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Deacon Blue
Background information
Origin	Glasgow, Scotland
Genres	Pop Rock Blues Alternative rock Pop rock
Years active	1985–1994 1999–present
Labels	Columbia Records Sony Music Entertainment Chrysalis Records
Associated acts	McIntoshRoss
Website	www.deaconblue.com
Members
Ricky Ross James Prime Lorraine McIntosh Dougie Vipond
Past members
Graeme Kelling Ewen Vernal

Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop band formed in Glasgow during 1985. Their name was taken from the title of the Steely Dan song "Deacon Blues".^[1] The band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond.

The band released their debut album, Raintown on 1 May 1987 in the United Kingdom. Their second studio album, When The World Knows Your Name (1989) topped the UK Album Charts for two weeks,^[2][3] and included "Real Gone Kid" which became their first UK top ten single.^[2][4] Deacon Blue released their fourth album, Whatever You Say, Say Nothing. Five years later, the band held a reunion gig, and this led on to a new album, Walking Back Home, with the band now working on a part-time basis. The band released another album, Homesick, in 2001.

Deacon Blue are confirmed to be recording new material for a 2012 release.^[5]

Career[link]

Overview[link]

The band released their debut album, Raintown on 1 May 1987 in the United Kingdom, it was released in the United States in February 1988. The album, widely praised as Deacon Blue's finest work, has the overtones of a concept album relating to the struggles of getting by in life in the inner city of urban life - the city being unmistakably Glasgow, referenced by the roots of the band and by the famous images on the cover of the album, the view of a rainy day over Glasgow's West End (with the Finnieston Crane featuring prominently) and, on the rear, a long-exposure capture of the Kingston Bridge blasting through the city centre at night.

Their second studio album, When The World Knows Your Name (1989) topped the UK Album Charts for two weeks,^[2][3] and included "Real Gone Kid" which became their first UK top ten single.^[2][4]

Deacon Blue released their fourth album, Whatever You Say, Say Nothing in 1993. Following Vipond's decision to quit the group in favour of a career in television, they split up in 1994. Five years later, the band held a reunion gig, and this led on to a new album, Walking Back Home, with the band now working on a part-time basis. The band released another album, Homesick, in 2001. Though Graeme Kelling died from pancreatic cancer in 2004, the band has continued in his absence and 2006 saw Deacon Blue returning to the studio to record three new tracks for a Singles album - including the track "Bigger than Dynamite". Deacon Blue are confirmed to be recording new material for a 2011 or 2012 release.^[5]

1985-1987: Formation[link]

Formed in 1985 following Ricky Ross's move from Dundee to Glasgow, Deacon Blue were one of the top-selling UK bands of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Along with Ross, the group consisted of Lorraine McIntosh, James Prime, Dougie Vipond, Ewen Vernal and Graeme Kelling.

Ross, a former school teacher originally from Dundee, was the group's frontman, penning the vast majority of Deacon Blue's songs. He married vocalist Lorraine McIntosh in the later years of the band's career. In 1986, the band contributed a track ("Take the Saints Away") to a compilation cassette entitled Honey at the Core, featuring then up-and-coming Glasgow bands, including Wet Wet Wet and Hue and Cry.

[edit] 1987-1989: Raintown and success

The band's debut album, Raintown, produced by Jon Kelly was released in 1987. It spawned the singles "Dignity", "Chocolate Girl" and "Loaded". The city that the album's title refers to is Glasgow and the cover art of the album is a photograph (by the Scottish-Italian photographer Oscar Marzaroli) of the River Clyde's docks taken from Kelvingrove Park. It proved a commercial success and has to date sold around a million copies, peaking in the UK album chart at 14 and remaining in the charts for a year and a half.

On 27 February 2006, Raintown was reissued as part of Columbia's Legacy Edition series. The reissue was expanded to 2 CDs. The first CD featured the original 11 track album. The second CD featured alternate cuts of all 11 album tracks, as well as the two original CD bonus tracks "Riches" and "Kings of the Western World". The new edition did not include the varied bonus cuts (remixes and b-sides) that were found on the singles from the album.

