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...Balances the strife with genuine teen believing that might just help save this decade
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Ignore the drug leaflet/PSA spelling: punctuation’s accidental with the Don’ts & Be Carefuls. Clearl...Ignore the drug leaflet/PSA spelling: punctuation’s accidental with the Don’ts & Be Carefuls. Clearly incensed by the work hours they’ve missed due to compulsory Office Orientation training, the DBCs have put out Risk Assessment, a debut EP that’s “a six-song block of accessible yet complex danceable plastique with a grit reminiscent of the Pixies.” The DBCs do a mighty fine job of capturing that band’s early vitriol—“Color TV” even harks back to the zeitgeist of their Surfer Rosa (1988) glory days. And yet there’s an original shimmer to the track; enough guts to lift it from imitator horseplay and let it overtake Big Frank on the water (he and his mind are still swimming in the Caribbean).
The “Color TV” of the title is the thick ear you might get from asking dad for a channel change—only this time, you get to return his “If you don’t like the racing you can piss off up to the park” tied to a wasps’ nest of new wave. The Deep Purple bass line, the kick drum akin to a hatchback from hell, and the feedback guitar line from a bag of walkie-talkies all spearhead one mean batch of weaponry, the voice like graffiti on the side of a launch tube as it pumps off bombs into the desert. ““All your friends, all your friends / Just want to start a scene / Well Mary-Anne will hold her head up high / ‘Cos she’s done this once before / Friends crawled on the floor / All she ever did was save your sorry life,” howls Casey Banker, the rabbit-punch percussion and volleyball hooks echoing fellow youngsters the Drums—but only if they’d been mugged a couple of times first. Regardless of Pixie/Drum yardsticks, “Color TV” comes only mildly dressed in misogyny, and balances the strife with genuine teen believing that might just help save this decade. It’s January. There’s time. Let’s go surfing.
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Wild-serious demeanor
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About a year ago, The Don’ts and Be Carefuls won Scene’s Battle of the Bands. Not to imply that we g...About a year ago, The Don’ts and Be Carefuls won Scene’s Battle of the Bands. Not to imply that we gave the dance punk foursome the push it needed, but things have been going swimmingly since then: they moved out of Greeley, set up in Denver, opened for HEALTH and ran the bases with the local music press.
With the release of their debut EP, Risk Assessment, the party shuffles on. Intricate arrangement gives DBC’s its edge, but their youthful energy makes them a highly accessible listen. Take opener “Simple Miracles:” herky-jerky guitar hooks spring up from feedback, rooted on the proper pounding of long-haired drummer Luke Hunter James-Erickson. His wild-serious demeanor is on display here as much as it is in the live show, a fitting character of his group’s sound.
“The New World” and “Color TV” contain flashes of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, brought on somewhere between keyboardist Tom Wallingford’s pop touch and vocalist/guitarist Casey Banker’s yelping.
But simple comparisons end with “You’ve Been Warned,” a spazerific standout all of DBC’s own, with church organ synths colliding into frantic drums and prickly guitar. Fitted in nicely at the end is the electro march of “!Prole Power!” and the ska-speckled “Insomnia.”
Sharp despite being stuffed with spunk, Risk Assessment rings in a new decade in the Colorado music scene. How sweet the sound.
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They had the entire place jumping ...
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Casey Banker may be one of the busiest musicians in Denver right now. In addition to fronting the lo...Casey Banker may be one of the busiest musicians in Denver right now. In addition to fronting the local up-and-coming band the Don’ts and Be Carefuls (DBCs), Banker is also a member of the Outfit, another band currently riding pretty high on the scene. But it’s The DBCs popularity that may get a significant boost now, after their EP release party last Friday night at the Meadowlark. If their short, super-tight set is and indication of their future, both the band the Denver scene stand to gain from an exciting and loving relationship from here on out.
