down and above

When the rock band Down and Above started playing shows at the Garage in 2001, about 20 teenagers showed up.

"They were 20 enthusiastic kids, but there were only 20 of them," said vocalist and guitarist Dave Young.

Now the band draws the Garage's largest crowds; 600 people rocked to their June show.

Down and Above packs in more than a thousand people in larger venues such as the Quest Club in Minneapolis. But they keep coming back to Burnsville.

"We have a lot of opportunity to play for 21-crowds, drinking crowds," Young, 27, said. "But kids are there just for the music, and we really feed off that energy."

Though the Garage does not pay acts to play, bands often sell merchandise and CDs.

"More than anything though, it's just a blast," Young said.

The musicians in Down and Above grew up in Montana, where Young said there were few underage music venues.

Members of the Garage Advisory Board say Down and Above is on the verge of "making it big."

No matter how big they make it, the band says they'll return for those 20 kids who became 600.

"That's always been something we've said," Young said. "No matter where we end up going in our career, we always want to play at the Garage."

-Jenna Ross - Star Tribune

DOWN AND ABOVE have emerged with a sound that blends heavy grooves with powerful breakdowns, melodic tones and a singer that can belt it out and/or soothe your soul with calming nurturing. With an even balance of emotion and perspective this could be a very promising album for 2005. DOWN AND ABOVE is going to capture your heart with ANODYNE..mark my words...... - East Coast Romper

Down and Above tackle the mistress of bizarre electronica-Bjork-covering
her "Joga" and doing it justice. That's obviously no easy task but they
manage with seemingly incredible ease. Regardless their originals are
what's to talk about on "Anodyne", their brand of hard rock is what's
been fueling mainstream modern rock radio to some degree for the past
three or four years. Comparing them to Incubus is a fair assessment but
they accomplish that with a mere three members. An impressive album to
say the very least. - Smother.net

#3: Down and Above

It's pretty common knowledge that most three-piece rock bands don't sound all that great live. However, Minnesota's Down and Above...is nothing short of "the stuff" live--and on record too for that matter. While the band's 10-song "Vena Cava" (2002) release was a good indication that they were definitely the real deal, it's not until you see them perform live that you understand just how experienced the three members of this band really are. Pulling off a dual-vocalist attack in a fashion not often seen (for one, both vocalists have amazing singing voices), the band's precision-based brand of guitar-driven rock is as catchy as it consuming. And though the band may be garnering the most attention with their justice-doing cover of Peter Gabriel's "Digging In The Dirt," it is definitely far from being their best song. - Lowdown Magazine

Down and Above, also known as DNA moved from Montana to Minneapolis to shake up the music scene. With 120,000 downloads on MP3, cleaning the local charts, constant specialty support from 93X(MN),WHMH(MN),KRRO(SD), KPNT(MO)... drawing 300-400 per show in Minneapolis, and developing and on-line fan base in Brazil and Australia, this 3-piece alt/indie outfit shows no means of slowing down. Fear the live show. As one critic said "After seeing DNA, I had to scrape my tongue off the floor and put it back in my mouth". Think Chevelle/emo/indie rock with a progressive edge combined. Put Terry Date behind the boards with these guys and you just might get a brand new DNA. - Kings of A&R

Out of the ashes of such acts as Quicksand, The Deftones, and Far, Down and Above is currently developing a sound all their own. The style—melodic rock, with tinges of metal intertwined into it—has been dabbled in the past by such underground acts as Shun, dredg, Codeseven, as well as numerous others—even a few mainstream acts. Hell, even Nine Inch Nails today could be classified as melodic-metal.

Down and Above, the three-piece act out of Minneapolis, Minnesota (formerly of Montana), have been rocking the north since the three formed the band in 1998...With Dave Young on lead vocals and guitar, Ian Allison on bass, and Zach Young (unrelated to Dave) on the drums, these three men have been rocking out with such area acts as Houston and Skywind, as well as notable regional and national acts Spiritfall, align, Sunset Black and others. With an EP and a full length LP under their belts, these men have been garnering plenty of attention from the music world. Their songs have also been high up on the alternative metal charts on mp3.com.

Their full length, Vena Cava, which came out this summer, features 10 intricate, delicate and beautiful songs that motivate, move and inspire the listener. With no holding back, the lyrics and vocals (which are provided by both Dave and Zach, and blend together brilliantly) are honest and sincere, leaving the music naked and exposed for the listening world to dissect and interpret for themselves. Straightforward and uncompromised music, featuring hard hitting drum work, heavy and very harmonic guitars and a rigid bass to provide a very strong backbone, the album is truly one of a kind.

The real question is how they create such unique and great music. “We're inspired by significant events in our lives - mainly revolving around relationships - and it seems like the tragic or frustrating events are much more conducive to writing,” Dave says of the lyrical content. “It's hard to write a good song when you're content & everything is going well.” While the songs are far from un-sellable as far as label standards go, it might be a while until the industry gets the balls to sell something besides the standard “jock rock” we have raging in pickup trucks going to high school football games today. “I listen to the radio and I hear the same old shit over and over and over again,” Dave states. “It's just the nature of corporate music, but I hate that the industry so frequently seems to chase after trends rather than breaking new music... but then again I guess that's what makes corporate rock "corporate" & underground music exciting.”

Having played tons of shows in the Minnesota area, the band has also developed small pockets of following in areas such as Columbus, OH, Rochester, NY, St. Louis, MO, and even Australia. Limited radio play, mp3.com rankings, and simple word of mouth has spread their sound across the world. In the near future, they plan on recording some demos in New York with producer David Bendeth...Dave says that no matter where they end up, he wants to “See our music stay true to wherever we are in our lives.” - Digital Noise.Net

During most weekends, the middle of a hilly field in Somerset is hardly the place most people would look to get a career boost. But Memorial Day Weekend isn't an average weekend in Somerset--it's XFest, a concert event sponsored by Minneapolis 93X that brings dozens of bands to play at Float-Rite Park each year.

For Minneapolis-based Down and Above, the chance to open the event is an opportunity to perform before thousands of people. Opening at 3:30 p.m. on the main stage, guitarist Dave Young, bass player
Ian Allison and drummer Zach Young's three-part harmonies added a welcome diversity to a lineup of bands that were otherwise surprisingly similar.

To earn the right to open on the main stage, the trio had to win 93X's battle of the bands contest, held over two weeks in April and May.

The last two years have been increasingly active for the band, which moved to the Twin Cities from Montana in 2000. Their songs have received increasing airtime on 93X's Cagematch, including Killswitch in June 2002 and Another Day just before XFest. Their album Vena Cava was released in August, available online at www.downandabove.com. - New Richmond News