D.V.N.O.
West Palm Beach, Florida, United States | SELF
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By Alex Rendon Thu., Mar. 29 2012 at 8:57 AM
Making some serious strides is what local indie-dance punk outfit D.V.N.O. has been doing lately. The West Palm Beach quintet will be performing at the 30th edition of SunFest this year. Led by brothers Marco (vocals, bass) and Jacob (drums, percussion) Baez, D.V.N.O. will take the FPL stage on Sunday, May 6, at 4:30 p.m. That positions them as openers for Rasta-meets-Rabbi rapper Matisyahu.
It's not the first time the band performs at a local major music festival, however; back in late 2010, the D.V.N.O boys garnered a spot on Buzz Bake Sale 15's stage.
For those of you not familiar with this percussive rock five-piece, the moniker D.V.N.O. is taken from French duo Justice's nightclub banger of the same name. Marco tells us, though, that it was more about what D.V.N.O. really stands for that inspired his group. "Its meaning is the Spanish word divino, which means divine in English. In Europe, when they have the letters D.V.N.O. at electronic clubs, people all have to wear white so they all glow under black light." (Wow, that brings back too many flashbacks from the Carl Cox tent at Ultra this past weekend, but we digress.)
So yes, it's a fair assumption to say Marco Baez and crew are huge into their untz untz untz dance music, but their sonic output leans much more toward the rock/punk end of the musical spectrum -- with slight emo mannerisms.
The band first grabbed our attention last June with its infectious track "Dance With Me" and since has released a debut album of the same name. Dance With Me! is currently available on iTunes; purchase it here for under nine bucks.
Want to try before you buy (or simply too cheap to buy)? If so, good news, then, that for three more days on its Facebook page, the troupe is giving away another single, "Jet Skis in Cabo." This freewheeling track captures the pizzazz of Saves the Day in its glory days with Marco going all out with colossal vocal hooks. It's an immediate, bombastic track that demonstrates the potential of these West Palm Beach musicians.
Wait, there is one last thing. For those who simply can't wait until SunFest to get their D.V.N.O. fix, the band is performing tonight at longstanding Respectable Street's Thursday-night hipster throwdown, Flaunt. Free entry and $2 PBR tall boys. Your immediate gratification is here! Thank us later. For now, enjoy the bellowing delight that is "Jet Skis in Cabo."
- Broward Palm Beach NewTimes
Discography
"Dance With Me" LP
released 2011 to iTunes, emusic, Amazon Mp3, Spotify, Zune
Photos
Bio
Founding members/brothers Marco Baez (vocals) and Jacob Baez (drums) put an ad on craigslist for a new guitarist in early 2011. They found 2: Brock on rhythm guitar and Panch on lead. The boys recorded their debut album "Dance With Me!" released September 2011. Jazz trained pop punk influenced bass player Jake Strunin joined shortly after.
This line up exploded onto the south florida scene and quickly moved from local venues to festival main stages opening for Matisyahu at West Palm Beach's Sunfest in May 2012 and playing the Ourstage.com Stage of The Vans Warped Tour 2012. Currently they are recording their sophomore album, planning to release in spring '13.
Kate B of ourstage.com had this to say, “Stylistically, D.V.N.O walks the line between gutsy dance rock and emotionally charged pop-punk, a combination of Taking Back Sunday, The Strokes, and The Black Kids. On the emo end of the scale you have tracks like the turbulent “One Last Time.” But with “Dance With Me” it’s back to what the band does best: frantic, percussive rock with a lot of heart. Lovelorn spazzes, manic dreamers—this one’s for you.”
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