Static People

Artist Information

Biography

Static People was formed in 2008 by musicians from San Francisco and Sonoma, CA. The sound is germinated in post punk/alt turbulence, a mix of dirty pop and indie swells, with a lush and urgent voice flying above the riot. Produced by multi-platinum producer Jason Carmer. The band has released a five song EP, the full length album “The Late Projectionist”, a debut video for the title track, with a second video released in June 2012. Static People is Dmitra Smith(voice, keyboards), Pascal Faivre(guitar), Shawn Miller(bass) and Ken Shelf(drums). The band will release a new EP in Spring 2013


Press Quotes:

“For a performer who defies facile definition, Smith does boast a single defining feature – her voice, which she wields with virtuosic command…with a natural warmth that adds a sultry dimension to the band’s challenging, punk-infused arrangements.” –Bullpit Magazine, LA

"The Late Projectionist brings us deeper into the mind of singer Dmitra Smith…painting vivid pictures of the goings-on of a haunted mind. With top-notch recording and an album full of hooky songs, all they need now is the right company backing them to finally shoot to the top!...a great mixture of shine and grit.” --Vandala Concepts, Canada

"Static People are destined to be your next favourite band. They combine distorted greatness, old school punk vibes and a touch of noisy indie – you need them in your life."
--Somojo Magazine UK

"Static People make you feel your heart beating in its cage. Tank grrl Dmitra Smith’s scrumptious voice, add the backing of Pascal Faivre…you get raving rock 'n' roll to grit your teeth to."
--New York Waste

"Each track has Dmitra Smith's voice front and center, full of the same angst and derision that propelled Patti Smith to stardom." --The Ripple Effect


NEWS

2013
--Best Punk/Post Punk Artist 2013--Artists in Music Awards, Los Angeles CA

2012
--Static People nominated for Best Punk/Postpunk Artist and
Best Video for the 2013 Artist in Music Awards, LA
--"The Late Projectionist" LP is Editors Choice for January
2012 in Somojo Magazine UK

2011
--The singles “Just Sink Down” and "American Robot Mother"
featured on the national PBS show Roadtrip Nation
Season8

2010
--The single "Just Sink Down" featured on Under the Radar
Magazine’s August 2010 digital sampler
--Static People presented at the Sonoma International Film
Festival

THE BUZZ: Airplay on KEXP Seattle WA, KSVY Sonoma CA, KGUP 106.5 LA, KSYM San Antonio TX, WVBR Ithaca NY, WPKN Bridgeport CT, WECS Eastern CT, Crescent City Radio, New Orleans LA, Radio ArcadiaToronto, Radio UK International, Kringvarp Foroya Faroe Islands, Somojo UK, SlipStream Radio UK, Indie365, Punk Radio Cast, Indie 104 iRadio LA, Funk Gumbo Radio, RuKus Radio Youngstown OH, Womens Radio Music Channel, Rádio Universidade, São Luís Maranho, Brazil

Band Members:

Singer DMITRA SMITH began singing at age 8 in her native Seattle, enduring torture from a closeted and bitchy girl’s choir director who punched his stomach while screaming the word "SUPPORT" at small children. She credits him for her 3 octave range. She relocated to San Francisco in 1992 to join marimba driven rock project Fuzz Factor with guitarist Joe Gore(Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Tracy Chapman). She was a member of industrial noise and television-exploding project Sharkbait, as well as lo-fi indie trio Florida.

Guitarist PASCAL FAIVRE is from Pontarlier, France, the capital of absinthe. He discovered punk rock at age 10, put a huge box of laundry soap into the town fountain with his hooligan friends which created 4' high suds for blocks, started his first bands Les Cochons Dingues and Corbeaux Drivers, and wriggled out of mandatory army duty with sublime trickery. He is also a film actor who got his first taste for acting in 1973, when French director Jean Chapot cast him in a small part in The Burned Barns with Alain Delon and Simone Signoret. He performed his scenes in his favorite fuzzy pink pajamas.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Bass player SHAWN MILLER started playing guitar at the age of eight and moved to bass when he was twelve because "it had less strings and they were farther placed apart". Music has been a very influential part of his life, as he believes that it conveys thoughts and feelings that are far more complex than any other form of communication. While attending School in Santa Cruz, he attended music classes while working on his psychology degree, and played bass in the seminal pop-punk band Cara de Nada. He was a member of the Santa Cruz Standard Cooperative Noise Coalition, or STANDCO, A loosely organized but highly talented group of musicians responsible for planning shows for local and touring bands alike. Shawn moved to San Francisco in 1994 and went on to play in bands such as the Nerve Meter, Deralieur, and the Gay Barbarians.

