Oozing an alt-rock, pop and prog-rock sheen, Dause and his Band of Bros play SpeakEZ Lounge this week as the multi-instrumentalist promotes a new studio album. (Story, video)
Drums, Guitar, Bass and More: Michael Dause plays several instruments on his new studio album. (Photo/Anna Sink)
THE ARTIST: Michael Dause
THE MUSIC: Pop-driven alt-rock with elements of prog-rock
WHERE YOU CAN SEE HIM: With Band of Bros at 8 p.m. Wednesday at SpeakEZ Lounge in Grand Rapids (with Chris DuPont opening); 1 p.m. Sunday at Earthwork Harvest Gathering near Lake City
ON THE RADIO: Michael Dause is the special guest for Local Spins Live on News Talk 1340 AM (WJRW) at 11:06 a.m. Wednesday
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Michael Dause has always had “a lot of irons in the fire” musically.
Before joining The Accidentals as their drummer back in 2014, the multi-instrumentalist already had released a solo album as a senior at Northville High School.
On Stage With The Accidentals: The trio playing Founders Brewing earlier this year. (Photo/Derek Ketchum)
Now, amid the whirlwind of touring with the Traverse City band that has made a splash nationally, Dause has released another solo recording and, suffice to say, the musical direction of that project represents a big switch from the lilting indie-folk of The Accidentals.
“I can never quite make up my mind about which way to go with my music. There’s a heavy dose of ’80s demo and indie-rock in there,” the 21-year-old conceded.
“It’s very different from what we do in The Accidentals, and I love the music that we create there. Sometimes I feel that I have a lot of irons in the fire, and having a project where I can let my mind wander over everything is very freeing.
“There’s a lot of acoustic instrumentation in The Accidentals’ music, so my symphonic and acoustic itch is scratched there. So when I go home and try to write, I tend to hit the distortion pedal immediately.” (Check out a video below.)
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Dause recorded the new solo album, “The Sound of Self-Destruction,” in his parents’ basement in Novi, tracking songs the past few years whenever he had time in between tours with The Accidentals.
“Due to our busy schedule, I would only have two or three days at home to clean up takes and finish songs. The great part is that I would have long stretches of time to sit with the songs and nail out everything that I wanted to either change or fix about them,” said Dause, who’s already started working on new solo material.
TIME LIMITATIONS HELP KICK HIS SONGWRITING ‘INTO GEAR’
“I enjoy not having the availability to record all the time because it makes the time that I have much more precious. It really kicks me into gear when I’m home to get songs onto paper.”
As for performing solo material with his backing band, dubbed the Band of Bros, Dause said The Accidentals’ hectic pace makes that difficult, though he’s playing at 8 p.m. Wednesday at SpeakEZ Lounge as part of the Local Spins Wednesdays series, and will also perform Sunday afternoon as part of the three-day Earthwork Harvest Gathering outside Lake City.
Michael Dause, “The Sound of Self-Destruction”
The Accidentals play Harvest Gathering that night, the day after opening for Ann Arbor blues guitarist and “The Voice” finalist Laith Al-Saadi at Fillmore Detroit.
After that, The Accidentals go on the road for a couple of high-profile shows: the Americana Music Conference in Nashville on Sept. 24 and a headlining concert at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena on Sept. 24, the largest venue the trio has ever headlined.
“It makes the (solo) shows I do book much more special to me,” insisted Dause. “I would say that it’s very energizing to have multiple musical outlets. Some days, I might want to write an acoustic ballad, and other days, I might want to play heavy rock music. Having different projects gives me places for all these different kinds of songs to go.”
Indeed, “The Sound of Self-Destruction” ranges from prog-rock to atmospheric indie-pop, with Dause’s music influenced by the likes of Death Cab for Cutie, The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Police, Beck and Neutral Milk Hotel. (Read the Local Spins review of the album here.)
Dause, who plays guitar, bass, drums, piano and tin flute on the new album, grew up surrounded by the music of his father – from The Smiths to Boston – and his mother was a classical singer who once performed on stage with a choir at Carnegie Hall. After high school, Dause studied music at Belmont University in Nashville, where he also played “a number of acoustic shows” as a solo artist.
A self-professed perfectionist when it comes to honing new songs, Dause said he’ll continue to hammer away on his solo material while touring with The Accidentals, who also plan to head back into the studio this fall to work on a new album.
“I never like to give up on a song, so I’m still going back and looking at all these outlines I’ve created over the years and seeing for which one I might have new ideas,” he said. “Hopefully, I can put out some new music sooner than the gap between my last releases.”
VIDEO: Michael Dause, “Doors” (Live at Founders Brewing)
Never Giving Up on a Song: Michael Dause (Photo/Anna Sink)
Copyright 2016, Spins on Music LLC