Besides Banker, the four member lineup includes Luke Hunter James-Erickson on drums, Cody Witskin on bass and vocals and Tom Wallingford on keyboards, and all four of them have melded into an almost seamless union with each other to form a welcome addition to the Denver scene. Their set at the Meadowlark was full of danceable, fun and poppy tunes that were also accomplished and just a bit complex. In a word, it’s challenging, and the crowd loved it.
They played most, if not all, of their six song EP in front of tightly packed crowd that had just enjoyed an exciting set from Josephine & the Mousepeople — who, truthfully, most of the crowd was likely there to see. Those that stayed fro DBCs, however, were no doubt pleasantly surprised.
The quartet immediately laid out a tight mix of Television-style guitar riffs and Pixies’ chord progressions, lace with more than a hint of the Elephant Six collective’s sound (Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, etc.). They had the entire place jumping from the feedback-drenched beginning of “Simple Miracles,” also the opening track on the band’s new EP, to the fantastic “Prole Power,” with its unavoidable backing guitar, thick with delay and cotton candy melody, near the end.
Their presence showed off a steel-like grip on pop-punk rhythms and melodies, and while many readers may draw a too-easy comparison to Denver’s now-defunct Hot IQs (Bryan Feuchtinger, bassist for the trio, engineered the DBC’s EP), the reality is that the music DBCs is playing, while similarly complex, inspires a more palpable shock and becomes immediately addictive.
A case in point was “You’ve Been Warned,” easily the coolest song on the EP. They saved that one for the encore, and for good reason. Besides its accomplished race-car guitar riffs and catching rhythms, the song sported a thick resemblance to some of the best Buzzcocks tunes. And with Banker’s “Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-warned!” howls in the chorus, it showed a bit of an Otis Redding hook.
It’s no shock that DBCs are gaining a following, and quickly. As Banker said in a recent interview: “We want to play music that is crazy fun, but also has some substance to it. We want people to have so much fun they shake where they stand.”
With their energy and pop-punk sensibility, that seems like it’ll be an easy task.
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catchy, thrash-while-you-stomp-and-giggle
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Officially a band for just under two years (and a significant part of that time was spent finishing ...Officially a band for just under two years (and a significant part of that time was spent finishing school up in Greeley), Denver’s The Don’ts and Be Carefuls are quickly racking up a live history that many local bands would die for. In that short time, they’ve shared the stage with bands like Hot IQs, Tapes ‘N Tapes, Mumiy Troll and HEALTH, to name a few, and they’re already throwing an EP Release party Friday night, December 4, at Meadowlark.
Not to say they sound alike – well, maybe a little (I wouldn’t be surprised to find that their sheet music shared similar coffee stains) – but Hot IQs corpse has barely quit steaming, and with The DBCs, Denver’s already faced with a suitor more than capable of helping us to move out of mourning, and back on to the dance floor. This band’s catchy thrash-while-you-stomp-and-giggle style is bound to prick up more than a few dozen ears after Friday night, and should be well on its way into the local scene’s psyche by the time the weekend’s over.
The new EP titled “Risk Assessment” - the band’s first official release – is a six-song block of accessible yet complex danceable plastique with a grit reminiscent of Pixies from “Come On Pilgrim” (there are times you can’t help but imagine a young Steve Albini in the studio, showing guitarist Casey Banker JUST the RIGHT way to pound a fist on the guitar neck to get JUST the right reverb screech). It’s also full of some very missed melodic, punky guitar virtuosity a la Television, and gives a definitive nod to the Elephant Six Collective, particularly Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel.
The DBC's Luke Hunter James-Erickson onstage. (Photo: MySpace)
This aspect of DBC’s sound isn’t by chance, as drummer Luke Hunter James-Erickson explained during a recent interview with DenverThread:
“Despite the fact there are so many other amazing bands in the collective, when you talk E6, you can’t help but think of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Areoplane Over the Sea.” We all love that record, so there’s no doubt that its sound has, if even slightly, seeped into our sound. We don’t, however, draw direct and specific influence from that or other E6 records, despite the admiration we hold for bands like Dressy Bessy and Of Montreal. ”
The Pixies influence also comes as very secondary, says James-Erickson: “Initially we were really interested in the infectious nature of bands like LCD Soundsystem, Death From Above 1979, and the Rapture, but also really interested in the compositions brought forth by bands like Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown.”