[edit] 1989-1991: When The World Knows Your Name and continued popularity

The second album, 1989's When the World Knows Your Name, was the band's most commercially successful, reaching No. 1 in the UK album charts and generating five UK top 30 hits, including "Real Gone Kid", "Wages Day", and "Fergus Sings the Blues" (all five singles from the album were top 10 hits in Ireland). However, music critics^[who?] began to criticise the band for pursuing commercial success over artistic integrity, citing the earlier achievements with Raintown.^{[citation needed]}

Ticket sales for shows in Glasgow's SECC in both May and December 1989 broke the world record at the time for the fastest sell-out.^{[citation needed]} The following year saw the band play in front of an estimated 250,000 fans at the free concert on Glasgow Green "The Big Day", which was held to celebrate Glasgow being named that year's European City of Culture. The band also played Glastonbury and the Roskilde festivals that summer, as well as released Ooh Las Vegas, a double album of B-sides, extra tracks, film tracks, and sessions which reached No. 3 in the UK album charts.

[edit] 1991-1993: Fellow Hoodlums, Whatever You Say, Say Nothing and Our Town - The Greatest Hits

Jon Kelly returned to the producer's chair in 1991 for the album Fellow Hoodlums. The album was met with more critical success^{[citation needed]} and peaked at No. 2 on the UK album charts.Fellow Hoodlums was followed up by 1993's Whatever You Say, Say Nothing, a much more experimental album. The album garnered critical praise, but was not as commercially successful as the previous two albums, peaking at No. 4 on the UK album charts. Changing from producer Jon Kelly to the team of Steve Osborne and Paul Oakenfold, this album presented a change in musical style for Deacon Blue. While the band's songwriting remained based in rock and blues, many of the tracks moved into alternative rock territory in their presentation.

The band embarked on another sold out UK tour in 1994, but not before recording new material for their greatest hits compilation Our Town. This saw the band return to No. 1 in the UK album charts and was one of the year's top sellers, while "I Was Right and You Were Wrong" and a re-release of "Dignity" saw the band re-enter the Top 20 singles chart. The album contains the previous singles from the band, minus "Closing Time" and "Hang Your Head". The album also contained three new tracks. "I Was Right and You Were Wrong", the first single from this album, was a pulsating Alternative rock track that continued and expanded the musical direction the band had taken with Whatever You Say, Say Nothing. "Bound to Love" and "Still in the Mood" were pop songs in the tradition of Deacon Blue's earlier albums. The vinyl LP version of the album contained a fourth new track, "Beautiful Stranger". "Dignity" was released, now for the third time, as the second single from the album.

1995-1999: Break-up and solo projects[link]

With Vipond's decision to quit the group in favour of a career in television, Deacon Blue split up in 1994. Five years later, the band held a reunion gig in 1999, and this led on to a new album, Walking Back Home, with the band now working on a part-time basis. The Walking Back Home album combines eight songs that were brand new compositions, previously unreleased tracks, or released only with limited availability, with nine previously released Deacon Blue songs. In this sense, it is not purely a studio album nor a typical compilation album. Because, however, Walking Back Home marked the beginning of a new period of reformation and activity for the group, it is a significant album in their catalogue. The band released another album, Homesick, in 2001.

Though Graeme Kelling died from pancreatic cancer in 2004, the band has continued in his absence and 2006 saw Deacon Blue returning to the studio to record three new tracks for a Singles album - including the track "Bigger than Dynamite".

2006-2012: Reunion[link]

The band performed at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium, as the pre-match entertainment for the Rugby League Super League Grand Final on the 14 October 2006, and continued on to a full UK tour in November. They were also due to open Stirling's New Year party in 2006, but this was cancelled at the last minute due to extreme weather. They did appear at Stirling's Hogmanay in 2008.

