Biography
Face Dancer emerged from a tangle of conflicting impulses, taking shape initially at the University of Rhode Island around 1974 before settling in Washington, D.C., where a broader college rock audience awaited the unfolding of their wide-ranging, often opposing influences. Those influences drew from the gritty resilience of classic hard rock, the cerebral aspirations of progressive rock—the band’s name itself lifted from Frank Herbert’s Dune novels, though not without a possible nod to more carnal connotations—and the concise, radio-friendly melodies of power pop. After repeated personnel shifts and innumerable low-paying shows, the group secured a deal with Capitol Records, dispatching Carey Kress on vocals, Jeff Adams on lead guitar, David Utter on rhythm guitar, Scott McGinn on bass, and Bill Trainor on drums to Los Angeles to cut their debut, This World, under producer Richie Wise, whose credits already included Kiss and Savoy Brown. The resulting tracks referenced Bad Company, Cheap Trick, Queen, the Knack, the Bay City Rollers, and the Beatles alike, yet despite reaching number 35 on the Billboard album chart, none of its singles secured national radio play. Capitol likewise appeared uncertain how to position such a stylistically diverse act, a problem compounded when both Kress and Utter departed shortly after the 1980 recording of the follow-up, About Face. The remaining members persisted with the addition of singer and keyboardist Mike Milsap, but the label ultimately dropped them. A subsequent shift toward a softer sound further distanced their Baltimore-area supporters, and by 1983 the band had dissolved. A makeshift lineup reconvened in 1990 for the independent release Midnite Raid, an album that remains exceedingly scarce, while another configuration later issued the 2003 live document Alive. Occasional stage reunions over the years, like these later recordings, have drawn interest from only a limited circle of devotees, most of whom trace their allegiance to the band’s earlier, unrealized promise on Capitol.
Albums