The
DSC have been rocking venues, campuses and festivals from the Northeast
to the Southwest since 2008 when their self-titled debut hit the airwaves
of over 200 college and commercial radio stations
in North America and Europe, received in-store licensing deals in Europe,
and became a favorite of some of the most popular rock podcasts on the web.
Performing with full band and ocassionally as a soloist, Sheehan began touring
U.S. cities where the self-titled disc had charted and by 2010 had put together
one of the most formidable live band lineups in the New York area which
is featured on the sophomore DSC album due early 2012. Confessions of
the Dan Sheehan Conspiracy offers up an eclectic mix of rock that refuses
to allow the listener to disengage, each song taking the listener down a
new musical path while staying the course of passionate rock music with
thinking man's lyrics (even on fun punk-fueled romps such as the anthemic
"Have a Nice Summer"
which is juxtaposed to tracks like "I'll
See You There" which question the role of fate, destiny and the
afterlife). Adding to the classic sound of this album is reknowned keyboard
virtuoso Patrick Moraz, known to
many for his work with Yes and the Moody Blues, lending organ parts to tunes
like "Dark Summer"
and the jam-packed "Tu Mochila Esta Abierta."
The music industry may have declared a return to singles, but the live debuts of songs from Confessions prove that the DSC plans to continue the album oriented tradition begun in the golden age of rock.
Banter
was founded by Dan in Boston, MA, in the late 1990s and quickly became
a favorite of the Boston club scene and press, performing regularly
at such legendary venues as The
Middle East and TT the Bear's
in Cambridge, MA, CBGB
and Brownie's
in New York, and The Living
Room in Providence, RI. The band was frequently featured in Northeast
music magazines such as Metronome and The
Noise, the latter proclaiming "Springtime in February"
off of the 2002 release Urban Pastures
to be "the unofficial theme song of Central Square, de facto home
of the Boston music scene." Banter's music also graced the airwaves
of the Boston commercial radio stations such as WAAF-FM
and WBCN-FM and college stations
WERS-FM and WMLM-FM,
as well as being featured on New England Cable News.
Banter played a supposed final show in Somerville, MA in July of 2004, but at the 2009 Red Gorilla Music Festival in Austin, TX, Sheehan, longtime drummer Joe Smith, and former touring bassist Elizabeth Walsh performed DSC and Banter song as Dan Sheehan & the Banter All-Stars, paving the way for a full Banter reunion in August 2010 featuring Sheehan, Smith, guitarist Jeff G and bassist Doogie, who played their first show together in six years at TT the Bear's in Cambridge, MA. More Banter shows are planned for 2011.