Deacon Blue appeared at The Homecoming Live Final Fling Show, at Glasgow's SECC on 28 November 2009, and headlined Glasgow's Hogmanay on 31 December 2009. On Monday, 13 September 2010, the official web site announced that Ross was busy writing brand new Deacon Blue material. The band will perform together as Deacon Blue playing in the Liverpool Echo Arena, on 29 July 2011.

Ross, who had released a solo album before the formation of Deacon Blue, released two solo albums during the time between Deacon Blue's breakup in 1994 and reformation in 1999. Due to Deacon Blue's part time status after reformation, Ross released additional solo albums in 2002 and 2005 and has written for and with other recording artists. In 2009 Ricky and Lorraine McIntosh recorded an album together under the name 'McIntosh Ross'. On 11 July 2011, Deacon Blue performed a free concert at the Tall Ships in Greenock, Scotland.

2012-present: New album[link]

In March 2012, Ricky began posting Facebook updates from the studio. He has confirmed that the band are working on a new album, due for release in the Autumn. The sessions are being produced by Paul Savage. In April 2012, Deacon Blue announced a 25th anniversary tour with tickets going on sale on 13 April.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Raintown (1987)
• When The World Knows Your Name (1989)
• Fellow Hoodlums (1991)
• Whatever You Say, Say Nothing (1993)
• Walking Back Home (1999)
• Homesick (2001)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Deacon Blue / Ricky Ross Site
• Deacon Blue live at Cornbury Music Festival UK July 2006

Dan Deacon
Dan Deacon in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Daniel Deacon
Also known as	Pardalince Bird
Born	(1981-08-28) August 28, 1981 (age 30))[1] West Babylon, New York, United States
Origin	Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Genres	Electronic, indie
Instruments	Vocals, wave function generators, keyboards, trombone, tuba, computer
Years active	2003—present
Labels	Domino Records, Carpark Records, Mistletone Records, Wildfire Wildfire Records, Psych-o-Path, Standard Oil Records, Comfort Stand Records
Associated acts	So Percussion, Health, No Age, Lightning Bolt, Jimmy Joe Roche,
Website	http://www.dandeacon.com
Members
Dan Deacon, Chester Gwazda, Denny Bowen, Dave Jacober, Jordan Kasey
Past members
William Cashion, Gerrit Welmers, Benny Boeldt, Andrew Bernstein, Ryan Syrell, Greg Fox, Kate Levitt, Sam Sowyrda, Stephe Cooper, Kevin O'Meara, Jeremy Hyman, Justin Frye, Andrew Burt, Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, Jason Treuting, Eric Beach
Notable instruments
Wavetek 30 Function Generator

Dan Deacon (born August 28, 1981) is an American composer and electronic musician based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Since 2003, Deacon has released eight albums under several different labels. Deacon also has a renowned reputation for his live shows, where large scale audience participation and interaction is often a major element of the performance.

Life and Education[link]

Dan was born and raised in the suburban Long Island, New York community of West Babylon. He graduated from Babylon High School in 1999 where he was a member of the local ska band Channel 59.^[2] He later attended the Conservatory of Music at State University of New York at Purchase in Purchase, New York where, in addition to performing his solo material, he played in many bands, including tuba for Langhorne Slim and guitar in the improvisational grindcore band Rated R, and had a small mixed chamber ensemble. He completed his graduate studies in electro-acoustic and computer music composition. He studied under composer and conductor Joel Thome and Dary John Mizelle.

In 2004 he moved to Baltimore, Maryland and moved into the Copycat Building and, along with friends from SUNY Purchase, formed Wham City, an arts and music collective.^[3]

Releases[link]

His first two albums as a solo artist, Meetle Mice and Silly Hat vs Egale Hat were released on CD-R on Standard Oil Records in 2003 while he was a student at SUNY Purchase. The albums are collections of both computer music and live recordings of ensemble pieces. They are markedly different from his first popular record, 2007's Spiderman of the Rings, in that they contain almost no tracks where Deacon sings or uses vocal manipulation. Most of the pieces are instrumentals or sound collages. He followed those two albums with a set of records made up of sine wave compositions. "Green Cobra is Awesome Vs The Sun" is a 42-minute piece consisting of of six slowly drifting sine waves. "Goose On The Loose" is a 60-minute piece featuring a Wavetek 180 signal generator being processed through a DigiTech Whammy and a Line 6 DL4.

