Sole Remaining Original Member: Dave Raymond of Damiera

Damiera’s Dave Raymond thrives on change and adversity.

He has to. It’s the only explanation for how the band’s lead vocalist, guitarist and sole remaining original member has managed to keep the New York-based progressive indie-rock act afloat through numerous line-up changes, including a brief break-up last year following the release of their critically acclaimed Equal Vision Records debut full-length, “M(US)ic.”

Despite losing two members (drummer Joshua Sparks and bassist Jayson Dezuzio split) around the release of their sophomore album, “Quiet Mouth, Loud Hands,” this past summer, Raymond has miraculously managed to continue pushing Damiera forward undeterred.
By all logic, this band should have been dead for good several times over by now (few rock acts survive repeated line-up shifts).

Driven by an undying will to create, the record’s title is a reflection of the do-or-die spirit that has kept the band (whose current roster includes guitarist Steve Downs, bassist Evan Weiss and drummer Dave Robison in addition to Raymond) going through insurmountable hardships.

“The concept of the album is based on doing and not talking,” Raymond said over the phone while waiting at a gas station in Illinois. “What’s got you really motivated to want to change something, the only way to do it is to do it. It’s going to be hard no matter what, and no excuse is going to be getting you any closer to the end, to your goal, no matter what it is.”

“Quiet Mouth, Loud Hands” shows a marked departure from its predecessor, stripping away many of the technical leanings present on “M(US)ic” in favor of more concise songwriting, while elements from their older sound still poke through in places.

Much of the disc (“Chromatica,” “Silvertongue,” “Teacher, Preacher”) boldly ventures into unabashedly pop territory. It still sounds like a Damiera record should, only less one-dimensional than before, replacing flashy guitars with danceable bounce and sharp melodic sass.

“I’ve always been attracted to the pop sensibility of music, and the melody and the hooks and the things that bring you back,” Raymond said. “This time around I made a really conscious effort to work the vocals and the melodies as part of the song equally from the start, rather than making them secondary to the music. I think that’s the biggest reason that things came out sounding more like composed pop songs rather than riff, riff, riff.”

While releasing a disc that could be described at times as a thinking man’s Maroon 5 might seem like career suicide for a group that has staked their reputation on being a first-rate indie-prog act, Raymond says he has been pleased with the way fans have kept up with the stylistic left turns the band has taken between discs.

“I’ve been really happy with how people have received the album,” Raymond said. “Catching people singing along and stuff gives a pretty good indication that they’ve heard the record a few times. It’s pretty humbling.”

After going through an inordinate amount of headaches to get where they’re at right now, it seems like things have finally stabilized somewhat in the Damiera camp. The band is currently out supporting “Quiet Mouth, Loud Hands” on a self-booked tour, hitting up all the cities they wanted to play most before heading home to write over the winter.

They’ve made Fargo a regular stop on recent road itineraries, and Raymond sounds enthusiastic about returning to the Red Raven.
“A lot of the north to northwest is really unvisited because bands…wouldn’t think to go to towns like Fargo,” Raymond said. “The people that come to the shows, and the people that we’ve met and have received the band have been really, really welcoming, and have given us every reason to come back.”

If You Go

What: Damiera w/Agnes The Mother, People Of Paper, Sleeping In Gethsemane.
Where: The Red Raven
When: Nov 23, doors open at 6:30pm
Who: All ages
How Much: $5
Info: 701.478.7337