{"id":26929,"date":"2022-11-12T09:17:58","date_gmt":"2022-11-12T14:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=26929"},"modified":"2022-11-12T09:18:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-12T14:18:00","slug":"on-stage-extra-dreamers-hit-the-road-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=26929","title":{"rendered":"On Stage Extra: Dreamers hit the road again"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Dreamers<\/p><\/div>\n

After sitting back waiting a long time for the pandemic to pass, Dreamers, a pop rock duo featuring Nick Wold and Nelson, has shaken off the rust and is on the road again.<\/p>\n

They are in the middle of their\u00a0\u201cThe Cameras & Coastlines\u201d\u00a0co-headlining tour with Smallpools \u2013 a tour that touches down locally on November 13 at Brooklyn Bowl (1009 Canal Street, Philadelphia, www.brooklynbowl.com\/philadelphia<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re back on tour after a two-and-one-half-year hiatus,\u201d said Wold, during a phone interview Thursday from \u201csomewhere in Maryland.\u201d \u201cBefore that, we toured non-stop for five years.\u201d
\nWold and Nelson combine grunge and art-school eccentric pop to deliver a cocktail of high-spirited, infectious indie rock.<\/p>\n

In 2016, the band released its debut full-length album, \u201cThis Album Does Not Exist\u201d \u2013 a title reminiscent of the Residents\u2019 \u201cNot Available\u201d album. Dreamers\u2019 debut featured the\u00a0Top 10 Alternative radio hit, \u201cSweet Disaster.\u201d <\/p>\n

Three other songs also charted nationally — the \u201990s throwback \u201cDrugs,\u201d the crooning \u201cWolves (You Got Me),\u201d and the soulful, brisk power-pop of their single \u201cPainkiller.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2019, Dreamers released their sophomore LP, \u201cLaunch Fly Land.\u201d The album featured the Top 10 alternative radio hit \u201cDie Happy.\u201d In 2020, the band released two more alternative radio hits \u2013 \u201cHeat Seeker\u201d ft. grandson and the dark-pop love song\u00a0\u201cTrue Crime\u201d ft. DeathByRomy.<\/p>\n

In\u00a02021,\u00a0the two talented musicians came back with yet another\u00a0collaboration teaming up with legendary rapper Big Boi and UPSAHL for\u00a0\u201cPalm Reader,\u201d from\u00a0the\u00a0EP of the same name. To kick off 2022, the band released infectiously catchy \u201cBlack Confetti,\u201d \u201cBody Language\u201d (ft. Kiiara) and \u201cRobbery\u201d (ft. Sueco).<\/p>\n

\u201cI live in Echo Park in L.A. and have a home studio there,\u201d said Wold. \u201cI made tons and tons of new material during the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dreamers released the \u201cAll Hallows Dream\u201d album on October 8, 2022.<\/p>\n

In addition to \u201cBlack Confetti,\u201d which has over 24 million collective views on TikTok, and \u201cRobbery,\u201d the album featured tracks with somewhat dark titles — \u201cPainkiller,\u201d \u201cDie Happy,\u201d \u201cStill Not Dead,\u201d \u201cBrainless,\u201d \u201cTrue Crime,\u201d \u201cVampire in the Sun,\u201d \u201cZombie\u201d and \u201cWolves (You Got Me).\u201d<\/p>\n

Dreamers is a band with its own very distinct identity. They create well-constructed catchy pop songs with strong hooks and interesting instrumentalization. More importantly, Dreamers is a band intent on making music that matters \u2013 music that can effect a positive change in our lives \u2013 music that taps into the \u201cmake the world a better place\u201d vibe of the late 1960s.<\/p>\n

On its website, the band has posted its manifesto \u2013 \u201cWe are impractical. We do not listen to those who doubt us. We push the boundaries. We believe that nothing is impossible. We rewrite the rules. We create. We are boundless. We are enchanted. We are asleep to the waking world. We are dreamers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s history dates back to when Wold moved from Seattle to New York when he was 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to New York to go to college at\u00a0New York University<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0Steinhardt School<\/a>,\u201d said Wold. \u201cI went there to study jazz saxophone. I played a lot of different saxes but my main one was alto.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to school and bartended one night a week. I lived in a practice space in Brooklyn, so I wasn\u2019t paying rent for an apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n

In New York, Wold was the lead singer and guitarist in the grunge band Motive — along with drummer Chris Bagamery, bassist Andrew McGovern, and lead guitarist David Leondi.<\/p>\n