Drummer KEN SHELF enjoys the flavor nuggets of miasmatic dissonance between the beats, or rather around them. He makes his home in the moments before and after perfect timing. He is a veteran of the Bay Area indie/experimental music scene, playing for Santa Cruz grind-core band Head Case-O-Matic in the mid-90's and San Francisco party gods The Dont's for the first decade of this millennium. He sees percussion as the meeting point of math and poetry while employing a heavy dose of poetic license, and a calculator. When not creating music, he makes phantasmagorical art with plants and glass at his San Francisco store, Succulence. He is the father of two, the husband of one, and if he were a fruit, he'd probably be a perfectly ripe banana.

Fan comments:

“ Just Sink Down is epic. It's good to hear the old school punk sound is back." --Campbelltown, Australia

“ After hearing all of your songs I can happily say you guys are now one of my favourite bands. Keep up the good work. ” --Sydney, Australia

“ Hey!!!!!!! I love your band. I might end up singing this all day. You guys really rock!!!!!!!!.” --USA

“ Great JUST GREATTTTT!!!!! Two thumbs plus Big Toes up! ” --Maracay, Venezuela

“ YOU GUYS ROCK. Sounds totally pro. Great work. ”
--NYC, USA

“ I like it. Kicks ass. That's all. ” --Vancouver WA, USA

"It's about the music.....it always was. ” --Unknown

Instrumentation

Dmitra Smith - keyboards, voice
Pascal Faivre - Guitar
Ken Fad Shelf - Drums
Shawn Miller - Bass

Discography

The Late Projectionist, 9 song LP released December 2011
Static People, five-song EP released 2010.
Available at www.staticpeople.com, iTunes, CDUniverse, CD Baby, and Interpunk.

Streaming tracks:
Official Website: www.staticpeople.com
facebook.com/staticpeople
myspace.com/staticpeopleband
afropunk.com/staticpeople
lastfm.com
Spotify.com

Airplay:
KGUP 106.5.com LA
Indie365
Metal365
Slipstream Radio UK
Black Sky Radio
New Driven Radio(multiple stations)
Rockers Dive Radio, Amman Jordan
Punk Radio Cast
Indie 104 iRadio LA
Funk Gumbo Radio
KEXP Seattle WA
KSVY Sonoma CA
KSYM San Antonio TX
WVBR Ithaca NY
WPKN Bridgeport CT
WECS Eastern CT
Crescent City Radio, New Orleans LA
Radio Arcadia, Toronto
Radio UK International, UK
UK Bands
Kringvarp Foroya, Faroe islands
Somojo, UK
Rádio Universidade, São Luís Maranho, Brazil
Womens Radio Music Channel

Official Website

http://www.staticpeople.com/

Links

• Facebook
• Twitter
• MySpace
• Last.fm
• Jango

Audio

• Toxic Overload
  Listen  
• Just Sink Down
  Listen  
• The Late Projectionist
  Listen  
• American Robot Mother
  Listen  
• Bleed You
  Listen  
• Carrier
  Listen  
• Save The Worst
  Listen  
• You Know It's There
  Listen  
• Moonage Daydream
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Toxic Overload
• Just Sink Down
• The Late Projectionist
• American Robot Mother
• Bleed You
• Carrier
• Save The Worst
• You Know It's There

Video

Toxic Overload

The Late Projectionist

Photo Gallery

Press

• Static Goes Ecstatic -- Special to the Index Tribune by Paul Miller [+ Show ]
  

  Sonoma’s music scene has produced some great music over the years. Some have been flashes in the pro...Sonoma’s music scene has produced some great music over the years. Some have been flashes in the proverbial pan, while others have stuck it out to go on and do great things. Our very own Static People did just that, something great.
  
  They took home a crème de la crème of awards for emerging artists, Best Punk/Post Punk Artist for 2013 at the Artists In Music Awards last month. This is not some small award to make “indie” bands feel good about starving, this is stiff competition from all over the globe. Awards went to bands for everything, from metal to folk, R&B to best Spanish artist. I had the opportunity to sit down with Dmitra Smith, who sings and plays keyboards for Static People.
  