Ultimately, the band’s sonic interest is in pure, energetic, danceable fun. “We want to play music that is crazy fun, but also has some substance to it. We want people to have so much fun they shake where they stand,” said James-Erickson.
And that’s just about what happens after only a cursory listening to a few of the six tracks on “Risk Assessment.” A perfect example – and perhaps the highlight of the record – is “You’ve Been Warned,” and a more head-banging and waist-snapping pop piece of weighty treacle you’re not likely to find anywhere else. Casey Banker’s passionate “. . . whu-whu-whu-whu-whu-whu-warrrrned!” pounds furiously with the precise weight of a doctor’s reflex mallet, directly on your own spine’s earthquake button, and the non-stop quiver spreads quickly over the entire body from there. Just try not to stop and wag your jaw along after your first listen, I dare you.
Casey Banker is "Wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh . . ." warning you. (Photo: MySpace)
“Simple Miracles,” the record opener, starts off with a mini-feedback symphony, and builds into a mix of hardcore and indy distortion that recalls as much Duran Duran and Devo as MGMT. And talk about infectious. This beat is liable to cause seizures . . . .
I’ll stop here and save the rest of the surprise for you to get for yourself, at the show Friday night, or at Wax Trax or iTunes.
Besides James-Erickson on drums and Banker on lead vocals and guitar, the group includes Cody Witskin on bass and Tom Wallingford on keyboards, and DenverThread asked a few more questions in an email interview in anticipation of the show this weekend:
DenverThread: What’s the story behind the name? lovely and catchy, if grammatically quixotic . . .?
The Don’ts and Be Carefuls: “When Luke and Casey started the band in early 2008, they were looking for a name that would be both inviting and unique, but also very playful. Being a bit of a film buff, Luke suggested taking the street name for an old standards and practices code, a list known as “The Don’ts and Be Carefuls.” Casey liked the ring to it, so the name was set.”
“We want to play music that is crazy fun, but also has some substance to it. We want people to have so much fun they shake where they stand.”
- The Don’ts and Be Carefuls
DT: with The DBCs, Vitamins, The Outfit (with whom Baker also plays) & more all recently coming from Greeley, and sporting an essentially similar (though by no means alike) sound, how would you classify the scene up there? Is the reason you’re all moving to Denver proof that Greeley can’t, or doesn’t, support the locals as much? Or are there other reasons?
DBCs: “Our presence in Greeley was essentially happenstance. Greeley was just the place we all moved to and lived at for a time, due to school. Honestly, we never really felt completely at home calling ourselves a Greeley band before moving down to Denver, because we mostly played shows in Denver. We would play Greeley often enough, but we didn’t really have much of a market in Greeley, people weren’t really interested in the kind of music we were playing. The bands that do really well in that scene are reggae bands, modern rock bands, and metal bands, and, though we had a bit of a following, because of our sound we couldn’t really find a strong foothold among the community. That wasn’t for lack of support from one of the main venues up there though. Ely Corliss and Eric Riley of The Crew Presents were really supportive of our sound. They would book us as often as they could to play at the venues they run or for their music festivals, which we will always be thankful for. Despite their efforts though, we felt that a move to Denver would be best, so after Luke graduated the band officially moved down to Denver.”
The DBCs Tom Wallingford (Phot: MySpace)
DT: I’ve seen relations to Elephant Collective bands (Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel) in notes about your style. Any method to that? Just coincidence? Or is there/was there a similar song-trading “club” up in Greeley, maybe loosely based on the E6 Collective?