McGovern, Bagamery, and Wold were longtime friends from Seattle who grew up playing jazz together. Wold met Leondi at NYU, and the trio became a quartet. Motive toured the states several times and had nine showcases at SXSW in 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cMotive was my band,\u201d said Wold. \u201cIt didn\u2019t work creatively. I picked up the scraps. I had been living and writing songs in a Brooklyn rehearsal space.<\/p>\n

\u201cI met bassist Marc Nelson, and he liked my songs. Chris Bagamery and I teamed up with him to form Dreamers. Our first single, \u2018Wolves (You Got Me),\u2019 was released in July 2014 and was in rotation on\u00a0Sirius XM<\/a>‘s\u00a0Alt Nation<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

In February 2015, Dreamers signed a deal with Fairfax Recordings.\u00a0\u201cThis Album Does Not Exist\u201d and \u201cLaunch Fly Land\u201d were both released via Fairfax. After a time in New York, Dreamers relocated to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still identify as a New Yorker,\u201d said Wold. \u201cI was raised in Seattle in the muddy waters of grunge in the 1990s. I hid it deep for a while. Then, I edged closer to grunge. I wanted to express things to people in a way they understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Post-pandemic Dreamers music has evolved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like a very new band creatively,\u201d said Wold. \u201cIt\u2019s heavy rock-and-roll. It feels like more angst is out there. There are high suicide rates. There is a weird new depression of the soul.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s exciting. Now is the time to make music that is heavier. It\u2019s also exciting that we\u2019re touring again, and people are coming to shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Dreamers \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/NhMHtG6Eghw<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Brooklyn Bowl, which also features Smallpools with special guest Young Rising Sons, will start at 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $25.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Vision Video<\/p><\/div>\n

Vision Video has found a welcoming home in Philadelphia this year — a welcoming home by entertaining fans at three venues that are located just blocks apart.<\/p>\n

In April, the band played at Silk City Diner. In July, the Georgia-based band did a show at Kung Fu Necktie.<\/p>\n

On November 15, Vision Video will headline a show at PhilaMOCA (531 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, philamoca.org<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Vision Video is an Athens-based post-punk Goth band that released its debut album, \u201cInked in Red,\u201d in 2021. The group just released its sophomore album, \u201cHaunted Hours,\u201d on October 11.<\/p>\n

Dusty\u00a0Gannon\u00a0is the founder and leader of Vision Video. He is joined in Vision Video by classically trained pianist Emily Fredock\u00a0on keys and vocals,\u00a0Dan Geller (producer behind synth-pop act, I am the World Trade Center) on bass and\u00a0Jason Fusco\u00a0(of the punk band Shehehe) on drums. The album was produced by Tom Ashton (The March Violets), who also produced \u201cInked In Red.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doing 33 dates in 37 days,\u201d said Gannon, during a phone interview Friday while travelling through Ontario to a gig in Montreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new album came out about a week-and-a-half before we left on tour. It\u2019s been bizarre putting out something so closely to a tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut people are telling us how they feel about it and what they enjoy. There are songs that people already know the lyrics to.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did put out stuff strategically prior to the release of the album \u2013 five singles. It\u2019s just a strategy for the way records come out now. Putting out a number of singles garners attention for the album.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still an independent act. We\u2019re not beholden to a label. Earlier this year, we did a cover of The Cure\u2019s \u2018Pictures of You.\u2019 We can do what we want.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime moves on. We have a sense of our own unique identity. We\u2019ve become fully ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to the start of this tour, Gannon spent years as a paramedic and firefighter in the Athens, Georgia area.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just left the fire department to concentrate solely on the band,\u201d said Gannon. \u201cI\u2019m going to play this out.\u201d<\/p>\n

If someone he rescued were shown a picture of\u00a0Gannon\u00a0in his role as lead singer Vision Video, his or her response might be \u2013 \u201cI have no idea who that person is.\u201d<\/p>\n

If fans of Vision Video were shown a picture of\u00a0Gannon\u00a0in his firefighter gear, their response might be \u2013 \u201cWe don\u2019t know who that dude is.\u201d<\/p>\n

The confusion is understandable.<\/p>\n

Gannon\u00a0the singer has a look that features eye makeup, black lipstick and torn fishnet clothing.<\/p>\n

Gannon\u00a0the emergency worker has a look that features firefighting gear, boots and a helmet.<\/p>\n

