Over at SUPERGOODMUSIC, we are stoked to have the stellar line-up of Blockhead, Signal Path and Nocando coming to town next weekend. After listening to Signal Path's recently released (AND FREE) album, Imaginary Lines (which you can play at the bottom of this post) we reached out to the artists to learn more and get amped for the upcoming show.
Not only did we discover that Signal Path's Damon Metzner is a cool mo-fo who formerly lived in Michigan, we found out he trained under Galactic's Stanton Moore too!!! Imaginary Lines had me sold on attending The Roxy initially, but armed with the knowledge that Damon is a funk master's disciple, I definitely won't miss a minute next Saturday!
Below is our full interview with Damon from just before he hit the road to tour (first show was last night Seattle), along with a stream of the album. ENJOY :D
SUPERGOODMUSIC: Where did you grow up?
Damon: I grew up in the great city of New Orleans, with a little bit of time in America's High Five: Michigan!
SUPERGOODMUSIC: How did you decide to chase a career in music? When did you give up the typical "day" job?
Damon: I've been bouncing between being a performer and working the music industry side of things since I was 17. The last job outside of either the music industry or performing was at a pizza shop in New Orleans when I was 16.
SUPERGOODMUSIC: Did you go to school for music or take any music lessons growing up?
Damon: I did both. I started out taking lessons with the great teacher Mark DiFlorio in New Orleans who then introduced me to Stanton Moore. Stanton was a gigantic inspiration in my playing and having him take the time to show me a few things was a huge motivator to say the least. I then went on to major in jazz at The University of New Orleans before changing my major to business at The University of Montana.
SUPERGOODMUSIC: Where did the name Signal Path come from?
Damon: Ryan Burnett (guitar production) came up with the name in 2000. It makes sense for an electronic act, no? Haha.
SUPERGOODMUSIC: What is Signal Path all about?
Damon: Signal Path is a musical project created by Ryan Burnett (guitar/production) and myself, Damon Metzner (drums). We try to incorporate deep melodic ideas that wrap around compositionally focused core of intricate rhythm and massive low end. Both Ryan and I draw a lot of influence from american roots music, and try to incorporate those influences with our electronic production. Rhythmically, we definitely identify with a lot of glitch, hip hop and big beat music, but intertwine acoustic instrumentation as well. We regularly incorporate acoustic guitars, mandolins and lapsteel guitars that weave inside synths, massive leads and heavy basslines. Our goal is to produce deeply meaningful unique music that can be both beautiful and intense live.
SUPERGOODMUSIC: What's brewing at the moment?
Damon: Right now we are 100% focused on the recent drop of our free album Imaginary Lines, that came out on September 1st. Getting ready for one of the most exciting headlining tours in our history too. We couldn't be more thrilled to share the stage with some of our favorite artists in the nation including Blockhead, Bluetech, Designer Drugs, EPROM and EOTO. Having the opportunity to perform with artists of this caliber is a HUGE inspiration.
SUPERGOODMUSIC: What makes this tour that you're embarking on different from all your previous ones?
Damon: This tour really stands apart as it's giving us the opportunity to perform music from an album that we spent more time on than any other release. This tour also is allowing us to work with some of our favorite producers in the country.
SUPERGOODMUSIC: When will you be playing LA?
Damon: Saturday September 25th. At The Roxy. We're giving you a pair of tickets to give away. (tweet and mention @supergoodmusic @signalpath & @theroxy for chance to win or e-mail contest@supergoodmusic.com with the Subject: Signal Path)
SUPERGOODMUSIC: When was the last time you played LA? Where? How was it?
Damon: We haven't played in LA since 2007 when we did a run with the Pnuma Trio. We played a place called Fais Do Do. It was a great time for sure. LA throws down.
SUPERGOODMUSIC: Where have you stayed in LA when you've come? Do you have a favorite place? Do you have a favorite spot to hit up to eat?
Damon: Hahahaha - Well, we pretty much always stay at some seedy motel....this one time, naw, forget it.
SUPERGOODMUSIC: Have you had In n Out? Is it the best fast food burger there is?
Damon: I have had In n Out...and although a fantastic burger, I have to say that the Burgerville's in Portland, OR takes the cake for the organic(ish) fastfood chains...I hope I get some free burgers out of this!
SUPERGOODMUSIC: I hope I do too. So, what's next?
Damon: We're focused on making the next several months some of the most positive in the history of the band. We couldn't be more proud of the music we've put out on the new album. We just really can't wait to get on the road and share the music with the fans live. Ultimately, none of this would be possible without their support.
SUPERGOODMUSIC: Anything else you want to let the SUPERGOODMUSIC community know?
Damon: We just really want to thank all the fans. Like I said, NONE of this could happen without them which is one of the reasons why we give the music away for free. Of course we'd like to give props to www.supergoodmusic.com for the opportunity to share these thoughts and help spread the word. We'd also really love to thank all the artists we're fortunate enough to work with including the amazing visual artist Josh Keyes who donated a fantastic piece of art for our use as our album cover.
FULL TOUR SCHEDULE:
09/16/10 Thu - Seattle, WA Nectar Lounge - w/ Blockhead, Nocando
09/17/10 Fri - Bellingham, WA The Wild Buffalo - w/ Blockhead, Nocando
09/18/10 Sat - Portland, OR Refuge - w/ Blockhead, Nocando
09/21/10 Tue - San Diego, CA Casbah - w/ Blockhead, Nocando
09/22/10 Wed - Santa Cruz, CA Moe's Alley - w/ Blockhead, Nocando
09/23/10 Thu - Arcata, CA Arcata Theater - w/ Blockhead, Nocando
09/24/10 Fri - Berkeley, CA Shattuck Down Low - w/ Blockhead, Nocando
09/25/10 Sat - West Hollywood, CA Roxy Theatre - w/ Blockhead, Nocando
10/01/10 Fri - Dallas, TX La Grange - w/ Eprom
10/02/10 Sat - Austin, TX The Parish Room - w/ Eprom
10/09/10 Sat - Denver, CO Ogden Theatre - w/ EOTO
10/14/10 Thu - Minneapolis, MN Cabooze - w/ Sovereign Sect
10/15/10 Fri - Aberdeen, SD VFW Post 42 - w/ Sovereign Sect
10/16/10 Sat - Fargo, ND The Aquarium - w/ Sovereign Sect
10/20/10 Wed - Ann Arbor, MI Blind Pig
10/21/10 Thu - Grand Rapids, MI Founders Brewery.
10/22/10 Fri - St.Louis, MO 2720
10/23/10 Sat - Madison, WI Annex
10/28/10 Thu - Missoula, MT Wilma Theatre - w/ Designer Drugs
10/29/10 Fri - Bozeman, MT Filling Station
10/30/10 Sat - Chattanooga, TN Collective Vision
11/11/10 Thu - Oxford, MS Proud Larry's - w/ Bluetech
11/12/10 Fri - Nashville, TN 12th + Porter - w/ Bluetech
11/13/10 Sat - Asheville, NC Club 828 - w/ Bluetech
11/15/10 Mon - Blacksburg, VA Awful Arthur’s - w/ Bluetech
11/16/10 Tue - Knoxville, TN Southbound - w/ Bluetech
11/17/10 Wed - Raleigh, NC Pour House - w/ Bluetech
11/18/10 Thu - Wilmington, NC Kefi - w/ Bluetech
11/19/10 Fri - Charleston, SC The Pour House - w/ Bluetech
11/20/10 Sat - Atlanta, GA Apache Cafe - w/ Bluetech
12/4/10 Sat - Chicago, IL TBA
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