Who is DTE?
(For a .PDF version of our bio and one sheet, please click here) The Bottleneck, in Lawrence Kansas -- the club from which emerged Paw, Stick and Frogpond…host joint for Butthole Surfers, Burning Spear and Lucinda Williams – in May 2002 was also the first stage for Distance to Empty, an upbeat indie rock band with a frontman crooner. Think Harry Connick, Jr. backed by Incubus, four Kansas natives with little in common but location and the sheer enjoyment of playing music. Meet: In the spring of 2004, the band released their first full-length album. One reviewer called the self-titled LP "hopelessly romantic, yet painfully bitter, full of adolescent definitions of love sung with a man's maturity." Over the course of their first two years the band played various small clubs around the Midwest. Strangely noteworthy gigs included a PGA golfer's house party, the Chevy End Zone Stage at a Kansas City Chiefs game and the VIP tent at a Coldplay/Rilo Kiley concert. Promoting themselves through online outlets, D.T.E. sold over 1,000 copies of their independently funded album, all accomplished while self-managing, self-booking and self-promoting. With the debut album’s success, Distance to Empty took a two-month break from their hectic touring schedule to work on new material. Recorded in a nine-day flurry and mastered by Grammy award winner Trevor Sadler (whose résumé includes Live, Nine Inch Nails, Moby, Cracker and the Crash Test Dummies), Relaxcitement is an indie pop roller coaster ride crackling with dynamics, hooks, and a visceral energy hijacked from the band’s live performances. “The goal was to keep the sound as pure and driving as possible on this one. It seems that a lot of modern albums are chock-full of digital edits and pitch correction. Nobody in this band wanted that over-produced sound. We wanted to capture raw energy,” says Whitehouse. Minutes after Relaxcitement was shipped to the manufacturer, D.T.E. jumped into the van, and ventured over 5,000 miles on their first international outing. In 5 weeks on the road, they performed 28 shows in 24 cities in the U.S. and Canada, and consumed over 50 boxes of pasta and 5 jars of crunchy peanut butter. “Ramen and peanut butter,” Akers muses “are cornerstones of our nutrition program.” Upon their return to Lawrence, Distance to Empty ushered in the release of "Relaxcitement with a spot at the 2006 Wakarusa Music Festival, among the likes of The Flaming Lips, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Keller Williams, STS9, Robert Randolph and Les Claypool. D.T.E. is going into 2007 with a bang, having played more than 150 shows across North America over the course of 2006 and receiving airplay (charting Top #30 on multiple playlists in major markets including Chicago and Seattle) on over 115 college radio stations in the U.S. and Canada. Expect them to throw down in front of live audiences with the same conviction displayed on Relaxcitement. Energy, sweat, dancing and free Dum Dums are all part of the experience. "Ha," Curtis laughs, "people love the free Dum Dums." Who are their friends?What do people say about them?
What radio stations are they spun on?
What happened to the Ketchup Bottle!?
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So many toys, so little time! Take a look around. Don't touch.
Visit our MySpace for some songs from our new album.
Check out our Tour Blog to keep up on our happenings.
Buy our new CD: Relaxcitement and brag to your friends.
Sign up for our Street Team to help spread the word and get some free schwag.
Or you could sign up on our e-mail list and get updates from us.
Visit our MySpace for some songs from our new album.
Check out our Tour Blog to keep up on our happenings.
Buy our new CD: Relaxcitement and brag to your friends.
Sign up for our Street Team to help spread the word and get some free schwag.
Or you could sign up on our e-mail list and get updates from us.
Who is DTE?Who are their friends?What do people say about them?What radio stations are they spun on?What happened to the Ketchup Bottle!? |