Gannon\u00a0is not a schizophrenic. He is simply a Goth musician who likes working as a lifesaver and U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran who likes writing and performing dark music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was an Infantry officer in the Army,\u201d said\u00a0Gannon. \u201cThe first album was based on my experience in the Army and in Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n

That experience includes bouts with PTSD, periods of dealing with depression and the challenges of returning to civilian life \u2013 common factors in the lives of many war veterans. Being an emergency service worker also has helped.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a firefighter and paramedic in this area for the last five years,\u201d said\u00a0Gannon.<\/p>\n

Fortunately for\u00a0Gannon, writing and performing music has provided an avenue to deal with all the stress \u2013 a means for catharsis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started in 2018 and fully formed in 2019,\u201d said\u00a0Gannon. \u201cOur music is a fusion of British rock from the late 70s and early 80s, post-punk and Athens bands like REM and the B-52s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe influence of The Cure is most obvious. I admire their ability to change and still retain their identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of bands coming out of Athens have influenced my guitar playing. We even took our name from a now-closed video store in Athens.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it started, I was working at the Georgia Theater, and Jason and I started talking about music. I was posting music online and Jason came over and put drums to it. Dan heard it, liked it and approached us. Then, we met Emily through mutual friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded much of the first record in 2019. Then, the pandemic hit. Throughout the pandemic, I decided to spend more time with it. As a result, I added a few more songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded the 10-song album at SubVon Studio in Athens with producer Tom Ashton. We held back the album release until April 2021. We built a lot of social media content prior to the release.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe album got good reviews, but we waited a little while to tour.\u00a0We played some regional shows for a while. Then, we did an external tour in late 2021 and then another in March and April this year.<\/p>\n

Vision Video has turned its attention to its sophomore album, \u201cHaunted Hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started in earnest in October,\u201d said Gannon. \u201cI had the groundwork laid a year after the first album came out. The recording occurred in March 2022 \u2013 three weeks total at Tom\u2019s studio. It was a really enjoyable experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wrote a lot of parts in the studio \u2013 wrote and edited on the fly. This one was unique because it was written collectively in a room together. This was written more systematically — 10 songs structured to everybody\u2019s strengths. It came together really quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHaunted Hours\u201d is an album filled with musical and emotional intensity.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0Gannon, \u201cWe’re insanely proud of this 10-track album recorded at SubVon Studios. It is a sort of memoir of my observations and emotions during the past several years, having experienced quite a lot of death, due to the pandemic and otherwise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about grief, loss and societal breakdown. It\u2019s about watching systemic lies kill and the callousness of humans due to mass ignorance. It\u2019s about mental health failing as the world falls apart, but still finding hope in the cracks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest single \u2013 and the most powerful song on the album \u2013 is the title track, \u201cHaunted Hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Gannon, \u201cThe inspiration for the \u2018Haunted Hours\u2019 single came late one night when I had posted a TikTok video where I was talking about my love for the band The Cure. One of our fans, Heather, had commented about how her late husband and her used to really love The Cure, so I asked her about him. His name was Ben, and they were very much in love. When she suddenly lost him, her life was shattered, and she was forced to constantly live with reminders of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote this song with her story in mind because I have seen this happen so many times. I\u2019ve had to tell so many people\u2019s loved ones that they had passed away, and it is very common for those left behind to talk about all the beautiful, wonderful context of that person\u2019s life. It\u2019s really easy to get caught up in the drama of the immediate aftermath of someone\u2019s death, but the reality is that loved ones carry a deep, profound sense of loss and part of them is taken away.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there is all the while a deep appreciation and beauty in the memories that people hold on to, and that is exactly what I wanted to capture in this song. I wanted to capture the ache of loss, the weight of grief and the appreciation of memory all at once.\u201d<\/p>\n

Countless days in a war across the globe and years as an emergency worker in a major city have brought Gannon face-to-face with death more times than he\u2019d like to remember.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen my fair share of mortality,\u201d said Gannon. \u201cI\u2019ve had to tell many people that their loved one has just died. It\u2019s given me a perspective on life and death.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the new single, I just wanted something to acknowledge sadness and loss but also remembrance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Vision Video — https:\/\/youtu.be\/4zOYHDJaNC0<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at PhilaMOCA on November 15 will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $ $18.64<\/p>\n

\"\"

The Crossing<\/p><\/div>\n

Grammy Award-winning choir\u00a0The Crossing\u00a0gives the world premiere performance of Michael Gordon\u2019s\u00a0\u201cTravel Guide to Nicaragua\u201d\u00a0at\u00a0Congregation Rodeph Shalom\u00a0(615 North Broad Street,Philadelphia) on November 16 at 7 p.m. and again on November 17 at New York\u2019s Carnegie Hall.<\/p>\n

