Mr Denton On Doomsday

Band Press
Mr. Denton album 'A discussion with peers' – Battle Creek Enquirer
Trapped in a world they feel controlled by, the men of Lansing's Mr. Denton On Doomsday have made an anti-entrapment, near-saga disc called "The Mouse Circus."
"'The Mouse Circus' to me is similar to the rat race," said guitarist-vocalist Brian Alspaugh. "Feeling frustrated to me feels like a hamster running in a wheel."
The 12-track "Circus," the group's first full-length, is in post-production now, Alspaugh said. Independently recorded with Tommy McCord, of the Lansing band The Plurals, the guitarist said Mr. Denton hopes to release the album by June 25, with tracks available on iTunes and CDBaby.
The music is manic, genre-wise, jumping around the fringes of nu-metal and classic rock, punk and funk, hip-hop and jazz.
"We make challenging music that I feel rewards repeat listeners," Alspaugh said.
The guitarist handles staccato melodies, low-slung and pressing chord progressions and breakneck solos.
Vocalist Travis Floyd's voice goes from low moan to high soar to quick rap to silk-soft spoken. On the bass, a man who goes only by Bush keeps a rolling groove and drummer Benjamin Walnut keeps the rhythm tight.
New since summer 2007's "Live from The Machine Shop" is violinist Ben Sawyer.
The lyrics cover many topics, Alspaugh said, but "loosely interlock, creating a larger picture."
"The overall message (of the album), I would say, is for each person to decide for yourselves," he said. "We are concerned with the government's increasing control in all aspects of American life. The topics vary but do attach to the central theme.
"For example, 'Warsaw' is a direct protest song in retaliation to America's most recent Middle East war, while 'Conductor Suicide' is about the dangers of marginalizing music."
The words are rarely obtuse, going straight for the craniums of the listeners.
Take, for example, these pointed words from "Conductor Suicide":
"Don't get involved, see what happens/When your freedom is sold, don't forget you're a party to the transaction ..."
Those are words, Alspaugh said, that are not necessarily meant to change anyone's minds, just to open those minds to new possibilities and to encourage independent thought.
"I just hope to get people to think, act and react," he said. "I hope to stir all kinds of emotions. I don't care what the reaction is, so long as there is one."
Mr. Denton -- taking its name from a 1959 episode of "The Twilight Zone" -- formed in early 2006, remnants of other bands. With wild-eyed, kinetic live shows, Alspaugh said the musicians themselves carry the same nonconformist attitude they preach on "Circus."
"We aim to provoke thought," Alspaugh said. "We believe in accountability and honesty. We try to approach music not just as disposable entertainment, but as a discussion with peers."
Justin A. Hinkley can be reached at 966-0698 or jhinkley@battlecr.gannett.com. - Battle Creek Enquirer

Their 'experimental metal' aims to bring rock back from dead – Anne Erickson | Lansing State Journal
Anne Erickson | Lansing State Journal

Having played more than 100 shows since forming in mid-Michigan a year and a half ago, Mr Denton on Doomsday isn't a newbie to the hard rock scene. And with a roster of past gigs alongside rampaging acts like Adema, Nonpoint and Skindred, the band knows what makes a solid rock song.

Mr Denton on Doomsday's sound falls somewhere between a modern day King Crimson and Black Sabbath, with music that's fresh, original, uncharted.

The guys in the band coin their sound "experimental metal."
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"I think that by experimental, we mean that we're trying to expand the forefront of rock music by contributing to rock music as a whole, not just rehashing something that's been done before," said lead vocalist Travis Floyd.

Band members' influences fall all across the musical spectrum, with Floyd digging alternative rockers Incubus and desert rockers Queens of the Stone Age.

"For us, it's really about the feel of the music," Floyd said. "We try to take the best things we've heard from any genre of music and exemplify it in our music."

The band - which includes Floyd, Brian Alspaugh (aka "Fate) on guitar and vocals, Matt Bush on bass guitar and Benjamin Walnut on drums - plays its high-energy live show at the Machine Shop in Flint Saturday. The gig is part of the Gorilla Production Company Battle of the Bands Finals. It also marks the release of Mr Denton's live EP, The Mouse Circus, which was recorded at a Machine Shop show back in September. The band hopes to release its first full-length album by March.

If you're wondering, yes, the band's name comes from an old "Twilight Zone" episode, sans the punctuation, in which "an old gunslinger gets a second chance."

"It's our focus to give rock a second chance," explained Floyd, "because it's been dead since 1974 and we're trying to turn that around." - Lansing State Journal

Experimental metal band releases debut album – Lansing State Journal 7/16/09
Published July 16, 2009

Experimental metal band releases debut album

Anne Erickson
NOISE

Lansing experimental metal band Mr Denton on Doomsday has a packed summer. For one, the guys are gearing up for the "Pluto as a Planet" tour, which kicks off later this month and takes them through Illinois, Virginia, Tennessee and back again.

The group also just released its full-length debut, "The Mouse Circus," which was recorded at the GTG House by Tommy McCord from Lansing band The Plurals.

" 'The Mouse Circus' alludes to the rat race - that everyday life - where people go through the motions as opposed to exercising their free will," lead Travis Floyd said via cell phone.
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"Songs cover a lot of political areas. What we're trying to do is encourage people to exercise their freedom of choice and make sure that whatever they are doing is a part of their will, and that they're not doing it because they're told to by another person."

Musically, the album exemplifies the line Doomsday treads between heavy, vicious music and beautiful melodies. They added violin player Agent Phoenix to their lineup, so the album goes in a different direction than your typical metal or rock effort.

