Members of Dean Armband fuse technology with instrumental
An old computer keyboard with only 12 of its keys remaining sits on the floor of a little room in Adam Anderson’s basement. From time to time, Anderson taps his big toe against one of the keys, creating a looping effect to the sounds that come from his guitar and keyboard.
“This is the foot controller that I use because I need to be able to play my guitar and be able to manipulate the program by hitting things,” Anderson said. “The only way I could figure out how to do that was to take the keys out that aren’t really essential for me to hit while I’m playing.”
Dean Armband, the most recent side project of Anderson (synth/guitar) and Brendan McGinn (drums), has a setup that resembles the possible future of music. It encompasses the burgeoning notion that music can incorporate advanced technology without forgetting about its roots. The fusion of instruments and technology was an idea that Anderson and McGinn stumbled upon after the creation of Her Flyaway Manner in 1996.
Throughout their 12-year history of playing together, the two have formed various side projects with different friends, but they never figured they’d take the electronic route.
“We weren’t really trying to get into electronic music, but rather utilize something that we haven’t used in the past, like laptops and keyboards,” Anderson said. “And, really, a lot of it has to do with the fact that we had a lot of these extra instruments lying around. My fiancee has a Moog keyboard, and it really started from that because it really had a neat sound. We just kind of built from there.”
The duo’s transition from straight-ahead rock to computer-based instrumental music was a sometimes sloppy one that taught them the value of flexibility during their live shows, they said.
“There’s definitely a learning curve, and there were a lot of times of feeling ungrounded,” McGinn said of the band’s newfound dependence on computer programs. “We don’t have a formula, so it was a new thing where we were letting go of a little bit of control and trying new techniques.
“Playing with a band you’ll have fluctuations in tempo, people will mess up and you make up for that,” he said. “Here, there’s this thing pounding out whatever he recorded.”
Anderson and McGinn started Dean Armband with the use of two looping pedals, but they soon upgraded to a computer program that records the instruments live and layers them on top of one another, creating a sound that can sometimes be mistaken for pre-recorded songs.
“It’s almost a compliment. People think that we’re bringing in pre-recorded music to a performance, but actually Adam will play a guitar part and you’ll hear it come back and he’ll move on to another instrument and layer that,” McGinn said.
“But sometimes it’s inevitable that something will slip through and be recorded that I don’t want to be recorded,” Anderson said.
Recently, the two have been playing with Chris Johnson, but they said their innate musical connection has gotten to the point where any newcomer is going to have a lot of catching up to do.
“People know what we’re trying to do at this point. I’ve heard people in the audience say, ‘No, no, this is all live. They’re creating things and things happen,’” McGinn said. “When things occur, the fact that we’ve been playing so long, we can look at each other and it could take one look, but it could say ‘this just happened,’ which complicates adding a member. Someone is definitely way further behind in the non-verbal communication.”
Reach Liz Stinson at 473-7254 or estinson@journalstar.com.
“This is the foot controller that I use because I need to be able to play my guitar and be able to manipulate the program by hitting things,” Anderson said. “The only way I could figure out how to do that was to take the keys out that aren’t really essential for me to hit while I’m playing.”
Dean Armband, the most recent side project of Anderson (synth/guitar) and Brendan McGinn (drums), has a setup that resembles the possible future of music. It encompasses the burgeoning notion that music can incorporate advanced technology without forgetting about its roots. The fusion of instruments and technology was an idea that Anderson and McGinn stumbled upon after the creation of Her Flyaway Manner in 1996.
Throughout their 12-year history of playing together, the two have formed various side projects with different friends, but they never figured they’d take the electronic route.
“We weren’t really trying to get into electronic music, but rather utilize something that we haven’t used in the past, like laptops and keyboards,” Anderson said. “And, really, a lot of it has to do with the fact that we had a lot of these extra instruments lying around. My fiancee has a Moog keyboard, and it really started from that because it really had a neat sound. We just kind of built from there.”
The duo’s transition from straight-ahead rock to computer-based instrumental music was a sometimes sloppy one that taught them the value of flexibility during their live shows, they said.
“There’s definitely a learning curve, and there were a lot of times of feeling ungrounded,” McGinn said of the band’s newfound dependence on computer programs. “We don’t have a formula, so it was a new thing where we were letting go of a little bit of control and trying new techniques.
“Playing with a band you’ll have fluctuations in tempo, people will mess up and you make up for that,” he said. “Here, there’s this thing pounding out whatever he recorded.”
Anderson and McGinn started Dean Armband with the use of two looping pedals, but they soon upgraded to a computer program that records the instruments live and layers them on top of one another, creating a sound that can sometimes be mistaken for pre-recorded songs.
“It’s almost a compliment. People think that we’re bringing in pre-recorded music to a performance, but actually Adam will play a guitar part and you’ll hear it come back and he’ll move on to another instrument and layer that,” McGinn said.
“But sometimes it’s inevitable that something will slip through and be recorded that I don’t want to be recorded,” Anderson said.
Recently, the two have been playing with Chris Johnson, but they said their innate musical connection has gotten to the point where any newcomer is going to have a lot of catching up to do.
“People know what we’re trying to do at this point. I’ve heard people in the audience say, ‘No, no, this is all live. They’re creating things and things happen,’” McGinn said. “When things occur, the fact that we’ve been playing so long, we can look at each other and it could take one look, but it could say ‘this just happened,’ which complicates adding a member. Someone is definitely way further behind in the non-verbal communication.”
Reach Liz Stinson at 473-7254 or estinson@journalstar.com.
Copyright © 2002-2008 Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.