated by the author and split into thematic sections by four monologues." Vocalist Jordan Dreyer considers the album experimenting lyrically with elements they intended to use in the first album.[26] The announcement of the new album was accompanied by a complete re-design of their website, themed around the album's "wildlife" design.[27] And on September 30 La Dispute joined Thrice, Moving Mountains, and O’Brother on a tour around the United States finishing November 11.[28]

Throughout 2012 La Dispute planned embarking on a series of headline tours which act as promotion for Wildlife, with tour legs in Europe, Australia and North America, respectively.[26] La Dispute's European took place over January and early February support from Former Thieves.[29] Their Australian tour started four days after their European tour and instead of having a permanent support band, used support from local bands and [30]

[edit] Characteristics

La Dispute's Logo as of October 29, 2010

La Dispute are more than a band; they're veritable artists, concentrating deeply on every aspect of their songs. Musically, their fully developed, experimental melodic-hardcore compositions paint passionately lush soundscapes

“
”
Alternative Press as one of "The 100 Bands You Need to Know" in their April 2010 issue[31]

[edit]

As of October 29, 2010 La Dispute started to use a redrawn version of their logo. They started using the design on all merchandise as of November 2010 starting with their Canadian tour with Alexisonfire and Norma Jean.[32] The logo design is that of a symmetrically designed flower with three arrows going through it.

[edit] Musical Style

Jordan Dreyer, the band's lead singer, has commented on the use of tags to describe the bands style, saying: "In general, I think boxing art into categories only serves as a way to exclude people from exploring different variations of the same thing. I think the only real definition between artists exists in their intentions for creating art..."[9] But despite this La Dispute's music is described as being blues and spoken word[33] influenced post-hardcore with elements which range through screamo, progressive rock, post-rock and melodic hardcore.[34][35] The music on their first album Somewhere At the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair is noted for its metalcore influence.[36] Well recognized elements of La Dispute's music are incorporating spoken word style passages into intense songs, the use of highly complex lyrics, and Jordan Dreyer's inability to control his voice; swapping between singing and screaming unpredictably.[14][37]

The band's second album, Wildlife showed a lighter approach to music, compared to both their debut album and mini album. Combining elements from both the split albums they wrote with Touché Amoré and Koji respectivly.[38] Wildlife was written differently in comparison to the bands previous work as the lyrics and concept were written first, then the music.[6] The band drew inspiration from real issues and true stories that they themselves had confronted or heard of. A primary example of this is the track King Park which focuses on the story of an inner city drive-by shooting.[39] The band was noted for combining the energetic dynamics of hardcore punk with the introspective elements of emo.[40]

The band is said to be influenced by a broad range of music and as individuals they possess different influences. Post-hardcore bands like Thursday, Refused, At the Drive-In and Glassjaw are just some examples of commonalities amongst the band.[8] Brad Vander Lugt personaly cites his influences from blues and jazz musicians.[41] The band credits now defunct Michigan based rock bands Ivan and Coal Black Horse as having a "very instrumental" influence on La Dispute.[9] La dispute has been said to be apart of a self-proclaimed group of post-hardcore bands called "The Wave", with fellow post-hardcore artists Defeater, Touché Amoré, Pianos Become the Teeth and Make Do and Mend.[42] However, Dreyer has since clarified that "The Wave" was an inside joke that was misinterpreted and does not represent a distinct movement or subgenre in hardcore punk.[43] La Dispute have been noted as being apart of screamo revival.[38]

[edit] The Here, Hear "experiment"