His next two releases were the EPs Twacky Cats on Comfort Stand Recordings and Acorn Master on Psych-o-path Records. Spiderman of the Rings was Deacon's first commercially distributed full-length album, released by Carpark Records in May 2007.^[4] The album was well received^[5] and was included in the Best New Music section of Pitchforkmedia.com. The album was also ranked as number 24 on the website's "Top 50 Albums of 2007".^[6]

Ultimate Reality was released as a DVD in November 2007 and marked a return to composing music for others to perform. The pieces for percussion and electronics were performed by Jeremy Hyman of Ponytail and Kevin Omeara of Videohippos. The pieces were set to collaged and heavily altered video created by Deacon's long time friend and collaborator Jimmy Joe Roche.

Deacon's latest album entitled Bromst was released on March 24, 2009.^[7] It was produced by Chester Gwazda at Snow Ghost Studios in Whitefish, Montana and features live instruments including player piano and a variety of percussion instruments. The album was well received; Pitchfork gave it an 8.5/10, and it placed it into the "best new music" section.^[8] Bromst also ranked #46 in Pitchfork's Best Albums of 2009.^[9]

Contemporary Classical Work[link]

At the 2008 Bang on a can Marathon 'Ultimate Reality Part 3' was performed at 4:30am on June 1st, 2008.

In 2011 Deacon began to work more outside of the indie and pop music scenes and began working in the contemporary classical scene and film scoring.

On January 20, 2011, Dan Deacon and percussion quartet So Percussion premiered a new piece composed by Deacon titled "Ghostbuster Cook: Origin of the Riddler" at the Merkin Concert Hall in New York as part of the Ecstatic Music Festival. New York Magazine listed the performance as one of the top 10 classical music performances of 2011.^[10] 'Ghostbuster Cook' was also performed at The Barbican for the Steve Reich Reverberations Festival, May 7, 2001. On February 3 and 4 the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony conducted by Edwin Outwater premiered Deacons first orchestral works, "Fiddlenist Rim" and "Song of the Winter Solstice for orchestra and electronics".

On January 21, 2011 it was announced that Deacon would score the film Twixt by Francis Ford Coppola.

On August 1, 2011 "Purse Hurdler", a composition for a 27 person percussion ensemble, was premiered by the So Percussion Summer Institute at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City.

On March 2, 2012 Deacon performed with So Percussion at the Royal Academy Of Music in Tornto Canada. His compositions 'Take A Deep Breath' and 'Bottles' from 'Ghostbuster Cook: Origin of the Riddler' were performed.

On March 20, 2012 Deacon premiered a new composition for a chamber orchestra titled "An Opal Toad with Obsidian Eyes." The piece was premiered at the 2012 Ecstatic Music Festival and was performed by the Calder Quartet, NOW Ensemble and Deacon on electronics controlling a Disklavier player piano. The piece was met with positive reviews ^[11]

Deacon made his Carnegie Hall debut on March 26th as part of the Carnegie Hall’s American Mavericks series with So Percussion and Matmos. The concert was a tribute to composer John Cage to celebrate his 100th birthday. The program contained compositions by Cage and others influenced by the composer, including two works by Deacon, 'Take A Deep Breath' and 'Bottles' from 'Ghostbuster Cook: Origin of the Riddler.' This concert was also met with positive reviews. ^[12]

Live shows[link]

Dan Deacon is famed for his live shows.^[13] When playing solo he performs on floor level within the audience, his musical devices being set up on a low table, and surrounded by the crowd.

In stark contrast to Deacon's electronic performances, the Bromst tour was with a 14-person ensemble of members of various Baltimore bands including So Percussion, Future Islands, and Chester Gwazda. He was accompanied by various acts including Nuclear Power Pants. This tour is also notable for the musicians' use of a veggie oil powered bus.

