Set the scene: Yacht club around 9:30 pm. The place is packed to the brim, dimly lit, and definitely dons that smoking underground feeling. Gangs of students stand around, drinking, laughing, and bobbing to the steady background jam. It’s the Battle of the Bands.
Dan DiMonte enters stage right, maybe a little nervous, but he knows how to get the attention of the audience as he leaps into his first song. Soon, the edge of the stage is crowded with dancing and swaying supporters. This band isn’t just good, it’s great. A mix of jazz and rock, Dan and his band light up the stage with singing, sax, and sweat tunes. Always somewhat interested in music and singing, this musician surprisingly didn’t really start until his sophomore year of high school. And after that, didn’t show off his songs until around junior year of college. According to Dan, he was worried no one would dig his tunes at all. How wrong he was. His songs were a hit. For the coming years, Dan played at as many open mics and shows as possible. It finally led up to a 3 hour show in Joliet, Illinois. Always composing his own music, Dan’s band is a “revolving door,” always changing and expanding to incorporate all sorts of tunes. Since one of his first shows on campus, several others have been involved more or less in each show. Whether the occasional keyboardist, a saxophonist, or another vocals, Dan has always had a wide variety of members and instruments which may be why his band is so unique and fresh. As for winning second prize, Dan is going to try to record at least 14 tunes with his time at the studio. He will use those 14ish tunes to comprise an album or 2 that he will release in the spring.
A Small Interview
1. You recently participated in the Battle of the Bands at the Yacht Club. Why did you decide to participate and how did you enter the competition?
I had been chatting with John Svec, the owner of Earthtone Studios, about coming in and cutting a record for a while before I even knew about the Battle. I had actually sort of thought about taking a break from the full electric band shows for the semester, but then I got recruited for the Battle by Scott Kading, the talent buyer for the Yacht, Gabe’s and other venues. If I’m willing to pay in full for the studio time already, I might as well try for the chance to get it for free, ya know? It was also going to be cool to play with other groups from around town. Many of my shows have been just me, so it seemed like a cool networking opportunity as well.
2. You won second place. How did that feel?
It was pretty awesome to win anything in this competition. It was unreal to see that we had the most votes out of any band from the entire month in the prelims, but I didn’t go into the finals feeling cocky. It’s difficult to get folks to commit to doing things these days, and since it was a bye week for football, many people were home or doing other things instead of coming to the show. Hearing that we got second place was pretty sweet. The five days would have been nice, but I was thankful for any time. It’s better than paying for all of it. I’m always grateful for the band I’ve been blessed with (each member of which I’ve met from all sorts of random places) and the fans who come out and let me share my passion with them.
3. Do you have any more shows coming up?
In terms of immediate future, I’ll be playing acoustic at the Systems Unlimited fundraiser over at the Sycamore Mall this Saturday from 11-1, and next Sunday the 27th I am competing in the University of Iowa AMA’s Battle of the Bands. On December 6th, I’ll be opening for Jon Wayne and the Pain at Gabe’s, and later in December I’ll do an acoustic band at Uptown Bill’s on the 21st.