Folk-rock group the Dreamscapes Project originated in Reston, VA, once Keith Center and Jeremy Rodgers first crossed paths at George Mason University in 1997. Influences from Dave Matthews Band, Days of the New, and Soul Coughing guided the duo, who then welcomed Ed Bizzell on drums and Donna Griffith on violin before unveiling their opening release, Focusing the Madness, in 1999. Bizzell and Griffith later exited, after which Dave Clark came aboard and Ben Guy’s cello supplanted the violin role, producing a modest adjustment in the ensemble’s texture. That configuration yielded the Dreamscapes Project’s debut live set, A Lot More Colors in My World, in 2002. Clark stepped away after the 2005 album There Are No Safe Words appeared, opening the way for Gordon Shankman on drums and Eric Sanford on percussion. Mounting interest soon drew producer Ted Comerford along with engineers Jeff Juliano and Paul Hager into the sessions for Pity in a Heartbeat, issued by Figmental Records in 2007.