La Dispute have an ongoing series of EPs called "Here, Hear" which they refer to as "the Here, Hear. experiment".[15] The music on the EPs has been described as primarily spoken word[44] and experimental.[45] When asked about the series Jordan Dreyer said: "For as long as we make music we’ll make Here, Hear stuff".[42] The first two Here, Hear EPs both added instrumentation to pre-existing material from poets and novelists such as Tom Robbins' Still Life with Woodpecker and Edgar Allan Poe's poem Annabel Lee and Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.[46] This work was done primary written by different band members, excluding frontman and and lyricist Jordan Dreyer.[47] The style of each song has been described as the band was writing whatever they felt the moment they heard the lyrics.[44] However, for the third installment in the series the band took Jordan Dreyer's own poetry and added instrumentation which fitted the stories.[47] It has been pointed out how the first instalment foreshadowed many of the themes found on their debut album, "Somewhere at the bottom of the river". The band had stated that influences that Here, Hear III. would reflect influences on the following album; "Wildlife".[9]

[edit] Members

Current members
Former members
  • Derek Sterenberg - guitar (2004–2006)
  • Adam Kool - bass guitar (2004–2006)

[edit] Discography

Albums
EPs

[edit] Videography

  • Such Small Hands (2009)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "La Dispute – Vancouver". Underthegunreview.net. 2008-03-01. http://underthegunreview.net/2008/03/01/la-dispute-vancouver/. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  2. ^ "Friction - La Dispute". Frictionrecords.net. http://www.frictionrecords.net/ladispute/index.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  3. ^ "Untitled 7" – La Dispute in 2008 on Forest Life Records[AND INTERVIEW!!!!!]". Underthegunreview.net. 2008-06-10. http://underthegunreview.net/2008/06/10/untitled-7-la-dispute-and-interview/. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  4. ^ a b "La Dispute charity hearing". Underthegunreview.net. December 21, 2009. http://underthegunreview.net/2009/12/21/la-dispute-charity-hearing/. Retrieved September 26, 2011. 
  5. ^ "La Dispute x Siq Shit". September 9, 2011. http://www.siqshit.com/post/9997619679. Retrieved September 10, 2011. 
  6. ^ a b Lars Gotrich (August 23, 2011). "La Dispute: Half-Spoken Explosions". NPR Music. http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2011/08/23/139855535/la-dispute-half-spoken-explosions. Retrieved December 28, 2011. 
  7. ^ "La Dispute Screamo,Post-Hardcore,Talk Music Christian Music Artist". one21music. http://www.one21music.com/la-dispute/. Retrieved June 27, 2011. 
  8. ^ a b c (in English) (Brad (Interviewer), Jordan Dreyer, Adam Vass) La Dispute Interview (Podcast). Fromthegarage.net. 13 Dec 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BZKsPndaIU. Retrieved May 19, 2011. "Brad with FromTheGarage.net chats with Jordan and Vass from La Dispute about the band's history, their emergence onto the post-hardcore scene, and the new album." 
  9. ^ a b c d e f Eric Mitts (November 2008). "La Dispute interview by Eric Mitts". Recoil Magazine. Blue V Productions, LLC. http://recoilmag.com/interviews/?1168. Retrieved December 24, 2011. 