DBCs: “We’ve always wanted to be a part of a song-trading club/collective of some sort, being fans of the community atmosphere, but we were fairly singular up in Greeley, with only a few “friend bands” such as Lungs They Burn, Lil’ Slugger, and Ft. Collins’ Pep*Squad and now defunct Something Like Symmetry. Now that we’re in Denver, we’re definitely going to be looking to become a part of the community. Luckily we’ve already had a good start, befriending bands we love such as Josephine and the Mousepeople, 900 Ancestors, I Sank Molly Brown, the Kissing Party, and Alan Alda. We’re more “acquaintance bands” than “friend bands” with some, but the great thing is that everyone we play with is incredibly friendly, so it’s like we’ve always been around, having fun and playing shows. We really admire collectives like Hot Congress and the whole Rhinoceropolis crew, as well as the New Denver Folk kids. We’re just hoping to find our place.”
DT: I hear quite a bit of “Come On Pilgrim” Pixies in the EP – in timbre and vocal “ummph,” and a little “Surfer Rosa,” though you seem to have added a priority to dance beats & rythms – which I think makes a great, almost “This is the best remix EVER” feel to the EP. Kudos. What other influences could you throw in there?
DBCs: “Like with the E6 bands, there are just some things that you can help but be influenced by, and the Pixies are definitely one of those things for us. We love them, but don’t draw specifically from their sound. Initially we were really interested in the infectious nature of bands like LCD Soundsystem, Death From Above 1979, and The Rapture, but also really interested in the compositions brought forth by bands like Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown. Our goal is pretty simple: Serious Fun. We want to play music that is crazy fun, but also has some substance to it. We want people to have so much fun they shake where they stand.”
DT: How much did Bryan Feuchtinger help with the sound for the EP? I feel the relationship is strong – any rough spots? Or did Bryan swoop you off your feet and merely point you in the right direction? Or any of that?
DBCs: “Bryan was an asset from day one. Without his guidance and expertise our record would have been a very different thing indeed. Bryan was absolutely the best person to work with, even as things were dragging on. Starting in December of last year, we spent about 6 months off and on trying to get the record to sound just right, going in every other weekend or so, and Bryan really helped us realize what we were capable of, and want we wanted. We came in with the songs written, and Bryan helped us flesh them out. We’re just now releasing it because we finally got enough money together to do a first pressing – haha!”
The DBCs' Cody Witskin (Photo: MySpace)
DT: What’s your perception/vision of the Denver Scene, and your prediction over the next 3 – 5 years?
DBCs: “The Denver Scene seems like it’s been is a scattered group of collectives that, while they all have their intertwining members, have been pretty exclusive to their own groups. Over the past few years it seems like the groups have been mixing and becoming less scattered, which we think is fantastic. We think the Denver Scene will keep going this way, growing and gleaning influence from one another. There will still be shows that are exclusively folk or punk or noise, but there will be more shows that have bands playing amalgamations of every genre and style, which is something we’re incredibly excited for.”
DT: When considering your vote on next year’s DPUMS panel, what are your top 5 at this moment?
DBCs: in no order: Married in Berdichev!, Joesephine and the Mousepeople, Effector!, I Sank Molly Brown, BDRMPPL.
Catch The Don’ts and Be Carefuls this Friday, December 4th (TONIGHT) at Meadowlark, along with Josephine & the Mousepeople, I Sank Molly Brown and Lungs they Burn, starting at 8PM.
Catch a full review of the show on Denver Post Reverb in coming days!
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The latest in a long line of noteworthy bands
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The latest in a long line of noteworthy bands from the unlikely creative breeding ground of Greeley,...The latest in a long line of noteworthy bands from the unlikely creative breeding ground of Greeley, The Don’ts and Be Carefuls (due at the Meadowlark on Thursday, May 21) have been making their mark on audiences since spring 2008. Putatively a dance-punk band, these guys have gone beyond that well-worn genre. With their youthful exuberance and refreshingly innocent songwriting, even early on the Be Carefuls had more in common with the eccentric pop sensibilities of Jonathan Richman than the ultra-catchy bastard children of post-punk that have plagued us the last several years. The fact that the group doesn’t stick to one type of pacing, texture and mood, even within the context of a single song, sets it apart from its obvious musical kin. This is one band that’s as playful as it is compelling.