In the summer of 2009, Dan Deacon went on tour with two other notable acts, Deerhunter, and No Age, on the "No Deachunter" tour.^[14]

In the fall of 2009, Dan Deacon was forced to cancel the small remainder of his North American tour, which included shows at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut due to health complications involving a battle with acute sciatica, all of which were rescheduled in winter of 2010.^[15]

Viral video[link]

Deacon recorded the track "Drinking out of Cups". In 2006, Liam Lynch created a video to accompany the piece. The compilation has been viewed more than 15 million times on YouTube.^[16] As the video spread, rumors of what the video was and how it was made quickly began forming. One popular rumor is that it is a recording of someone on LSD locked in a closet. Deacon has stated numerous times that this is not true.^[17]

Film composer and curator[link]

• Twixt (2011, with Osvaldo Golijov)
• Twixt (2010)
• Ultimate Reality (2008)

In September 2010 Dan Deacon collaborated with Jimmy Joe Roche at the Incubate festival in Tilburg, The Netherlands. While in residency there, Deacon and Roche worked on a new piece of video art. Material was shot at 't Schop, a farm in Hilvarenbeek, and in the area surrounding Tilburg. During the festival, the movie was shown at the farm before Deacon's performance.^{[citation needed]}

Together with Jimmy Joe Roche, Dan Deacon curates and hosts the Gunky's Basement Film Series, a Maryland Film Festival series of films that are favorites of these friends and collaborators.

Stage composer[link]

• Power Moves Forever Quest (2011, with Dan Breen, Josh Van Horne, Chase O'Hara)

Discography[link]

• A Green Giant Is Awesome vs. the Sun (single EP, 2003)
• Goose on the Loose (2003)
• Silly Hat vs. Egale Hat (2003)
• Meetle Mice (2003)
• Live Recordings 2003 (2004)
• Twacky Cats (Comfort Stand Records, 2004)
• Porky Pig (Standard Oil Records New Music Series, 2004)
• Acorn Master (Psych-o-Path Records, 2006)
• Spiderman of the Rings (Wildfire Wildfire, 2007)
• The Crystal Cat (7" single, Carpark Records, 2007)
• Ultimate Reality (soundtrack) (Carpark Records, 2008)
• Bromst (Carpark Records, 2009)
• America (Domino, August 27, 2012)

Media appearances[link]

• July 23, 2003: performed on WFMU
• February 21, 2004: performed again on WFMU
• February 2005: performed "Ohio" on WSAV, Savannah, GA's local NBC affiliate
• February 13, 2006: featured on Liam Lynch's podcast Lynchland. Portions of Deacon's song "Big Big Big Big Big" are also used for Lynchland's opening and closing credits on each episode.
• May 26, 2006: performed again on WFMU
• October 25, 2007: featured on Public Radio International's The Sound of Young America. [1]
• April 5, 2009: featured on National Public Radio's All Things Considered. [2]
• May 29, 2009: featured on American Public Media's Sound Opinions. [3]
• December 4, 2009: named artist of the year by The Athens Blur magazine in Athens, Georgia [4]
• February 12, 2011: performed for KRUI-FM website and logo launch party.

Charts[link]

• August 1, 2006: Acorn Master hits #162 on the CMJ Radio 200 charts.
• March 24, 2009: Bromst hits #199 on the Billboard Top 200 charts.

Awards[link]

• Silly Hat vs. Egale Hat #18 in Top 30 most played albums on WFMU in November 2003
• Meetle Mice Third Best Album of 2003 on Top Ten Albums by OCDJ
• Best Solo Performer 2005 Baltimore City Paper Critics Poll
• Best Solo Performer 2006 Baltimore City Paper Readers Poll
• Acorn Master #1 in Top 30 played albums on WFMU in July 2006
• Spiderman of the Rings named Best New Music on Pitchfork Media in May 2007 with a 8.7 rating
• Bromst named Best New Music on Pitchfork Media in March 2009 with a 8.5 rating
• Awarded "Best Awesome" by COOL! magazine
• Spiderman of the Rings named one of the best records of 2007 by CMJ New Music Monthly
• "Crystal Cat" Single listed in top 100 singles of 2007 by Rolling Stone magazine
• Spiderman of the Rings named one of the 25 best records of 2007 by Pitchfork Media

