The Damnwells

The Damnwells began as a complete ensemble in 2000 before coalescing around the compositions of Alex Dezen, whose fusion of alt-country and alternative pop/rock endured through repeated membership turnover. Brooklyn served as the initial base, where Dezen, once employed as a photo assistant, recruited former Whiskeytown drummer Steven Terry, bassist Ted Hudson, and guitarist Dave Chernis. A sequence of EPs refined the group’s identity and secured support slots on Cheap Trick’s tours. A short-lived arrangement with Portland’s In Music We Trust label permitted the re-release of an early EP, retitled PMR + 1 and augmented by one fresh track. The band next converted its Manhattan Mini Storage unit into a combined rehearsal and recording space, where Dezen’s measured, codeine-tinged ballads were paired with brisker rock numbers to complete Bastards of the Beat before the group signed with Epic Records.

Epic issued Bastards of the Beat in 2003 exactly as delivered, retaining both the original artwork and track order. When the Damnwells reconvened in the studio two years later they learned of their removal from the Epic roster, an episode later documented in the film Golden Days. After an extended stretch of indecision the band signed with Zoë/Rounder Records and delivered Air Stereo in late 2006. The album expanded the sonic range with lap steel, piano, and layered harmonies, while dates alongside the Fray introduced the music to wider audiences. Modest sales nevertheless triggered further lineup attrition. In 2008 Alex Dezen stated that the original roster had permanently disbanded. He subsequently entered the University of Iowa’s M.F.A. program and its Iowa Writers’ Workshop. At the same time he resumed recording with a reconstituted Damnwells that included drummer Andrew Ratcliffe, bassist Adrian Dickey, and producer/guitarist Freddy Wall. For the third album, One Last Century, Dezen bypassed traditional labels by partnering with Paste magazine to offer the record as a free digital download.

Dezen finished his Iowa Writers’ Workshop studies in 2010. That year the Damnwells, now centered on Dezen, original bassist Ted Hudson, and a changing cast of supporting musicians, initiated a pledge campaign on Pledgemusic.com to finance their next recording. The drive collected nearly $35,000, most of which funded the fourth studio album containing some of Dezen’s strongest material; No One Listens to the Band Anymore appeared in March 2011. In late 2013 the band returned to Pledgemusic.com to underwrite a fifth album, disclosing that the founding quartet of Alex Dezen, David Chernis, Ted Hudson, and Steven Terry would reunite for the sessions. The resulting self-titled release The Damnwells emerged in 2015.