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Local band Duality rocked The Good Hurt in Venice, CA this past Saturday night. Duality is an LA-based four piece headed by lead vocalist Joe Anselm, with Gene Migaki on Bass, Mike DLP on keyboards and Trevor Erikson on Drums.
I didn’t know what I was in for but once they started playing I was able to pick out some noteworthy (and diverse) musical influences which, combined, placed them in stark contrast to the endless sea of punk and metal wannabes currently dotting LA’s musical landscape.
The absence of a guitar player means that they’re able to push their musical boundaries to places where bands rarely venture. The success of their sound lies in their driving and melodic rhythm section, which, at times, reminded me of Joy Division, in addition to lush keyboard orchestrations reminiscent of Brian Eno and soaring lead vocals from Joe Anselm, a young version of rock great Eddie Vedder.
Duality is a band that values the creative process and is unafraid of progressive song structures. Their combined talents should take the band as far as they want to go. Having said that, they’ve just finished a four-song EP which is best described by their MySpace page:
“These tracks above are evidence of progress. They may not be recorded in their entirety, nor do they support the best mix of our instruments, but it should give you an idea of what we are and what we are always becoming. Thanks for your listening consideration…. …..Overall, we are happy to finally be here. “
This seems like a kind self-assessment, considering the fact that the CD given to me by Joe Anselm, with an apologetically hand written label, sounds radio (or film) ready.
Check the Duality MySpace page for club dates and don’t forget to listen to their new tracks!
- The Swagger Sticks
Discography
Demonstration Recording:
Firehouse
Cosa Nostra
Return
At the Table
Photos
Bio
"Death & Sensuality" Welcome to the world of DUALITY. The music is a result of four musicians whose divergent styles fuse to create a composite sound. Driving rock rhythms morph into orchestrated keyboards. The vocal melodies emerge from within each song with cinematic force. Each song is carefully crafted as its own entity, painting its own hues, evoking its own emotion.
This band formed out of two halves. Trevor (drums) and Joe (vocals) were gaining a reputation on the Westside's main streets with a not-so-wedding cover band, roughing up classic rock gems for free peppercorn steaks and full bar privileges, pushing to write originals. Elsewhere, co-exsisting in Burbank, CA, shelling out future concepts for DUALITY in an over-cramped lockout, there was a budding progressive metal band consisting of Gene (bass) and Mike, aka DLP (Keys). Fate had it that these separate projects would never come into their rightful fruition. Little did we know this fate had a name, and his name was Craig, and Craig had a list...
After the first couple nights of testing the waters we knew we had something. Then the writing began, with each member coming to the table with an idea, igniting the other members to feed the fire. Compelled by the material, with its universal undertones, we chose the to name our outfit DUALITY (see quote above). Soon after, we took our creation to the stage.
In August of 2008, just after three shows, we landed a residency at Mr. B's, a dusky old tavern in Burbank. It was on this humble stage where we honed in on our live performance. We were soon playing as much as we could around the greater Los Angeles area. After months of getting our feet soaked, we settled back to record a demo at a historical RCA studio named Winslow Courts, ran by our now good friend, Craig Parker Adams. No time or expenses were spared, and this is what you will hear on our EPK.
Our goals now consist of impressing club managers and booking agents by gathering our growing fan base to our shows, pushing each other to better our musicianship, landing a slot in the upcoming SXSW music festival, recording our first full length album, and ultimately evolving in our artistic endeavors. Thank you for reading, keep yourself alive.
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