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Tapes N’ Tapes @ The Fox 1.17.09
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While I really enjoyed Tapes n’ Tapes set, I’ve got to take a moment to mention the opener, because ...While I really enjoyed Tapes n’ Tapes set, I’ve got to take a moment to mention the opener, because they might have been the highlight of the night. They hail from Greeley, CO, and as opposed as I usually am to the local music around this joint, I was totally blown away. As a loyal Tokyo Police Club fan, understand the full gravity of what I say when I say The Don’ts and Be Carefuls sounded a lot like them, except better, because they are just slightly less poppy, a lot more intense, and I think more technically talented on their instruments. They haven’t dropped an album yet, but as soon as they do I’ll be doing a full post on them. For now, click on the link on their band name and stream a few songs off of their myspace.
Post Edit: and I ended up chatting with their drummer, keyboardist, and vocalist on seperate occasions after they played. Super chill guys, they deserve every bit of success they have comin’ to em. Here’s a couple photos of the guys from another gig I thought were cool from their myspace. The first is their vocalist, the second is their drummer, who was way sick, and I actually talked to him a bit longer than the other guys.
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The Don'ts and Be Carefuls Win Scene Magazine's 17th Annual Battle of the Bands
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For New Comers The Don'ts and Be Carefuls who are based out of Greeley, winning the Battle of the Ba...For New Comers The Don'ts and Be Carefuls who are based out of Greeley, winning the Battle of the Bands was far from their mind. They were just happy for the opportunity to play a show with so many Great Local bands, said Luke Hunter James-Erickson, drummer for the band.
With their obvious instrumentation skills, vocal talent, catchy beats, and originality of songs, The Don'ts and Be Carefuls did win, and rightfully so. They received 10 hours of recording time from Pig Pen Studios in Fort Collins, as well as the opportunity to book shows around town. The band hasn't yet discussed how they are going to use their time at Pig Pen, but they know they want to make as many quality recordings as they can.
The Be Carefuls have only been playing together for six months, but in that short time they have developed a sound of their own. When asked how to classify their personal genre of music, the band had to stop and think for a minute. "We've been calling ourselves 'dance punk,'" Luke said, but that title was up for discussion. "It's really hard to define your own genre of music, " said Tom Wallingford, Keyboardist for the band. Personally, I thought they had a Clap Your Hands Say Yeah vibe going on, but call it what you want ... the band still rocks.
During their set, the Be Carefuls showed their versatility in musical styles. Though all of their songs were up beat, the musicians proved to the audience how talented they were. Lead singer and guitarist, Casey Banker expertly mixed solid guitar melodies without sacrificing the quality of his vocals. In fact, Casey's vocals are part of what makes this band so special. He has a unique sound that goes well with the other instruments but still can hold its own and get people dancing.
But one of the great parts about this band is that all of the musicians play their instruments so that the band would not be complete without everyone else. Interestingly, each member of the band comes from very different musical background. Luke, the drummer, listened to a lot of death metal in high school, he said. Tom, the keyboardist and beat-boxer comes from a hip-hop background, while Cody Witskin, the bassist played in punk and ska bands previous to the Be Carefuls. "We put a lot of effort in making everything sound good together," Cody said. "We need each other."
Though the band has not been together very long, every member has really focused on improving as quickly as possible, they said. "We're always playing," Luke said. The band practices at least two hours per day and since forming this past summer, the Be Carefuls have played around 17 shows, with several more booked for December.