Avante-garde cellist\u00a0Maya Beiser\u00a0joins The Crossing for the long-awaited premieres, which were postponed due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n

The Crossing (www.crossingchoir.org<\/a>) is an American professional chamber choir based in Philadelphia. The Crossing is conducted by\u00a0Donald\u00a0Nally\u00a0and dedicated to new\u00a0music. It is committed to working with creative teams to make and record new, substantial works for choir that explore and expand ways of writing for choir, singing in choir, and listening to music for choir.<\/p>\n

Many of its nearly 120 commissioned premieres address social, environmental, and political issues. With a commitment to recording its commissions, The Crossing has issued 19 releases and received two Grammy Awards for Best Choral Performance (2018, 2019), and three Grammy nominations in as many years.<\/p>\n

With a commitment to recording its commissions, The Crossing has issued 27 releases, receiving two GRAMMY\u00ae Awards for Best Choral Performance (2018, 2019), and seven Grammy nominations. The Crossing, with Donald Nally, was the American Composers Forum\u2019s 2017 Champion of New Music. They were the recipients of the 2015 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, three ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, and the Dale Warland Singers Commission Award from Chorus America.<\/p>\n

\u201cTravel Guide to Nicaragua,\u201d which was commissioned by Carnegie Hall, presents the story of composer Michael Gordon\u2019s family and their journey as Jewish refugees traveling from Poland to Nicaragua. The autobiographical work stems from interviews about Poland recorded by Gordon\u2019s father and uncle.<\/p>\n

At the intersection of memory and emotion, many of these interviews contain variations and contradictions either from lost memory or his father\u2019s choice not to speak about his homeland \u201cas most of that life, the people and places, were completely annihilated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTravel Guide to Nicaragua\u201d\u00a0is the second of a series of autobiographical works (following\u00a0Anonymous Man) written by Gordon for The Crossing.<\/p>\n

The world premiere performance of\u00a0\u201cTravel Guide to Nicaragua\u201d\u00a0is co-produced in partnership with Congregation Rodeph Shalom further emphasizing the work\u2019s ties to Jewish history, culture, and community. Congregation Rodeph Shalom, established in 1795, is the oldest Ashkenazi congregation in the Western Hemisphere. As the only Reform congregation in Center City Philadelphia, Rodeph Shalom provides the Jewish community profound connections through transformative study, prayer, and urban engagement.<\/p>\n

Beiser has been captivating audiences worldwide, bringing a bold and unorthodox presence to contemporary classical music, experimenting with various musical styles, and defying conventional norms with her boundary-crossing performances. Hailed as \u201cthe reigning queen of avant-garde cello\u201d by\u00a0The Washington Post, she has been called a \u201ccello rock star,\u201d by\u00a0Rolling Stone\u00a0and praised as \u201ca force of nature,\u201d by\u00a0The Boston Globe.<\/p>\n

Raised in the Galilee Mountains in Israel, by her Argentinean father and French mother, Beiser spent her early life surrounded by the music and rituals of Jews, Muslims, and Christians, while studying classical cello repertoire. At the age of 12, she was discovered by the late violinist Isaac Stern who became her mentor throughout her early career.<\/p>\n

Beiser is a 2015 United States Artists (USA) Distinguished Fellow in Music; a 2017 Mellon Distinguished Visiting Artist at MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology; and was recently a Presenting Artist at the inaugural CultureSummit, held in 2017 in Abu Dhabi. Invited to present at the prestigious TED main stage in Long Beach, CA, Maya\u2019s 2011 TED Talk has been watched by over one million people and translated to 32 languages.<\/p>\n

Video link for The Crossing \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/-vwiDF8pD1c<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Video link for Maya Beiser — https:\/\/youtu.be\/C6KMcwR43FE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show on November 16 will start at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices range from $20-$35.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times\u00a0 After sitting back waiting a long time for the pandemic to pass, Dreamers, a pop rock duo featuring Nick Wold and Nelson, has shaken off the rust and is on the road again. They are in the middle of their\u00a0\u201cThe Cameras & Coastlines\u201d\u00a0co-headlining tour with Smallpools \u2013 a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6478,3162,9230,10567],"class_list":["post-26929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dreamers","tag-featured","tag-the-crossing","tag-vision-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26929"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26930,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26929\/revisions\/26930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}