The Bio:

Drawing on the tones of artists such as David Bowie, The Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder, Super Furry Animals, The Kinks, Blur and Supergrass, De Novo Dahl debuted in the fall of 2001.

The Nashville based 6-piece features Mark Bond on keyboards and lead vocals, Joel McAnulty on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Sandy Sandidge on lead guitar, bassist David Carney, all-around good time vocalist/omnichordist Serai Zaffiro and drummer Joey Andrews.

De Novo Dahl's live shows are always fun-filled and frequently feature themed outfits, audience participation and special events.

From an interview in Murfreesboro's Sidelines: The band has played some pretty random gigs - they've thrown a beach party, hosted an ice cream social and served the audience a spaghetti dinner while playing a rock concert. And, recently, while touring in New York, the group wore hot pink daisy duke-style jumpsuits. This costume theme is apparently prevalent at any given De Novo Dahl show. "Our craziest show would probably have to be at the Muse in Nashville," Andrews said. "It was our first show with the full band as it is now, and we totally screwed around. We all dressed up in different attire. Carney as a pilot, I as an African tribesman, Derek as a street cone, Mark wore egg crate foam, Joel as a wild man and Serai in drag. Mark, Joel, and I played our own instruments while the rest played cowbell, tambourine and electronic drums."

All dressing-up aside, the band recently enlisted the services of award-winning producer David Zaffiro as well as Jason Lehning, producer of David Mead and The Bees to record their self-titled EP. The resulting recording provides a snapshot into De Novo Dahl’s passion for infectious, quirky, intellectual pop. De Novo Dahl was released in May, 2003.

“Waiting For My Friends” is an example of De Novo Dahl’s fondness for pure pop - incorporating a strong guitar presence and upbeat keyboards with angelic harmony and an inspiring lyric.

"Memphis", a slower, pensive yet sharply written tune, focuses on the drowning of Jeff Buckley and a personal pilgrimage to the site by the writer. Jason Wilkins of Nashville entertainment weekly The Rage says about “Memphis”, “a splendidly beautiful homage to Jeff Buckley that is touching without being smarmy.”

Recent De Novo Dahl shows of note include performances at Athfest, Dancin’ In the District, 2NMC, NEMO and Uptown Mix as well as supporting such acts as Wilco, Archer Prewitt (of Sea & Cake), VHS or Beta, Blues Traveler, David Mead, Mike Viola (of the Candy Butchers), International Orange, I Am the World Trade Center, P.U.S.A. and The Features.

6 songwriters. 4 vocalists. 1 sound.
A heck of a lot of instruments.
De Novo Dahl

Features

• 06/07/2007: CMJ: Murmuring and myths at an American college rock festival
• 05/01/2006: Community Creates: An indie rock guide to getting together

User ratings