  When I met Dmitra, I could spot her reddish hair and black and white striped pants from down the street as she walked up. While she may not always look it, anyone who knows her personally, knows that this musician, activist, wife and mother is anything but unapproachable. She is wife, of course, to guitar player Pascal Faivre.
  
  I asked her how this award came about and what it took to come back to Wine Country with the conquest? The answer was simple: hard work. She doesn’t stop promoting, from interviews to Twitter. She even gives everyone who “likes” their music on Jango.com a free download.
  
  The avid twittering and reaching out to fans received the attention of KGUP 106.5 FM DJ Mikey Jayy, the executive director of the Artists in Music Awards. KGUP is a radio station for unsigned, indie or up-and-coming bands. It was actually his idea to nominate the band for not one, but two awards: Best Video, and the award they seized, Best Punk/Post Punk Artist for 2013.
  
  Smith had early concerns about the bands that they were pitted against, and the perceived “pop” style to their music. If the judges wanted a pop influenced, commercially viable band, they might be disappointed in Static People, she feared. However, if they wanted something a bit more gritty and raw, Static People could be their front-runner.
  
  She was actually on a school trip with her son in Yosemite watching the live feed of the Los Angeles ceremony when she found out that they did in fact win. Husband, Pascal, accepted the award with big plans for a powerful speech about rock ‘n’ roll, and all that goes with it. Instead, since he had 30 seconds, he shimmied onstage backwards, donned a smile, thanked the fans and made his way off with the prize.
  
  Dmitra Smith (lead vocals) and the band, comprised of Pascal Faivre on guitar, Ken Shelf on drums and Shawn Miller on bass guitar, were all (pardon the pun) ecstatic about the honor. But when I asked Dmitra how it felt, she replied:
  
  “We’re all so proud, and it’s great to get this recognition, but the award is just a reminder that there are so many amazing musicians out there that remain unknown, and aren’t recognized for their incredible work. So this award only means that we have to work harder.”
  
  Sonoma wins awards all over the world for its wine, why not its punk rock? Staticpeople.com is where you can find out about shows, videos, interviews and everything else Static-y. If you're intrigued, go on and take a listen to their music, and in the words of Dmitra, when I asked her about making it, “When you make music, it’s out there, and it’s out there forever."
  
  Miller is a musician and writer living in Sonoma who heads Paulie Hips and the Childbearers.

• Best Punk [+ Show ]
  

  Punk music? It’s alive and well and living in the Springs. The band Static People, anchored by Dmitr...Punk music? It’s alive and well and living in the Springs. The band Static People, anchored by Dmitra Smith and Pascal Faivre, was named Best Punk/Post Punk Artist 2013 at the recent Artists in Music Awards. Faivre was at the ceremony, at the Key Club, a Hollywood hot spot. (Apparently, in 2013, hip and punk is not an oxymoron).
  
  “Running mascara and ecstatic screams aside, thank you to everyone who voted for us,” Smith says. The duo next appears March 1, at the Epicurean Connection, with “Acoustic Rants and Teenage Obsessions.” That’s the spirit… About the award itself. Shouldn’t it be a statuette shaped like Joey Ramone or Sid Vicious?
  
  Top 3 things Johnny Rotten would have done with a ‘Best Punk’ trophy:
  
  3) Give it to The Clash
  2) Melt and inject it
  1) Stick it up the Queen’s bum

• Gen Exorcist - How Static People's Dmitra Smith Slayed the Demons of Doubt [+ Show ]
  

  There's an adage in publishing circles that goes "novelists are born at 40." In music however, most...There's an adage in publishing circles that goes "novelists are born at 40." In music however, most rock stars are dead at 40, or at least their best creative years are behind them. San Francisco Bay Area-based Static People however, are writing their own rules and in their book, 40 is the new "shut-the-fuck-up-about-our-age-already." It does beg the question, however, "why this band, why now?" (Full article pgs 18-25)

• Local punk rockers Static People have released a new video... [+ Show ]
  

  Local punk rockers Static People have released a new video that has garnered a huge response on the... Local punk rockers Static People have released a new video that has garnered a huge response on the Internet in only one week. The single “Toxic Overload” is directed by Patche$, Hamilton Gordon and Joey Spingarn, and shot at Berkeley's Adventure Playground and at an unnamed San Francisco Bay Area high school. The video tells the story of in the near future, the education system has been completely privatized and is controlled by corporations and pharmaceutical companies. All students are medicated for maximum compliance. In a classroom somewhere, three students make a break to escape. To see the video, point your browser to www.staticpeople.com.
  