Festival appearances[link]

• SXSW 2007,2008, 2011, 2012 Austin, TX
• NXNW 2007, Portland, OR
• CMJ 2007, New York, NY
• Virgin Festival 2007, Baltimore, MD
• Pitchfork Music Festival 2007, Chicago, IL
• Laneway Festival 2008, Australia
• Coachella 2008, Indio, CA
• Future Days Festival 2008, Dublin, Ireland
• Dot to Dot 2008, UK
• Electric Picnic 2008, Ireland
• Sled Island Music Festival 2008, Calgary, AB Canada
• Bumbershoot 2008, Seattle, WA
• TIM Festival 2008, Brazil
• Fun Fun Fun Fest 2008, Austin, TX
• Langerado Festival 2008, Big Cypress, FL
• Fuck Yeah Fest 2008, Los Angeles, CA
• Golden Plains Festival 2009, Australia
• Transmodern Festival 2009, Baltimore, MD
• Primavera Sound, 2009, Barcelona, Spain
• Lollapalooza 2009, Chicago, IL
• Villette Sonique 2009, Paris, France
• Big Ears Music Festival, Knoxville, TN
• Treasure Island 2009, San Francisco, CA
• Campus A Low Hum, Bulls, New Zealand
• Transmediale 2010, Berlin, Germany
• MtyMx 2010, Monterrey, Mexico
• Sperm Festival, Prague, Czech Republic
• Donau Festival 2010, Krems, Austria
• Bonnaroo 2010, Manchester, TN
• Whartscape 2005-2010, Baltimore, MD
• Haldern Festival 2010, Germany
• Incubate 2010, The Netherlands
• High Zero 2010, Balitmore, MD
• Moogfest 2010, Asheville, NC
• Iceland Airwaves 2010, Iceland
• Ecstatic Music Festival 2011, NYC
• 35 Conferette 2011, Denton, TX
• SXSW 2011, Austin, TX
• Transmodern Festival 2009, 2011, Baltimore, MD
• B.O.M.B. Fest 2011, Hartford, CT
• OFF Festival 2011, Katowice, Poland
• Terraneo Festival 2011, Šibenik, Croatia
• La Route Du Rock 2011, Saint-Malo, France
• Fuck Yeah Fest 2011, Los Angeles, CA
• Rocktucket 2011, Pawtucket, RI
• Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011, Austin, Texas
• Moogfest 2011, Asheville, NC
• Southbound 2012, Australia
• Falls Festival, 2012, Australia
• Camp A Low Hum 2012, New Zealand
• 80/35 Music Festival 2012, Des Moines

Museum and Art institution performances[link]

• The Rose Art Museum, Waltham, MA USA, April 2012
• Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH USA, March 2012
• National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest, Romania, April 2010
• Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD USA, July 2009
• Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA USA, June 2009
• Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH USA, June 2009
• Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Detroit, USA, May 2009
• Fort Worth Museum of Art, Fort Worth, TX USA, April 2009
• The Hirshorn Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC USA, November 2008
• Detroit Museum of Modern Art, Detroit, MI USA, October 2008
• The Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA USA, July 2008
• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY USA, February 2008
• Model Arts Centre and Niland Gallery, Sligo, Ireland, December 2007
• Corcoran Museum, Washington, DC USA, November 2007
• The Walters Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD USA, February 2007

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dan Deacon

• Official website
  • Dan Deacon on Myspace
• Wham City video profile
• Dan Deacon interview for the New York Times
• Dan Deacon's electronic jungle — A June 2007 Associated Press interactive piece with Dan Deacon explaining his instruments.

• Dan Deacon: The New Face of Beauty' from State of Mind Winter 09
• Dan Deacon article April 2009
• Pitchfork article
• Music Towers article
• Muso's Guide live review - Fabric London
• Photo gallery of live performance
• Channel 59 official band website