An Akron garage band wants to help unite the city’s music scene. The Dreemers are releasing their first full-length album. It was recorded in their own East Akron studio. Now, the trio wants to invite other bands and artists to their studio to recapture the Akron Sound of the 1970’s, made popular by punk/new wave bands like The Bizarros and Devo.
For this week’s Shuffle, Ben Patrick, Robert Keith and Natalie Grieshammer of The Dreemers talk about their music and their vision for Akron.
A sound that reflects the city
The Dreemers play a blend of garage, surf, soul and rock music. It's a sound they say was inspired by the city.
"We spent a lot of time floating around Akron and playing in different places and we had this style based on how we were feeling and what we were doing that day," Keith says. "Suddenly we’d play in a certain way with a certain feeling. And we were like, ‘Hey, that sounds like us.’"
Patrick describes the new album, Beach Mode, as a state of mind. "No matter where you are you can find this happy place...this calm state of being."
The Dreemers play an album release show, Friday at Musica.
The band
Patrick and Keith knew each other in high school and started playing together regularly after college.
“We were working on studio spaces together and started jamming a lot. A couple years into that is when Natalie came in to the picture and we had a band," Patrick says.
For Grieshammer, she had always wanted to be in a band and joined The Dreemers as the drummer.
“Ben was nice enough to give me a few lessons, and it was something I picked up right away," Grieshammer says. "Next thing I knew, I had to play drums for their new song and that’s where it started."
Rock 'n' Roll Death Wish
The band's first single from Beach Mode is Rock 'n' Roll Death Wish, a song that's about a trend of musicians dying young.
"It's kind of based on a personal experience we all had with a good friend, who was our fourth member for one show," Grieshammer says. "This person fell into this idea that you had to party hard to be a rock ‘n roller."
Akron Recording Company
The band settled into a studio space near Goodyear's Headquarters in East Akron, where they recorded Beach Mode and where they rehearse. Now, they've launched their own Akron Recording Company, and want to bring other Akron bands and artists inside.
“We when see artists that we really love, we’d love to hear what would happen if they were to come here and make some great sounds," Keith says.
"It can cost thousands of dollars for a band to record, and we’re really interested in making sure that the Akron Sound gets out there. We really we just want to be a catalyst for that," Grieshammer says."
Keith says they hope to recapture the magic of the 1970's when the music scene was united.
"Every culture has its own sound when it comes to music," Keith says. "Akron has a distinct growing and developing culture and community, and I think the music made here has always reflected that. We’re just looking forward to continuing that."
Akron Recording Company is equipped to record in analog and digital, and the band raised $1,850 in a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to press 100 vinyl copies of Beach Mode at Cleveland's Gotta Groove Records.
“People say we have a throwback sound, and so I think [vinyl] fits our style as well.”
The Dreemers play an album release show, Friday at Musica. You can get tickets here.
