Dagmar and Dagmar 2

Give Me the Rifle peaked at the # 11 slot in December 2006 on Neil Young's TOP SONGS OF THE TIMES - Living With War Today

(To Hell With) the Commander-in-Chief peaked at the #2 slot in December 2006 for Neil Young's TOP PROTEST VIDEOS - Living With War Today

"In today's spotlight show we focus on Dagmar. Jim Bauer and Meghan McGeary take time to sit down and chat with us. We had a good time discussing how the band formed, their new album "Door No. 1", Meghan's costumes, and much more."
- Jim Davies, host

Please cut and paste the following link to listen to the podcast interview:
http://www.jdsmusicalalchemy.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=2 - JD's Musical Alchemy

[ a necessary reply to the indifference of youth: ]

Filed under: Personal, Recommendations, Link Recycle, Downloadables — z @ 5:40 pm

Last September 30th, I woke up early at 517 Tasker, took a dissatisfying shower, ate a satisfying breakfast, loaded the Honda to bursting with JDS9’s gear, and braved Friday afternoon New York City traffic: one year ago was the Galapagos show, Johnny Divine & The Straight Nine’s last concert.
That cute fact is only important as a preface.

While introducing us as the evening’s openers, Jim Bauer (Lewis’ dad and frontman of headliner Dagmar) quipped briefly on the virtues of youth, quickly dropping this odd apology: “I’m sorry we’ve f...ed things up so badly for you guys…I’ll do everything I can to fix things. I’ll lay down my life for you, I really will.” A solemn, slightly confused silence later, the remark seemed to slip from relevance with his enthusiastic introduction of our band, Lewis’ timid “Hello…this is our first song,” and the opening slide of “Stay.”

Skip forward a year or so to when the vocal half of Dagmar (simply called Dagmar 2, and pictured here) records a pair of protest songs: a playful, Bushism-exploiting poppier track, “(To Hell With) The Commander In Chief” (with link going to cute-as-heck music video), and another, entitled “Give Me The Rifle.”
…you should probably download and listen to the latter a few times at least. I mean, play the hell out of the former: it’s remarkably catchy, full of a goofy, irreverent charm, and everybody likes a high playcount on their handiwork. Frankly, though, it’s less important.

“Give Me The Rifle” is damn near perfect.

Its folk-inspiration is clear: the instrumentation is minimal, with nothing more than human voices and a warm, electric guitar (with a few percussive accents) to be found in the poignantly spacious mix. The heavy burden of sonic substance, then, falls to the vocals, which are pretty unbelievable. Both voices are quite expressive across a full dynamic range, handling both intimate croons and humbling swells with undiminished earnest. The harmonies are intricate and sophisticated, and miles beyond simple upper-third pop fare.

Hell, even the [melodica] solo is tremulous and arresting.

Thematically, though, the song is wrenching, and here’s the bit I’m liable to fuck up: it is the gorgeous, courageous assertion of a father confronting his fear and guilt regarding his sons having to go to war on account of his generation’s transgressions. It is the steely-eyed demand to go in his son’s stead, his duty as a father superseding even his own life, condensed to a single phrase.

…its repetition at 2:27 (just before the solo) is heartbreaking.

An added kicker: the name “Johnny” is about the most effective, iconic name with which to grace the song’s subject. Here, it invokes the quintessential American youth, another throwback to folk tradition.

By coincidence or design, it also happens to indirectly address Lewis, his son, if one takes the liberty of assigning him the title of Johnny Divine (as frontman of the band).

…and that’s the really remarkable thing: these are people I know and love, not just distant abstractions of pop culture. I’ve been to this man’s home, drank his beer, and shaken his hand at his son’s graduation. To hear his voice ring out so soulfully, to hear him so powerfully address something on so grand a scale…God.

That’s Music.
http://azizsucks.wordpress.com/2006/10/10/a-necessary-reply-to-the-indifference-of-youth/ - Aziz Kahn

Tips come to you in the oddest way. I was waiting to board the bus down to New York to cover CBGB's closing for the Christian Science Monitor. In line, I get to talking with a woman who turns out to be Meghan McGeary, who turns out to the singer for Dagmar and Dagmar 2, the latter is the duo version of the band with singer-guitarist Jim Bauer. It's an art-rock/punk-rock concoction with a hearty dose of protest thrown in. Their song "(To Hell With) The Commander-in-Chief" made You Tube's top 100 Videos its first week and is No. 21 on Neil Young's Living With War page. (neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/lwwsongs). Heck, Young must be a fan. Their new protest song, "Give Me the Rifle" is No. 59 on Young's Top 600 Songs of All Time List. Dagmar just released its debut CD, "Door No. 1," the first of a song-cycle trilogy. You can see them on Halloween at the Lizard Lounge, with Gato Malo and Waitiki starting at 9 p.m. Cover: $5.

1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-499-6992 lizardloungeclub.com

http://www.jimsullivanink.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1&limit=6&limitstart=18 - jimsullivanINK.com

Dagmar traffics in dark, arty rock that can bring to mind the Residents. - Jay Ruttenberg, TimeOut NY

DAILY PICK: Dagmar brings rock 'n' roll jump to our favorite underutilized art form, the song cycle. Best of all, one of the musicians actually dons a pair of wings. Go song cycle, go! - L Magazine

"...what anchors the band is the singers' voices: his is weary and experienced and hers is hauntingly beautiful, and they play back and forth over music that is equal parts rock fury and jazzy resignation. Their energy, even as they sing about wanting to stay in bed all day, is contagious." - Richichi Reviews