• Static People - Toxic Overload [+ Show ]
  

  AP members Static People are back at it with the video for their rock banger 'Toxic Overload'. In ...AP members Static People are back at it with the video for their rock banger 'Toxic Overload'.
  In this song, the band tackles issues about pharmaceutical drugs and their use to treat kids with mental disorders.
  For more information about the band, the song, and a FREE download of the track, click HERE. About the video: "In the near future, the education system has been completely privatized and is controlled by corporations and pharmaceutical companies. All students are medicated for maximum compliance. In a classroom somewhere, three students make a break to escape."
  Directed by Patche$, Hamilton Gordon and Joey Spingarn. Produced by Jason Carmer.

• Video Wednesday - No Way Out and Toxic Overload [+ Show ]
  

  Introducing: California’s Static People with: Toxic Overload! I really like these guys, they are fun...Introducing: California’s Static People with: Toxic Overload! I really like these guys, they are fun and creative. This video is about a world where schools have been taken over by pharmaceutical companies, and students are medicated; and basically making them zombies/compliant. But- three students make an escape, rock out (post punk style), pull the fire alarm, and free the students. This music video, although quirky, it’s very Orwell/1984.

• The Late Projectionist LP Official Review [+ Show ]
  

  “I like it. Kicks ass. That’s all.” That’s the view of just one fan from an army that stretches from...“I like it. Kicks ass. That’s all.” That’s the view of just one fan from an army that stretches from the USA to Australia via Venezuela. Sounding like a much angrier No Doubt, Static People are destined to be your next favourite band. They combine distorted greatness, old school punk vibes and a touch of noisy indie – you need them in your life.
  
  The band’s first long player, The Late Projectionist has garnered airplay from many fine stations in Canada and the US. Not to mention fine establishment, our very own Somojo radio. Track one Toxic Overload introduces the band perfectly: energy and riffs exploding into your ears. Filled with so many great riffs your air guitar will break, some impress you and some like Save the Worst are epically heavy. With seven previous bands between them the album creates a dark but highly diverse sound. Title track The Late Projectionist encapsulates the bands unique sound with old punk vocals, slow verses, big riff and raucous chorus. But for all the energetic Just Sink Down songs like You Know It’s There create a slower vibe, with a big sound you’ll end up getting lost in. The album is underpinned with some strong drumming, giving the guitar work and vocals a strong start; especially in songs like Bleed You. Lead singer Dmitra Smith’s time in a ‘bitchy girls’ choir’ has helped result in in a highly varied approach to vocals. The David Bowie Cover Moonage Dream shows Dmitra’s singing at it’s classic punk best. Whilst American Robot Mother shows of their range and adaptability.
  
  Produced by Jason Carmer this album is the yin to the 2004 Black Tape by The Explosion’s yang – another great record produced by Carmer. With its hooks and melodies this record will stay in your ears and do nice things to your insides. Just Sink Down and American Robot Mother have been picked up by PBS’s Roadtrip Nation. Importantly this album needs to be picked up by you. With fans like this who can disagree: “Great JUST GREATTTTT!!!!! Two thumbs plus Big Toes up!”. Mass digit moving for the win.

• The Late Projectionist LP Review [+ Show ]
  

  (Page 5) "California's Static People returns with their first full-length, The Late Projectionist, a...(Page 5) "California's Static People returns with their first full-length, The Late Projectionist, and continue to develop on their riot grrl-esque sound. Combinging the 5 songs from their previous EP with 4 new tracks, The Late Projectionist brings us deeper into the mind of singer Dmitra Smith, with songs like "Just Sink Down" and "Moonage Daydream" painting vivid pictures of the goings-on of a haunted mind. With 9 songs, the momentum holds up better than onthe previous 5 track EP, with songs like "Carrier" having more room to breathe with some of the newer songs, like "Save The Worst" complimenting them nicely. The experiements are working for Static People, and they continue to be a band to watch. With top-notch recording and an album full of hooky songs, all they need now is the right company backing them to finally shoot to the top!"

