Herman Dune is David Ivar’s musical project. It was started in 1998 in Paris, France. David is a French/Swedish citizen who began playing antifolk in Paris at a time when no DIY scene existed, let alone with songs performed in English. In 2001 he started the MOFO music festival in Paris which featured acts like Daniel Johnston, Bonnie Prince Billie, The Silver Jews, Dinosaur Jr., and The Moldy Peaches.
After spending years in a Lo-Fi territory with the label Shrimper (The Mountain Goats), 2006 found Herman Dune signing to EMI/Source (UK Virgin) and releasing two albums. The album “Giant,” was certified Gold in France and both records had Herman Dune touring non-stop for the next two years. Herman Dune played 42 States in the USA and many festivals including; SXSW, End of the Road, Green Man, Benicassim, Primavera Sound Festival, All Tomorrow’s Parties, and Central Park Summer Stage festivals.
In 2008, Funny Or Die-produced the video for the song “Tell Me Something I Don’t’ Know,” featuring John Hamm and a puppet made by Jim Henson’s Studio.
Through a “Never-ending” life on the road, Herman Dune has toured with Arcade Fire, Jolie Holland, Kimya Dawson, Of Montreal, and opened for Sleater Kinney and Wanda Jackson. Whenever in the UK, he was always welcome at BBC1 to record exclusive sessions and holds a record for tracking 10 John Peel Sessions with the mythical British DJ.
David Ivar has also been recognized as a visual artist and his work has been seen in Playboy, Flaunt, and Spray magazines. His art has been shown at the FIAC in Paris, Art Basel in Miami, Triennale in Milano. He’s had multiple exhibitions in galleries in Paris (Nivet-Carzon, Agnes B), New York City (Cinders Gallery), Los Angeles (Small World Books), and institutions and galleries in Europe. David Ivar has written and recorded the soundtracks for theatrical movies like Mariage A Mendoza (Edouard Deluc), Blockbuster (July Hygrek, a NETFLIX film), and Chasing Bonnie & Clyde (Olivier Lambert).
David Ivar – On writing the album:
“Sweet Thursday” is the third volume of the Cannery Row trilogy by John Steinbeck. After leaving France in all kinds of clashes and hurries, I felt that in my new home in San Pedro, California, I had found my own Cannery Row. I moved to Santa Cruz Street, by the harbor, where life starts at 4 AM. The nine songs of “Sweet Thursday” were recorded live with my band (Kyle McNeill & Lewis Pullman) and produced by myself and Kyle. It was then mixed by Adam Selzer (M.Ward, Langhorne Slim).”
Now an Immigrant in California, I set up a studio in my backyard, gave up my phone, stopped touring and started working intensely on music and art. I also drove around the South Bay in my 1992 Toyota with its old cassette deck. Most songs on “Sweet Thursday” are inspired by this new life and the doubts and fears of being an alien resident in the shift of the US during this current administration.
At a recent show of Mike Watt & The Missing Men in a warehouse on the docks near my house, Mike shouted out to the audience, “Release your own stuff! Put out your own music!”. I felt like the King of the San Pedro Punk Scene was pointing at me to inspire me in my process of going back to doing things myself, my own label, my own everything!
The album has strong visual themes to me and I decided to work with video artist Brett Sullivan of the NYC antifolk band American Anymen to help realize music videos for the entire album. I really dug his editing style in connection to music, so when he came up with the idea of a video campaign for “Sweet Thursday”, almost a movie, I really jumped on the idea and we got to work filming music videos about San Pedro that inspired the album so much.
LINKS:
http://www.davidivar.com
https://www.facebook.com/HermanDuneYeah
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Mike Milan Dedic – Launch (Re-launch)
Video appearances by Michael Dedic – Bass, Brian Latimer – Drums
Zachary Murray – Videographer -
Marty Casey – Anything You Want
Chicago Rock Artist Marty Casey has released the official music video for “Anything You Want,” off of his 2017 released debut album, The Ground You Walk On. “Anything You Want” was directed by Mike Leber and was co-written with Andrew Farriss (INXS).
Since the time Marty Casey shot to fame as a runnerup on hit CBS reality TV show Rockstar: INXS, his brand of rock ‘n roll has been ever evolving. Former L.A. Guns bandmate Tracii Guns describes Marty as “a charismatic frontman with a golden voice, incredible drive, and impeccable songwriting skills,” Marty’s long and winding journey as a musician has led him to this moment: releasing his debut solo album, The Ground You Walk On, in 2017.