"Having a violin takes down a barrier and adds another element to the music, so we can mix it up and take another step into the direction of weirdness," Floyd said. "I think it also allows the guitars to do a little less."

Formed in Lansing in 2006, Doomsday - which includes Floyd, Phoenix, Brian Alspaugh (aka "Fate") on guitar and vocals, Matt Bush on bass guitar and Benjamin Walnut on drums - has played with a tough roster of national bands such as The Misfits, Sponge, Nonpoint, Skindred and Egypt Central.

The "Pluto as a Planet" tour is the first major trek for the guys.

"We're touring on the fundamental that you can't just take away Pluto's planet status," Floyd said. "We believe Pluto isn't given fair representation and taken seriously because of its small stature, so we're campaigning on behalf of Pluto." - NOISE Magazine

Mr Denton Follows New School Of Rock – Battle Creek Enquirer 12/06/07
There is a school of thought, spurred recently by numerous bands, that say heavy music doesn't have to be the same chunky chords utilized by Black Sabbath almost 40 years ago. Mr Denton On Doomsday is on that bandwagon.
The Lansing-based quartet pulls jazz, blues, swing and hip-hop into it's sound and somehow manages not to lose the menace of it's heavy rock core.
"We are trying to broadcast the best that each genre has to offer" said Vocalist Travis Floyd. "Anything worthwhile that's been heard by any of us is represented at some point in our music.".
The band rounded out by guitarist/vocalist Fate, Bassist Bush and drummer Benjamin Walnut, said it takes the best elements of it's favorite genres, sifting out the bad, and using them in its songs.
"We are trying to push into new musical areas, which is impossible to do when sticking to a specific format" said Fate. "Many of the bands on mainstream radio today are guilty of this".
This tactic is evident in the bands songs. Within almost every song, an eclectic blend of influences is showcased. From the swing-step intro of "Pop-Culture Whore" to the Slayeresque, "The Walrus And The Wall", Mr Denton finds ways to pull at the definitions of hard rock.
"I am the central songwriter," Fate explained. "I take the idea that appear in my head and bring them to the band. Each member adds creative flourishes and suggestions. The music is a combination of pre-meditated riffs and long hours of jamming."
Floyd's vocal delivery pulls from multiple areas as well, his dynamics ranging from quick rhymes nearing a rap to drawn out harmonies modern rock fans would find familiar. Fate who handles most of the lyric-writing, adds counter harmonies in the background, elevating the schizoid fell of Mr. Denton's songs.
"Anything that inspires me gets put into a song," said Fate. "I do not have a filter, so whatever I think is what you get. I write about the lack of independent thought, the importance of using the mind, the world of politics and the degradation of rock music and mainstream radio formats."
Mr Denton's show are high-energy sweats and screams, clamorous fun where Fate will hop on drums and Floyd reaches for contact with audience members. The band travels the state performing several shows a month from Lansing to Detroit and Battle Creek to Farmington Hills. It's members say they don't have high hopes for their audiences, they just want a bit of emotion.
"Any reaction is better than no reaction," Fate said. "I just want people to feel, act react."
"We aim to pay our bills and feed our addictions by playing music," Fate said. "We drive thousands of miles across this state every month just to play these songs for anyone who will listen. We each love this music and want to do nothing else with our lives."

-Justin Hinkley
966-0698 - Battle Creek Enquirer

You know a band is serious when it has shared the stage with heavyweights like The Misfits, Nonpoint, Adema and Sponge.

That's the case with Lansing-based metal outfit Mr Denton on Doomsday. Since getting together four years ago, the guys have played with those acts and more, everywhere from Mac's Bar in Lansing to Harpo's in Detroit. What vocalist Travis Floyd, guitarist Brian Alspaugh (aka "Fate"), bass player Matt Bush, violinist Phoenix and drummer Benjamin Walnut offer is an experimental metal sound mixing classic influences (such as King Crimson and Black Sabbath) with a contemporary edge and even some blues-rock. Lyrics-wise, they write about everything from personal reflections to the world of politics.

Mr Denton also has seen success in the radio realm. The guys' single, "Karo," has been played on more than 400 Internet radio stations, and they've also stopped by the studio at 88.9 The Impact's (WDBM-FM). Catch the band Friday at The Loft in downtown Lansing.

• Mr Denton on Doomsday, Atrium, Pistol Day Parade, The Trip, Pselsus

• 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27

• $8

• The Loft (above Harem Urban Lounge), 414 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, 267-7898 - NOISE Magazine

Mr. Denton on Doomsday and Mad Wheel Starfish top the Central Iowa Concert Calendar for Tuesday, September 2. Get all the details on those shows and more below. After the concert calendar, check out news on the 2015 Tree Town Music Festival and a new Slipknot album and tour.

Lansing, Michigan experimental rockers Mr. Denton on Doomsday will headline a show at Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines on Tuesday. The band female-led quintet has performed with the likes of The Misfits, Candlebox, Saliva, Adema, Sponge, Taproot, Mushroomhead, (hed) PE, and the Cypress Hill offshoot Six. The band released their debut album The Mouse Circus in 2009. Opening the show will be Ballout Gang and Liberty Hall Collective. The 6 p.m. show is open to all ages, and it will have a $5 cover charge at the door.

Norwalk's Mad Wheel Starfish will perform at Hull Avenue Tavern on Tuesday with Texas grunge band SkyAcre and Stevan Robinson serving as openers. MWS released their new album You and He Were...Buddies, Weren't You? in late July. The show will kick off at 8:30 p.m. The show will be open to only those 21 and older, and it will have no cover. - examiner.com