The Dismemberment Plan

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Biography

The Dismemberment Plan is a Washington D.C. based indie rock band formed on January 1, 1993. Also known as D-Plan or The Plan , the name comes from a stray phrase uttered by insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the popular comedy Groundhog Day (film)|Groundhog Day .Hearon, Liza. Retrieved on October 6|2006-10-06 . The band members included Eric Axelson ( bass guitar|bass ), Jason Caddell ( guitar ), Joe Easley ( Drum kit|drums ) and Travis Morrison ( Singing|vocals and guitar ). Axelson, Caddell, Morrison and original drummer Steve Cummings formed the band while attending various Northern Virginia high schools (Axelson, Cummings, and Morrison attended Lake Braddock Secondary School together in Burke, Virginia ). Cummings left the band after the recording of the Plan's debut album & #33; (album)|! and was replaced by Easley, who had attended Woodson High School . That cemented the band's lineup for the rest of its existence.

Band history

Aside from a brief interlude in 1998 and 1999 when they were signed by Interscope Records , the band recorded for local label DeSoto Records . Their breakthrough album, Emergency & I , was actually created during their time at Interscope. However, they were dropped from the label shortly after its completion, and thus took it back with them to DeSoto, where it wound up being released. The Extended play|EP for "The Ice of Boston" is the only item of theirs Interscope actually released during their tenure there. The band somehow managed to avoid being in debt to the label, effectively being able to record on a major label budget with no consequence. The band referred to their situation in a later interview as "slipping through the cracks".

Following the massive underground success of Emergency & I , the band received an even higher profile after being invited to open for the European leg of Pearl Jam|Pearl Jam's 2000 tour. A co-headlining tour in 2002 with Death Cab for Cutie (cheekily called the "Death and Dismemberment Tour") also worked well to raise both bands' profiles and cross-pollinate their fanbases, as well as forge creative ties between several members. Later that summer and fall the Dismemberment Plan started to debut songs for their follow-up to 2001's Change (The Dismemberment Plan album)|Change . In 2002 the band put all the music tracks from their last two albums on their website, encouraging fans to remix the songs. The result was 2003's '' A People's History of the Dismemberment Plan ''. On January 19, 2003, however, the band announced on their website that they had decided to break up after a few tours that year. A final show was planned for July 28, 2003 in Washington D.C. 's famous outdoor show space, Fort Reno Park . However come show-time a heavy rain threatened to damage their electronic equipment and drove off all but the most devoted fans, leading the band to add one more final show. On September 1, 2003, they closed out their career with a sold-out show at the renowned 9:30 Club , dubbed the "one last slice" show. Morrison took the post- Change songs with him for further work, and released many of them on his first album, Travistan , released in 2004. Eric Axelson started a band called Maritime (band)|Maritime with former members of The Promise Ring . They released three albums: Glass Floor in 2004, We, the Vehicles in 2006, and Heresy and the Hotel Choir in 2007.

On March 1, 2007, the band announced they would be playing a one-and-off reunion show on Saturday, April 28, 2007 at Washington D.C. 's venerable The Black Cat (nightclub)|Black Cat nightclub. The event was a Charity (practice)|charity concert benefiting Callum Robbins, son of J. Robbins , frontman for DeSoto Records labelmate Jawbox . Fan reaction to the decision was overwhelmingly positive, and tickets to the concert sold out within minutes of being offered online. In response to the high demand for tickets, a second show was announced for April 27. Travis Morrison has stated that the band probably won't be getting back together, "except to drink beer". ( http://www.travismorrison.com)

On September 13, 2010, The Washington Post 's Click Track reported that the band would reunite for a tour, in support of Barsuk Records ' reissue of 1999s Emergency & I . "We're not planning a new record," bassist Eric Axelson told Click Track. "But we're doing these shows and taking it day to day after that." http://blog.washingtonpost.com/clicktrack/2010/09/dismemberment_plan_to_reunite.html

Musical style

While drawing heavily from previous Washington-based art- punk rock|punk acts such as Fugazi and Jawbox , the Dismemberment Plan were significant for incorporating rhythm and blues|R& B (in stage banter, Morrison often talked of his obsession with Gladys Knight ) and Hip hop music|hip-hop influences to their sound. Influential indie rock criticism website Pitchfork Media has called them the fathers of the late-1990s/early-2000s dance-punk movement, which in turn fostered the current New Wave music|New Wave revival. Ironic humor was also a major component of the band's aesthetic, as displayed in songs such as "The Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich" ( Dismemberment Plan/Juno ) and "The Ice of Boston" ( ...Is Terrified ).

Performances

The Dismemberment Plan's live shows were generally high-energy affairs, with Morrison frequently inviting audience members to dance on stage during "The Ice of Boston." One of the band's most iconic songs, "Do the Standing Still," mocked indie rock fans for their reluctance to move during even the band's most frenetic performances, though Morrison himself would occasionally discourage fans from moshing.

The band toured Japan four times and Europe twice, along with many tours of North America.

Discography

;Studio albums

& #33; (album)|! (1995)

The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified (1997)

Emergency & I (1999)

Change (The Dismemberment Plan album)|Change (2001)

;Live albums

(2011)

;EPs

Can We Be Mature? (1994)

The Ice of Boston (1998)

Juno & The Dismemberment Plan (Split EP) (2000)

;Compilations

Give Me the Cure (1996)

Ooh Do I Love You (1996)

Fort Reno Benefit (1997)

'' A People's History of the Dismemberment Plan (2003)

;Singles

"The Ice of Boston" (1997)

"What Do You Want Me to Say? " (1999)

Members

Eric Axelson (as of 10/11/06) Recently ended a two-year stint playing bass in Maritime (band)|Maritime , which featured with Davey and Dan from The Promise Ring . Justin Klug will take over his bass duties, although he appears on the band's second album We, the Vehicles . Axelson currently lives in Washington D.C. and in mid-2006 joined a band with Easley called .

Jason Caddell (as of 2/4/09) After a brief stint writing and performing short instrumental pieces for use in small-time films, Caddell has settled as an in-studio producer, mixer and engineer. He is currently working on the new Pash record (www.pashband.com) at Inner Ear Studios and Silver Sonya Studios in Arlington, VA. More info can be found at . Caddell currently plays guitar in the band Poor But Sexy with David Brown, Brandon Kalber, David Durst and Bruce Falconer.

Joe Easley (as of 04/11/07) successfully completed his Bachelor of Science|BS in Aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park . Musically, he is currently playing in a new D.C.-based band with Axelson called .

Travis Morrison (as of 1/25/10) "No shows, no records, no band. Just relaxing in Brooklyn." http://travismorrison.com/

Steve Cummings (as of 04/16/07) is married to Eric's sister and is the father of three girls - they live in Richmond, Va. Steve works for a PR firm and writes and directs videos for various organizations.

Copyright Citations

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