The Dorians
Columbia, Missouri, United States | SELF
Music
Press
For seniority’s sake, The Dorians were the final band to perform at last night’s sixth annual Columbia Public Schools Battle of the Bands at The Blue Note.
For superiority’s sake, The Dorians also dominated the competition, beating out the other three high school bands and earning $800 of recording time.
“They have a real specific direction that they’re going with their music. They’re really influenced by kind of mid- to late-’80s British rock ’n’ roll,” said Phil Overeem, contest organizer and Hickman High School language arts teacher.
Four high school seniors make up The Dorians, which formed in March 2009. Rival bands Battlement, Frequency 109 and Ransom for the Righteous all consist of high school juniors.
The Dorians include Justin Brodersen as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, lead guitarist Aaron Bolli, Jackson Portell on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Alex Jacobson on drums and percussion. Alex, a Rock Bridge senior, is the only band member who does not attend Hickman.
With money from sponsors and proceeds from the event, the band should receive about $400 of recording time at Red Boots Studio, which plans to match the $400.
As Frequency 109 played last night, students crowded the stage with some clustered in a circle behind the standing first row. Blue and pink lights from above shone down on the band.
At a table away from the stage and closer to the venue’s bar, Jordan Easley, 16, a junior at Hickman, said he enjoyed getting out of the house on a weeknight.
“I’m here with my brother, having fun. I don’t normally attend activities like this,” he said.
The five judges rated the bands in four categories: musicianship, song craft, enthusiasm and chemistry.
A strong point of The Dorians, Overeem said, is their song quality. “Justin really combines the ability to write great lyrics and deliver them passionately and carry a tune,” Overeem said.
On its Facebook page, the band wrote: “The Dorians are ecstatic about the battle of the bands win. Much, much, much love to everyone who came as well as everyone who participated.” - Jonathan Braden
“It’s a matter of appreciation,” crooned The Dorians frontman Justin Brodersen as the band performed its original song “Pulling Petals” Tuesday night at The Blue Note.
The Dorians received much-deserved appreciation from the crowd and judges as the band was crowned the sixth annual Battle of the Bands champions. Although The Dorians won, the night was a success for the other three bands as well, who got to perform in front of about 70 peers and parents while raising money for Haiti.
Ransom for the Righteous kicked off the night with enthusiasm. Its second song, a cover of Metallica’s “Fade To Black,” was a crowd-pleaser that gave lead singer Alex Norton an opportunity to flex his impressive vocals.
Frequency 109 took the stage next, exuding rock star charisma. Two of the members donned blackout shades, and bassist Daniel Lindaman sported a white suit jacket, at least three sizes too big, and a black skinny tie. The highlight of the band’s performance was its last song, an original that urged the audience to “Getcha freq on.”
Battlement received second place in the competition, and the members surely scored points for the style and technique with which they played their instruments. Drew Grier hammered on the drums while the other three members ripped on their guitars with impressive speed.
The Dorians, who drew the biggest crowd to the stage, rounded out the evening. Combined with a solid stage presence, Brodersen’s smooth vocals and the band’s melodic tunes revealed that the band was the clear frontrunner.
While the judges’ votes were tallied, the crowd, waning at this point because it was 10:15 p.m. on a school night, was treated to a performance by Columbia band The Last Kings. After, emcee David Aulgur, a Hickman High School teacher and former Battle of the Bands participant, announced The Dorians as the winners.
The band was humble about its victory. “We felt confident, and we were hopeful, but you never know,” Brodersen says.
For its win, The Dorians received recording time at Red Boots Studio, and the members are excited about the future of the band. “This might be the start of something big,” drummer Alex Jacobson says. - Lindsay Ross
Discography
The Dorians EP
Photos
Bio
We all believe that each song shares it's own story and therefore the best way for us to display who we are is to discuss the music we are writing. Here's the five songs from The Dorians EP, what they're about, who inspired them, and this should show who we are as a band better than anything else.
--Epiphany Now:
The writing of anthems, I must say, is a bit of a passion of mine. With Epiphany Now, the first track on The Dorians EP, I wanted the music to sound big right from the beginning. At the time I was perhaps a bit frustrated with lack of local musicians who truly wanted to be rock stars, as I was sure that I was one myself...
The music certainly came from my love for bands that do write a lot of anthemic songs, including Arcade Fire and Oasis. The heavy, grinding, distorted rhythm guitar part is complimented by a much cleaner lead. The dramatic chord changes add to this big feel too.
However, as arrogant as I may have portrayed myself or perhaps The Dorians as a whole, the lyrics in this song are quite fragile. The song was largely inspired by conflicts within the human mind and the troubles that often prey on that mind. There is no denying that I am a person who is just prone to over thinking everything. Whether it's life in general or silly she-devils (well it's a song isn't it?), I was realizing that maybe it isn't worth it to worry all the time. And therein lies the most important aspect of the song; the fact that it teeters between optimism and pessimism. The first line in the chorus; "If it won't matter tomorrow, then the burden won't bring me down today" seems to look into the bright future. On the other hand, in the next verse I go on to say; "And so I'll live just like a blind with no desire to see, because he fears the world is far too dark and ugly". As I said though, this song is about conflicts within the head, and no one is ever really sure about anything right?
--Soul Span:
Soul Span remains the oldest song we continue to play in our live set. It's music is fast, catchy, and hopefully poppy enough to cover up some of the bitterness in the lyrics. This is the song where I officially proclaim my love for British music, and the semi-sarcastic belief that everything is better "across the pond"! This song was written at the very beginning of The Dorians, and expressed our excitement and confidence with our future in music. It's always a favorite live and we tend to let our drummer go crazy and solo at the end of this one- always a crowd pleaser.
--Hear Me Say:
I would like to discuss the music that went into this song first, because there was a range of influences here that can shed some light on my influences as a musician. The guitar bit in the intro was inspired by my acquisition of a delay pedal to tell the truth. I wanted a part where i could just crank all the knobs as far as I could on my delay and see what came out. I liked the product and thus the beginning of "Hear Me Say" starts off with that high delay... I like effects they can be so much fun! Now, I will admit something that I don't think people are supposed to admit... The main riff over the verse was directly inspired by "The Mall & Misery" by Broken Bells. James Mercer plays a riff in that song and I thought, "I absolutely must steal that rhythm." I did.
In regards to the lyrics I must ask, what is rock and roll without the song where guy meets girl and it doesn't go so hot? I was incredibly bitter at this point in time and like with everything I write I was aiming to display exactly how i was perceiving the world at that moment in time... Spoiler alert, I was super disillusioned with everything! This bitterness obviously led towards a good opportunity to reference The Smiths multiple times.
"A highway truck wouldn't be hard to find..." is a direct reference to Morrissey's line, "if a ten ton truck crashes into us..." I reference Morrissey's "pact" in "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" in the chorus and in the bridge. This stems from a night when Justin and I were driving around listening to "There Is A Light..." over and over again. We were both bored out of our gourds, and I just decided, "Hey, I'm going to reference that sometime soon." I wrote the majority of "Hear Me Say" later that night and into the next morning.
--What You Take:
Both the lyrics and the music of this song were originally a homage to Jeff Buckley. I wanted the song to show the remorse I felt for such an amazing musician only making one completed studio album before his untimely death. In the chorus the music reflects what I hold to be the best cover ever made, "Hallelujah".
"It goes like this the fourth the fifth,
the minor fall and the major lift,
the baffled king composes, hallelujah."
I was stumped when I was trying to write a progression for the chorus, so I more or less stole this line from the song and just used the progression he sang about for my chorus.
However, after th
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