• Watch: Static People get the art film treatment for 'The Late Projectionist' video [+ Show ]
  

  Alright now, AP members Static People's new video is bad-ass. The Bay Area-based alt. rock/punk band...Alright now, AP members Static People's new video is bad-ass. The Bay Area-based alt. rock/punk band was picked to have a video directed by two students from digital arts college Ex'Pression. Frontwoman Dmitra Smith, a seasoned singer with an admitted obsession for David Bowie, explains: "Poor Co-Directors Russell DeMaestri and Andrew Bertolucci had a meager 48 hours to come up with concepts, storyboard them and pitch them to us. (...) They went for a storyline, two locations, a combination of black and white and color, nifty transitional camera shots and heavy editing involving lots of animation."
  And off they went, shooting this dope mini-movie in a 78-year-old movie house and in a field. Without further ado, here's 'The Late Projectionist'.

• Rocktober [+ Show ]
  

  STATIC PEOPLE make you feel your heart beating in it’s cage – Tank grrl Dmitra Smith’s scrumptious v...STATIC PEOPLE make you feel your heart beating in it’s cage – Tank grrl Dmitra Smith’s scrumptious voice, add the backing of Pascal Faivre, Daedalus Howell, Mundo Murguia, (yeah, they live up to their names,) you get raving rock’n’roll to grit your teeth to… give me more of this lovely stuff…
  

• Static People - Propaganda EP (review) [+ Show ]
  

  In my teens I was kind of rebelIious. I had a general disgust with the status quo (guess that hasn’...In my teens I was kind of rebelIious. I had a general disgust with the status quo (guess that hasn’t changed much) and was drawn to like-minded individuals and music that could give voice to my angst, such as Patti Smith.
  
  I first saw Patti Smith in 1971 when she was reciting poetry in a small Venice Beach coffeehouse. She railed against everything - the government, people, life. A few years later she formed the Patti Smith Group and churned out some of the finest punk rock of the mid-70’s. Her 1975 album “Horses,” that commences with Smith’s scream “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine,” is still one of my favorites.
  
  Static People released its first EP (which it calls on its MySpace page “Propaganda”) this April and it recaptures the definitive punk style of the mid-70’s Patti Smith Group. The band consists of bassist Daedalus Howell, vocalist Dmitra Smith, drummer Mundo Murguia and guitarist Pascal Faivre. Static People is produced by Jason Carmer, who has also produced such notables as The Donnas, Third Eye Blind and Run DMC. The band members hail from wine country (or should that be “whine country”), Sonoma, California. They write all of their own material and consider their influences to be the usual punk suspects - Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash, The Pixies, Sex Pistols, Radiohead, Bauhaus, etc. Although they fail to attribute their sound to Patti Smith, you just have to listen once to Dmitra Smith to know that Patti Smith is truly the progenitor of Static People’s sound. (When I heard her I immediately thought the two Smiths must be related. I haven’t found any information that confirms or refutes my conjecture.) Even the band’s Facebook page espouses the anti-establishment anarchic position found in Patti Smith’s poems. It states that one of their influences is “general disgust of government.”
  
  The EP consists of five punk rants - “Save The Worst,” a pounding damnation of the “Save the World” evangelists that have gone before the present generation; “American Robot Mother,” a stab at the homogenous and consumptive nature of American society; “Just Sink Down,” a driving tome about allowing oneself to devolve into the depths of darkness, despair and death; “Carrier,” an odd, slow, punk waltz poem about conquest, euphoria and relationship power struggles; and “You Know It’s There,” a highly processed, echo-laden, electronic homage about trust in knowledge rather than perception. Each track has Dmitra Smith’s voice front and center, full of the same angst and derision that propelled Patti Smith to stardom.
  
  You can catch Static People at gigs throughout the Bay Area and occasionally playing live on 87.9 FM, San Francisco’s Pirate Cat Radio. A video is in the works and should be released this December. If you are disgusted with the world as it is, and are looking for a safe outlet to scream about it, this may be your band.

Setlist

Typical set of 8-12 songs
all originals unless noted

Just Go
Monkey Scratches
Toxic Overload
Just Sink Down
The Late Projectionist
American Robot Mother
Bleed You
Carrier
Save The Worst
You Know It's There
Life on Mars(cover)

Basic Requirements

PDF Rider

Static People Tech Rider

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