  10. ^ "La Dispute – Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega and Altair". Underthegunreview.net. 2008-10-03. http://underthegunreview.net/2008/10/03/la-dispute-somewhere-at-the-bottom-of-the-river-between-vega-and-altair/. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  11. ^ "La Dispute - Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair - Album Review". AbsolutePunk.net. 2008-11-11. http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=626972. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  12. ^ "// AP: RECOMMENDS - La Dispute". Altpress.com. http://www.altpress.com/recommends/226.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  13. ^ "La Dispute - Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair". Punknews.org. http://www.punknews.org/review/7806. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  14. ^ a b "La Dispute – Somewhere at the Bottom of the River...(album review)". sputnikmusic. January 1, 2011. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/40999/La-Dispute-Somewhere-at-the-Bottom-of-the-River.../. Retrieved May 8, 2011. 
  15. ^ a b "Here, Hear III and Well House Grand Rapids.". La Dispute. December 20, 2009. http://www.ladisputemusic.com/2009/12/here-hear-iii-and-well-house-grand-rapids/. Retrieved August 28, 2011. 
  16. ^ James (December 25, 2009). "UTG EXCLUSIVE: La Dispute Stream!". Under the Gun Review. http://underthegunreview.net/2009/12/25/utg-exclusive-la-dispute-stream/. Retrieved August 28, 2011. 
  17. ^ "Here, Hear La Dispute". Bandcamp. May 18, 2008. http://ladispute.bandcamp.com/album/here-hear-iii. Retrieved May 4, 2011. 
  18. ^ "la dispute announce spring tour dates". Bed Wetting Cosmonaut. February 16, 2010. http://bedwettingcosmonaut.com/la-dispute-announce-spring-tour-dates/. Retrieved December 10, 2011. 
  19. ^ a b "La Dispute To Release New Album". Legends Arising. August 23, 2011. http://legendsarising.com/2011/08/23/la-dispute-to-release-new-album/. Retrieved August 23, 2011. 
  20. ^ "Upon Completing the 13 Hour Drive Home from New York". La Dispute. 2010-04-19. http://andtothegloriouspast.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/upon-completing-the-13-hour-drive-home-from-new-york/. Retrieved 2011-05-19. 
  21. ^ "Tours: Alexisonfire / Norma Jean / La Dispute". Punknews.com. September 11, 2010. http://www.punknews.org/article/39768. Retrieved December 10, 2011. 
  22. ^ "Discography > "Never Come Undone" by Koji, La Dispute > No Sleep Records". No Sleep Records. May 3, 2010. http://nosleeprecs.com/release.php?id=72. Retrieved June 4, 2011. 
  23. ^ "La Dispute Announces Eastern Canada Tour Dates w/ Balance & Composure and Make Do And Mend". Amp Magazine. June 2, 2011. http://www.ampmagazine.com/13894/la-dispute-announces-eastern-canada-tour-dates-w-balance-composure-and-make-do-and-mend/. Retrieved July 24, 2011. 
  24. ^ "La Dispute and Touche Amore plan UK shows". Rock Sound. April 15, 2011. http://www.rocksound.tv/news/article/la-dispute-and-touche-amore-plan-uk-shows. Retrieved June 17, 2011. 
  25. ^ Brian Kraus (August 23, 2011). "La Dispute announce album details, streaming new song". Alternative Press. http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/la_dispute_announce_album_details_streaming_new_song. Retrieved August 28, 2011. 
  26. ^ a b John B. Moore (December 8, 2011). "I DON’T WANNA GROW UP / JOHN MOORE". Blurt Magazine. http://blurt-online.com/blogs/view/5751/. Retrieved December 10, 2011. 
  27. ^ "La Dispute Website". Three Bears Design. August 23, 2011. http://www.threebearsdesign.com/2011/08/la-dispute-website/. Retrieved August 28, 2011. 
  28. ^ "La Dispute Join Moving Mountains/O’Brother/Thrice Tour". Pop wreckoning. July 29, 2011. http://popwreckoning.com/2011/07/29/la-dispute-join-moving-mountainsobrotherthrice-tour/. Retrieved August 23, 2011. 
  29. ^ Sarah Jamieson (November 24, 2011). "La Dispute Announce UK And Europe Tour". This Is Fake DIY. http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/news/la-dispute-announce-uk-and-europe-tour. Retrieved August 23, 2011. 
