The Deadmen + Vandaveer

$20 + Charges

Two of our favorite local bands rockin the 9:30 on a Saturday night in the district. Yes I am talking about The Deadmen and Vandaveer. Take a nap before you come because the door don't open until 8 pm so the bands won't start until 9ish. he Deadmen, consists of Justin Jones, Josh Read, and Justin Hoben. And eqally entertaining in our book is the DC based indie alt-folk band Vandaveer which is lead by singer-songwriter Mark Charles Heidinger.

Bios:

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/6/2/e/0/600_387685312.jpeg The Deadmen

2014 marks the start of an exciting period for emerging Washington, DC folk-rock collective The Deadmen. Riding high on a swell of attention in their nation's capital, the band released their debut EP on March 18th to enthusiastic reviews.

The Deadmen’s surging appeal stems from the deft songwriting and shared vocals of Josh Read, Justin Jones and Justin Hoben. “I think we all have quite different writing styles, different ways of chewing the bone,” says Read. “No matter how close circumstance seems, we’re all going through different things.” And yet, the three compliment each other to stunning affect; painting an American landscape of clattering thunder, gentle rains and shards of light.

A follow-up 7" record, featuring the tracks Crystal and Sunday Afternoons, is set for a May release. Complimented by John Hutchins on bass and Mike Smirnoff on drums, The Deadmen will perform select dates in the U.S. and tour the U.K. this summer ahead of their much anticipated full-length release. “We have more than enough material,” says Hoben. “We’ll be bringing the music to the people, one way or another.

Vandaveer

VANDAVEER is the song-singing, record-making, globetrotting project penned and put forth by alt-folk tunesmith Mark Charles Heidinger. Born in Ohio, raised in Kentucky, and currently camped out in the nation’s capital, Vandaveer offers up melodic Americana that is both haunting and easy, forlorn and welcoming, with stories as universal as the songs they inhabit. Vandaveer shapeshifts from studio to stage and back with a revolving cast of characters, most prominent among them Rose Guerin, offering up the loveliest harmonies heard this side of Eden.

What started as a solo side project for Heidinger in 2007 blossomed into something more dimensional a year later, with Guerin adding new depth and color to Vandaveer’s sound. The two were integral members of DC’s Federal Reserve collective, a ramshackle group of folk and not-so-folk types alike curating monthly musical happenings throughout the DC area. Informal collaborations in that environment soon galvanized, with Guerin’s voice becoming a reliable fixture in Vandaveer. The band has toured regularly on both sides of the Atlantic since, playing nearly 500 shows, steadily building a diverse fan base from the ground up.

Vandaveer’s third full length, Dig Down Deep, offers a collage of churning rhythms, steady guitar and ringing piano beneath tales of war and impermanence, loss and love. The music serves as both mirror and platform for Vandaveer’s stories—booming bass drum during moments of turmoil and conquest, throaty cello in moments of peace and predation, trembling keys in moments of uncertainty and hope. Out of the mosaic rise two voices in perfect harmony narrating and navigating the lives of Vandaveer’s characters with confidence and grace. With rich lyrical imagery and lush, spectral production courtesy of long-time collaborator Duane Lundy, Dig Down Deep is Vandaveer’s finest effort to date — a record both dense and direct, for and from the heart.