Marty met two of his future bandmates while playing on a little league baseball team in their Chicago hometown at age eight. That band became the beloved Chicago rock group the Lovehammers. True to their Chicago roots, the band’s second EP was produced by legendary producer and Chicago native Steve Albini (Nirvana, PJ Harvey, the Pixies, & more). While on tour with the Lovehammers, Marty auditioned for and was ultimately asked to join Rockstar: INXS.
Although the show’s top prize – a gig as frontman for INXS – eluded him, the buzz Marty created as the runnerup on the 2005 reality show crescendoed to a fullon career of songwriting, touring, and recording when the Lovehammers were signed to Epic Records. He continued to blaze new trails with his powerfully electrifying performances: first, with the Lovehammers; then, as the lead singer of L.A. Guns, one of the hardest rocking and most notorious bands to come off the Sunset Strip; and now, in 2017, as a solo artist.
In order to solidify his own sound, Marty worked with renowned producer Marti Frederiksen on his debut solo album. Marti — who has worked with some of the biggest names in music, including Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Bon Jovi, and countless others — recorded with Marty at the historic Quadraphonic Sound Studios in Nashville.
While ushering in a new era in his musical career, Marty’s upcoming release also subtly hints back to his rock ‘n roll reality show days. One track on the new album called “Anything You Want,” was created during the filming of Rockstar: INXS, and was written by Marti Frederiksen and INXS’ Andrew Farriss. Other cowriters on The Ground You Walk On include former American Idol judge and esteemed songwriter Kara DioGuardi, as well as country music hit-maker Gary Allen.
With The Ground You Walk On, Marty’s songs build on his rich musical journey and express his exuberance for life. Marty explains, “I had been playing with a band since I was a teenager. I wanted to spread my wings for a moment and record these songs that I had in my head for the last few years.” Marty goes on to express his sentiment that these songs are about the experiences of the past building us up to who we are today. Marty Casey’s solo album was released in the spring of 2017.
“The song ‘Anything You Want’ was written with INXS’ Andrew Farriss when I was auditioning to be a member of INXS. The song has an intense energy and makes you move! We wanted to capture that vitality in the video. My wife (Daniella Casey) is a dance instructor so she rallied up her troops and the vibe they brought is straight-up INCREDIBLE!!! The director (Mike Leber) took the visual over the top with color and movement. This video is a fun burst of energy that gets you on your feet as the girls knock you off em!!”
– Marty CaseyLINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/martycaseymusic
https://twitter.com/martycasey -
The Inoculated Canaries – Count Me Out
New York-based rock band The Inoculated Canaries has released the Official Music Video for their single, “Count Me Out,” off of their upcoming Trying Times. Trying Times, their second EP, was released January 12th.
“Our songs come from personal experiences: beginnings and ends loves and loss. Ultimately to experience as much as possible and to not take yourself too seriously”
– Inoculated CanariesWhat do you get when eclectic creativity gets twisted with diverse musical influences and incubates in an atmosphere of unrestrained inspiration? The hatching of The Inoculated Canaries. With The Inoculated Canaries, you get a full-on aural and visual package of brightly intense ingenuity and polished musicianship.
The New York foursome is rounded out by Michael Rubin on guitar and vocals, James Terranova on drums, Dylan Gross on bass, and Brian Sweeney on keys. With their diverse musical interests spanning from Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix to Punk Rock sensibility a la Green Day, Blink 182, Streetlight Manifesto, and Reel Big Fish, mixed with their formal jazz training and performance to the dramatic flair of musical theater, these guys bring a lot more to the table than anything categorizable, and it shows.
“The Canaries has felt like 10 different bands throughout its lifespan,” says Michael “We keep adding to our style because there are so many great influences we can learn from. I spend 8-9 hours a day with these jerks and it absolutely contributes to how tight our live shows are. I know what James is going to do before James even knows he’s gonna do it.”
Their debut EP, THE BLUE LAWS, was soon followed by the singles “DON’T BE LATE” and the acoustic version of “JERICHO”.
“Our songs come from personal experiences: beginnings and ends loves and loss. Ultimately to experience as much as possible and to not take yourself too seriously” – The Inoculated Canaries.
Several live performances include Winterfest, opening for The Mowgli’s.
The band most recently announced the release of their long-awaited follow-up EP, TRYING TIMES with the unveiling of a colorful and irreverent music video for the track “COUNT ME OUT.”
The band’s mission is simple: to bring back ROCK! And while that’s a mission a lot of emerging artists are taking on, it’s one that this quartet is uniquely suited to address.
LINKS:
https://theinoculatedcanaries.com
https://www.facebook.com/theinoculatedcanaries
http://www.thepictaram.club/instagram/theinoculatedcanaries
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2xbllUZKJ2S7vk555hWwlA