  30. ^ Jon Ableson (November 24, 2011). "La Dispute Announce Australian 2012 Tour". Alter The Press!. http://www.alterthepress.com/2011/11/la-dispute-announce-australian-2012.html. Retrieved August 23, 2011. 
  31. ^ "The 100 Bands You Need to Know". Alternative press (261): 44–45. April 2010. "La Dispute are more than a band; they're veritable artists, concentrating deeply on every aspect of their songs. Musically, their fully developed, experimental melodic-hardcore compositions paint passionately lush soundscapes" 
  32. ^ "New Logo: La Dispute". La Dispute. October 29, 2010. http://www.ladisputemusic.com/2010/10/new-logo/. Retrieved November 14, 2011. 
  33. ^ Craig DeMello (October 4, 2011). "Experimental band "La Dispute" releases new CD "Wildfire"". The Towers. http://towers.wpi.edu/read/3445/Experimental-band-. Retrieved November 14, 2011. 
  34. ^ Jen Rochester (October 1, 2011). "La Dispute – Wildlife The New Review". The New Review. http://thenewreview.net/reviews/la-dispute-wildlife. Retrieved October 7, 2011. 
  35. ^ David Weiss (October 11, 2011). "No Artificial Reverb Allowed! The Tracking and Mixing Challenge of La Dispute’s “Wildlife”". SonicScoop. http://www.sonicscoop.com/2011/10/11/no-artificial-reverb-allowed-the-tracking-and-mixing-challenge-of-la-disputes-wildlife/. Retrieved October 31, 2011. 
  36. ^ "La Dispute « Reviews «". Puregrainaudio.com. 2009-02-25. http://www.puregrainaudio.com/reviews/la-dispute. Retrieved May 14, 2011. 
  37. ^ "Live Review: La Dispute, Le Pre Ou Je Suis Mort, Maths and History, The Chantry, Canterbury - 22/06/10". Alter The Press!. 22/06/10. http://www.alterthepress.com/2010/07/live-review-la-dispute-le-pre-ou-je.html. Retrieved August 8, 2011. 
  38. ^ a b Scott Heisel (October 04, 2011). "Alternative Press Reviews La Dispute - Wildlife". Alternative Press. http://www.altpress.com/reviews/entry/la_dispute_wildlife. Retrieved October 4, 2011. 
  39. ^ "La Dispute: ‘All Our Favourite Artists Are Articulate’". Rock Sound. 24 October 2011. http://www.rocksound.tv/news/article/la-dispute-all-our-favourite-artists-are-articulate. Retrieved 21 January 2012. 
  40. ^ Alex Reeves (September 26, 2011). "La Dispute - Wildlife". The1stFive.com. http://www.the1stfive.com/reviews/review-la-dispute-wildlife. Retrieved October 7, 2011. 
  41. ^ "Talking Shop with La Dispute". Reviewsic. January 13, 2010. http://reviewsic.com/2010/01/13/la-dispute/. Retrieved January 2012. 
  42. ^ a b Stanley (September 10, 2010). "La Dispute Interview: Features: Caught In the Crossfire". Caught In the Crossfire. http://www.caughtinthecrossfire.com/music/la-dispute-interview/. Retrieved June 4, 2011. 
  43. ^ "Video Podcast: La Dispute". Scene But Not Herd. http://www.scenebutnotherd.org/podcast-la-dispute/. 
  44. ^ a b "La Dispute – Here, Hear (Album review)". Sputnikmusic. May 18, 2010. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/36902/La-Dispute-Here%2C-Hear/. Retrieved May 4, 2011. 
  45. ^ "La Dispute reviews, music, news". Sputnikmusic. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/bands/La-Dispute/10338/. Retrieved June 17, 2011. 
  46. ^ "La Dispute – Here, Hear Album review - Absolutepunk.net". absolutepunk. January 3, 2011. http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=2197382. Retrieved June 27, 2011. 
  47. ^ a b Yumna Leghari (August 4, 2011). "Interview with La Dispute vocalist Jordan Dreyer". Pure Gain Audio. http://puregrainaudio.com/interviews/interview-with-la-dispute-vocalist-jordan-dreyer. Retrieved December 24, 2011. 

[edit] External links

La Dispute
  • Jordan Dreyer
  • Brad Vander Lugt
  • Chad Sterenberg
  • Kevin Whittemore
  • Adam Vass
  • Adam Kool
  • Derek Sterenberg
Studio albums
Extended plays
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