One thing is for certain, The Don'ts and Be Carefuls is definitely a local band to watch. ... - Kelli Pryor
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Live Review: HEALTH at Rhinoceropolis
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Greeley’s the Don’ts and Be Carefuls seem to embody a similar artistic outlook as its scenemates in ...Greeley’s the Don’ts and Be Carefuls seem to embody a similar artistic outlook as its scenemates in Lil’ Slugger: Be wildly original and weird yet accessible. A quartet with the usual intrumentation, the act was flanked by two cute dancer girls that looked like came directly from an avant garde ballet class move to their music. It was sort of a noisy, danceable post-punk thing with low-end synth to bolster the presence of the songs. Before the outfit’s last song, the lead singer said, “We don’t deserve this, this is our third show,” acknowledging the band’s presence on such a high profile bill. As good and interesting as these guys were, though, such modesty will soon be unnecessary. - Tom Murphy
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Who's Making Noise: The Don’ts And Be Carefuls
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This is one of those bands that as soon as you hear them you know you’re hearing something special. ...This is one of those bands that as soon as you hear them you know you’re hearing something special. Coming at you with a clever, high-energy, post ‘80s Pop/Punk with a dash of Ska for flavor – they’ll take you by surprise, leave you breathless, and looking for more. If you think you’ve heard the sound before, don’t be fooled until you’ve heard their brand of music. The band was formed five or six months ago, they think, (guys and dates, we never seem to remember the important ones), by drummer Luke Hunter James-Erickson and singer/guitarist Casey Banker, joined later by keyboardist Tom Wallingford and bassist/trombonist (yes, trombone) Cody Witsken. These lads have been hard at work crafting a repertoire of original songs and an act that is a pure adrenaline rush on stage. They’ve cut a demo single, “You’ve Been Warned,” which you can hear on MySpace, and are ready to go into the studio to cut two, four-song EPs.
I caught up with the band at Scene Magazine’s 17th Annual Battle of the Bands at The Cork in Fort Collins, and chatted for a while. They love what they’re doing; they’re enjoying the ride and are extremely humble about the attention they are drawing, “Hey we’re just four guys doing our thing,” chimes Casey. They’re a personable bunch, and the vibes emanating from them are great to be around.
They were the sixth band to hit the stage and they hit it with a mind-blowing assault that instantly had everyone in the place vibrating, including the judges. The energy level was electrifying through their entire set. These guys were bouncing around the stage with a high-energy madness playing these infectious grooves that afflicted all in attendance. When the set was done, Scene Magazine editor, Michael Mockler, was on the stage like a wino on a quarter, screaming, “Amazing, just fucking amazing. Put it out for The Don’ts And Be Carefuls,” and the crowd did. When all the bands had competed, the scores were tallied and you guessed it, The Don’ts And Be Carefuls were the hands-down winner. First prize was some studio time and the cover of Scene Mag. P.S.: Wondering about the name, film buffs will love this, search “The Hays Code.”
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Live Review: Des Tours, the Don'ts and Be Carefuls, Pleistocene at Larimer Lounge
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I did make it in time to catch the Don'ts and Be Carefuls again, who had a less noisy and more compo...I did make it in time to catch the Don'ts and Be Carefuls again, who had a less noisy and more composed set than the night before opening for HEALTH. Then again, this show, only the outfit’s fourth ever, was probably a lot less pressured than that one.
The subsequent relaxed atmosphere allowed the act’s pop craftsmanship to shine through. Recalling the Swell Maps’ more coherent moments, mixed with the feeling of youthful exuberance and innocence you get listening to Modern Lovers first record, the catchy pop of Don’ts and Be Carefuls merges indie rock with funkier post-punk elements while trying not to be too polished. The group isn’t great yet, but it’s easy to see how it will continue to get better, especially considering that the band is already writing solid songs that keep your attention. On top of that, the members possess a great energy and maintain a vibe that makes them instantly likeable. ... Within a year or two, if these guys keep up their pace of development, expect impressive things from them.
