In an effort to expand its catalog of bands to include more diverse sounding musical acts, Jade Tree Records has been searching for some new talent. The label has recently proven this venture a success as it added Richmond, Va.'s Denali to its roster. The four-piece was the brainchild of singer/guitarist Maura Davis, who wanted to assemble a band to fully realize the songs she had been working on.
Denali's self-titled debut album highlights Davis' breathtaking, dreamy vocals and lofty compositions. The rest of the group (Davis' brother Keeley on bass, keyboards and vocals, Cameron DiNuzio on guitar and Jonathan Fuller on drums) add beautiful layers of instrumentation, noodling guitar excursions and some sampling to the mix to complete the heart-wrenching picture. Just don't call it emo'Denali won't fit that framework. It isn't that simple. The Daily Cardinal recently spoke with Maura Davis about the term emo, the state of women in rock and why it is essential for music fans to flock to Denali's show at Luther's Blues, 1401 University Ave. tonight at 9 p.m. Here is what Davis had to say.
What inspired you to start the band?
Well, basically I've always wanted to be in a band since high school. I started writing songs in high school, and Keeley was in a band. I always looked up to him and Jonathan. I don't know, the time was right, and I played some songs for Keeley that I'd written, and he was interested in playing a show. It just kind of magically happened.
Did you do any solo work before that?
No. I was trained classically so all I'd ever done was recitals and a couple of talent shows and musicals. Nothing with my own band or anything like that.
When you got the band going did you know what kind of sound you were looking for, or did it just progress when you started playing together?
I didn't really have an idea. I think it just progressed as we played. Some of the songs that I wrote ended up completely different once the whole band had gotten together on it. That was always the great part because I never knew what would happen with the songs, but they always turned out awesome, and I always loved them.
Can you tell me about the song writing process?
I usually write the chord progressions and lyrics, and then I just play it for the guys and they all just come up with something. We all come up with something together.
I've been reading a lot of reviews about Denali, and they all describe your sound differently. I was wondering if you could describe your sound in your own words.
That's a good question. (laughs) Maybe, ambient rock. I don't know. I have a hard time describing it to people too. So, that's the only thing I've come up with that can describe it.
Critics also describe it as being melancholy. Do you agree with that?
Yeah, I guess so. I mean it's not the happiest of music. Yeah, I think some of it's pretty melancholy. Maybe I made it that way on purpose, I don't know.
Your singing is very unique and a lot of people have compared it to Beth Gibbon from Portishead. I was wondering how you feel about that. Do you think it's a valid comparison?
I'm a humongous fan of Portishead. So, if they want to compare me to Portishead then that is perfectly fine with me, because I absolutely love them. I mean at least they're not comparing me to someone I hate. That's usually how people do it-they have to compare.
There's some sampling on the album and I was wondering how you decide what you're going to use. Also, how do you feel sampling adds to the music?
Keeley usually does the sampling ideas. It just adds texture to the music, and it can bring it to a whole other realm. I don't know exactly what he does. That's kind of his department, I just kind of let him go with it.
Denali has only been together for about two years. How do you feel about the quick success you've been having, and how do you feel the band may evolve in the future?
I'm completely amazed at what's been happening. I had no expectations for this band, and once we started I didn't know if we were going to play out or what, or if this was just a little project or something. But it's just slowly gotten to a point where it's like, what is happening? I'm completely satisfied with what's happening now. Of course I would love to, I don't know, present an award on MTV video awards or something. But who knows if it will go that far. Whatever happens, happens, but I'm completely satisfied right now.
Do you know what direction Denali is going in right now?
We talk a lot about ideas. Once we get back from the tour we're going to start writing for the next album. I think it's good that we keep ourselves open on what sound we want to take. So, we really don't know what the second album is going to sound like, and we haven't decided what avenue we're going to take. But, we've written a couple of songs and it's basically in the same vein as the last album. However, we could do a Bossanova song for all I know.
How did you get on Jade Tree Records?
We had a friend in Strike Anywhere who's also on Jade Tree, and we were thinking about what label we should be on. They recommended that we send a demo to them because they liked the label. So, we sent a demo and they replied that they weren't looking for any new bands. So, we were like \oh well."" But then Tim Mullins from Jade Tree came to one of our shows in Philly and I guess he liked it. From there on it was a bunch of meetings and it just happened.
How do you feel about the term emo, and do you feel you're grouped in that category because of being on Jade Tree?
I don't think we're emo at all. I think one of the reasons Jade Tree picked us up was they're expanding to all different types of music. People have called us emo, but I can't see the connection at all. Of course people are going to say that because we're on an emo label. But I think it's great that we are a part of the action that Jade Tree is taking to expand their bands.
It seems like there are not many female artists on the indie scene and I was wondering what you think about that.
I was really hesitant to be a female front-lady in the indie scene because you don't see a lot of that I don't know if there's not many [women] out there or if they're not responded to very well. I don't know what it is. I was talking with someone about this the other day and I can't pinpoint why it's a male dominated scene. But girls have awesome voices too. So, I can't really pinpoint why there wouldn't be more girls. It's an interesting question.
How is touring going?
It's going pretty good. We've had a couple or downer shows, but you always have to have those to keep you humble. For the most part it's been really great.
Can you tell me about your live show, so we know what to expect in Madison.
A lot of people have said that they felt our live show was more rocking than our album. We've also got a little light show going that Keeley has been doing, that's pretty cool. I think we represent the album really well with the samplings and all that stuff. If you were listening to the album you may think that, oh they can't do that live, but I think we do it pretty well.
What albums have you been listening to these days?
Well, I picked up the new Coldplay album and I am absolutely in love with it. I think I want to marry it.
