That they’re 5 sophomores. With an album out. On iTunes.
Things started small: friends Andrew Rapp and Jeff Weinreb, both ’12, realized almost upon meeting freshman year that they had similar tastes in music. But the usual freshman feeling — “waitnowayyoulikethemtoo? Omgletssharemusic.” — led to something more for these two. They soon started casually jamming together during their freshman fall, eventually writing and recording songs on Andrew’s computer. Rich Smith ’12, a down-the-hall neighbor of Rapp’s and an upright bassist with classical training, flipped to the electric (“flip it to the side and cellooo… you’ve got a bass”) and began adding tracks to Rapp and Weinreb’s material. It seemed too good to be true when they returned sophomore year to find drummer Alex Von Reyn ’12 (or AVR, as he’s fondly known in the band), a new resident of their dorm. AVR was added on the drums this past fall, along with old friend Alex Hare ’12 on keys. Now a full-fledged five-piece, Dorado continued writing and recording, culminating in their EP Thrill of the Fall, which dropped January 14th.
That it takes a village. And sometimes a long long time.
Rapp, with the help of Weinreb, once did most of the writing for the EP, but now that Dorado is a five-piece, creating a song is a team effort. The guys cite bands like the Killers and Mae as their major influences, and listening to them conjures up a more modern version of Motion City Soundtrack, with a little bit more electric keys and a little bit less let’s-talk-about-my-feelings. But despite this common ground, the five band members come from multiple, and not always overlapping, musical tastes and backgrounds. While this diversity no doubt helps keep things interesting, Rapp admits that “it can be really difficult to write material that every member of the band is in love with. It takes a lot of compromise.”
Since the membership has expanded, writing has become less Rapp and/or Weinreb in their room and more of an organic, dynamic process. “Songs will spark from someone sitting down at practice with a new riff, beat or melody and things will just take off,” says Rapp. “Hare came in with a new synth riff the other day and after 10 minutes of jamming we’re now sitting on a skeleton outline of a song that we’re all psyched about.” That said, they’re not always that lucky; while some songs almost write themselves, others can take months or years of bubbling on the back burner before they’re ready for prime time, Rapp explains. “I’m still drawing on material that I wrote way back in the first few years of high school. It’s a process that you really just can’t rush.”
That they know how to work a mattress.
There’s no place like home: in addition to being the band’s practice space, Rapp and Weinreb’s double also served as the studio for almost all of the recording process. Pretty much everything was done in their room on Rapp’s computer, including a few all-nighters for mixing and mastering. And, as the boys discovered, you can make a pretty decent dorm room vocal booth out of two mattresses, egg-crate foam and a couple of comforters.
That you’ll be seeing more of them.
The band, currently unsigned, recently road-tripped down to NYC for a meeting with a record label, and they have another visit scheduled in the coming months. In addition to working on their next album and cracking into the business, they’re hoping to play more live shows – and while they’re looking to take advantage of Boston’s proximity, gigs at local venues like AS220, Lupo’s, and events right here at Brown should mean that you’ll be hearing from them soon. “Providence has a great music scene,” says Rapp. “Expect to see a lot of Dorado playing around the Providence area in the near future.”
