Monday, February 4, 2013

First/Last-The Duskwhales


"The Duskwhales began in January 2010, comprised of school friends Seth Flynn, Chris Baker, Brian Majewksi, and Austin Mee. The band, hailing from Northern Virginia, started out playing cover songs mostly from groups like The Cure, The Pixies, Nirvana, and The Strokes. After about a year of refining their sound and getting some really solid original material together, The Duskwhales started breaking into the local music scene, playing at cafes, clubs, and band battles. Their sound became quite diverse as they are made up of four multi-instrumentalists with unique songwriting styles and a variety of musical influences. Over the years, The Duskwhales have performed at a number of local venues including YouthFest 2012 (opening for The Ready Set), Jammin Java, Empire Nightclub, Epicure Cafe, and many more. In summer of 2012, the band finally had the chance to head up to Blue Sofa Studios in Greensburg, Pennsylvania to record their debut album, Cutpurse, with RJ Dietrich. The 10-track album was recorded in 5 days and released in August 2012. The Duskwhales have plans to tour the East Coast and record their second album in summer of 2013."

You can find the band on it's official Website, Facebook, Bandcamp, cdbaby, Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube. My thanks to Chris Baker (Vocals/Guitar/Drums), Seth Flynn (Vocals/Guitar), Austin Mee (Bass/Drums) and Brian Majewski (Vocals/Keyboards/Drums) for taking the time to participate in this edition of First/Last.

The first album you ever bought?
Chris Baker: “Beatles For Sale”.
Seth Flynn: Gorillaz, “Demon Days”.
Austin Mee: Duke Ellington, “Gold Edition”.
Brian Majewski: “Plans” by Death Cab For Cutie.

Your last album bought?
Chris: “Until The Quiet Comes” by Flying Lotus.
Seth: Dirty Projectors, “Swing Lo Magellan”.
Austin: “Gladrags” by Katia and Marielle Labeque.
Brian: “Paradise” by Lana Del Ray.

Favorite album of all time?
Chris: “In Rainbows” by Radiohead.
Seth: Elliott Smith, “Either/Or”.
Austin: “Mingus Ah Um” by Charles Mingus.
Brian: “Friends” by Chick Corea.

Least favorite/most disappointing album?
Chris: I never listened to that album Lou Reed made with Metallica but if I did, it would be disappointing.
Seth: Dinosaur Jr., “Without a Sound”.
Austin: “South of Heaven” by Slayer.
Brian: “Plans” by Death Cab For Cutie.

First concert attended?
Chris: Yes w/ Asia at the National Harbor.
Seth: The White Stripes.
Austin: Muse at the Patriot Center.
Brian: AFI.

Last concert?
Chris: Radiohead at the Verizon Center.
Seth: Of Montreal.
Austin: Sweetlife Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
Brian: The Black Keys.

Favorite concert ever?
Chris: Radiohead.
Seth: My Chemical Romance.
Austin: Sweetlife.
Brian: Herbie Hancock at the Kennedy Center.

Least favorite concert?
Chris: Well, at the Yes show it started raining like crazy so Yes only got through one song. My comrades and I waited out the storm and Yes returned for a sweet acoustic rendition of “Roundabout.” Then it started raining again and they had to stop. Kinda’ disappointing but still an awesome experience.
Seth: Christmas Choral Group LAWLL.
Austin: None.
Brian: AFI.

Any thoughts, experiences about Pittsburgh?
Chris: After we finished recording our album and burned a demo CD, we drove into Pittsburgh and listened to it as we drove around. Those first few listens were pretty amazing and emotional. We then had a really delirious experience at a McDonalds.
Seth: It's a nice, peaceful place for me to go, it brings back the memory of making friends with Rj and Karen Dietrich. The weather and landscape also are stuck in my mind as new.
Austin: Recording “Cutpurse”.
Brian: Wishing, for once in my life, that I were a football fan.

Thanks, fellas. You got a tad of that Miles Kurosky/Beulah thing going. Make sure Pittsburgh is a stop on your upcoming tour.

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