24 September 2006 -

EXCLUSIVE Interview: Denver Dalley
Chuck Norton, DeadJournalist.com

Three bands into his career, Denver Dalley is working on the debut CD for his latest project, the Nashville-based electronic/rock band Intramural.

Dalley, the guitarist for Omaha’s famed “Saddle Creek Super Group” the Desaparecidos, went solo with the band Statistics after Conor Oberst  (AKA Bright Eyes) broke up the Desaparecidos in 2003.

After releasing a self-titled EP and two full-length LP’s on Jade Tree Records, Dalley put Statistics on hiatus to pursue other musical interests. Those interests led to the formation of Intramural with Sam Shacklock.

Intramural’s upcoming album will feature guest musicians from bands including the Velvet Teen, Brand New, Slender Means, Men Women & Children, Pale Pacific, the Long Winters, Minipop and the Evening Episode. Each track will also feature guest lead vocals on each track.

For more information on Intramural visit their MySpace.com at: www.myspace.com/intramural.

DeadJournalist.com recently caught up with Denver Dalley for this exclusive interview.

What led you to form your latest band, Intramural?

I really just wanted to start collaborating with different people. I started Statistics as this experimental project - just writing whatever I felt like without the scheduling or creative conflicts of a full band. Then I realized that I was missing some of the good things that come with working with others. I guess I got sort of lonely? So this was a happy medium, I am able to work on things on my own (I work mostly at night) but I still get to work with others. Now I have started a handful of collaborative projects.

How does Intramural’s sound differ from your previous projects?

It’s much more electronic then anything I’ve done before. Each track has a different vocalist, so obviously that switches up the sound quite a bit ... I’m not exactly sure really. The record is filled with such a wide array of sound. So many things were sampled and manipulated.

You have a number of guest musicians on this album. What have you enjoyed most from working with these artists?

It’s been really amazing to hear how each vocalist takes on their track. A few of them have gone back and forth with me - sending different versions and revising, but a lot of them would just send the audio back and I would plug it Into the song. It was like hearing the track for the first time almost - it was just so exciting to hear what they had done.

How long until this album will be released?

I’m hoping to have it out early next year. We are working on the final track right now, and as soon as we complete that, it’s off to mastering and then whatever amount of lead-time the label and press need. But yeah, aiming for early 2007.

Are you planning a tour In support of the album?

I’m hoping to, but obviously there is no way that we are going to be able to tour with all of the vocalists that appear on the record, so I have been slowly working on making videos for each song to represent the vocalist on stage. Right now though, I’m just focusing on getting the record completed!

What do you enjoy most about being a musician? Do you prefer creating new music or performing live?

I definitely love both aspects, I think that it comes and goes though. I guess everyone wants what they can’t have - if you’re on tour, you want to be home and vice versa. The same way people want to be in a relationship when they are single and vice versa ... right now I’m in the midst of a creative stage.

I’m having so much fun working with all of these different people, I think that’s ultimately what I want to do. That being said though, I’m going to be touring again this October - playing guitar in Sean Na Na.

What is the status of Statistics?

It’s on the back burner for now. I got out of my contracts with Jade Tree and am quite happy about that. We just sort of grew in different directions - or didn’t grow - however you look at it. I think that I will eventually come back to it - I want to take some time to get inspired again and record the next record entirely on my own. Maybe switch the sound up. I’m not sure.

Having been in several successful bands, what do you find to be the most challenging part of leaving one band and starting another?

I really have so much excitement each time I start something new, its hard to come up with a downside to It. the hardest thing about being in bands, for me anyway, are the other members. Conor leaving Desaparecidos was a very hard thing for all of us. You feel really powerless and bad. That’s why I love working either solo or on recording projects. There’s less room for disappointment.

To whom where you listening in 1996?

I know that I was still listening to the first Weezer album, to the Pixies' “Doolittle” and to the first Foo Fighters record. And the Beastie Boys for sure.

Denver Dalley