Synthetic Division profile picture

Synthetic Division

LIVE in DC this Saturday, June 7

About Me


Tracks 1 and 2 from Get with the Programs (available at A Different Drum!). Track 3 from discontinued EP, Bleeding Heart Cadaver (2003) and Track 4 from Tainted Goods EP (1999). More tracks coming soon!
THE NEW Synthetic Division CD, Get with the Programs, IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE! Visit the online store, and get with the programs! Or visit iTunes!

"Like a bastard child of Erasure and DEVO; it (Get With The Programs) has the quirkiness of the latter, yet the sentimental grace of the former." - ReGen Magazine Online

"A heavy Depeche Mode vibe... Synthetic Division will get you moving!" -C-VILLE Weekly

"Synthetic Division might be your new key to happiness. This is dance-able in the same kind of way that Wolfsheim and Covenant are." - Gothic Angst


"Quality material worthy of label attention." - Godsend Reviews

"Synthetic Division have learned how to appeal to the head and heart as well as the ass." - The Chicago Reader (A. Sterzinger)

"Get With the Programs’ goodness is really refreshing. Each song creates a swirly, decadent atmosphere." - Maxine Nation for Machinerie

"Plenty of infectious vocal hooks and synth lines... this release looks as good as it sounds." - The Core, WNRN 91.9


Check out the music video for "Back to Sleep"!

The Synthetic Division Saga


Born with hemophilia and diagnosed with HIV as a child, Shawn Decker had the opportunity to meet anyone in the world through the Make-A-Wish Foundation: he chose Depeche Mode. "Jim Morrison got his songwriting powers as a child, when his parents drove past a car accident and the spirits of dead Native Americans lept into his soul," Decker says. "I got mine by shaking the hand of Martin Gore."
In high school, Shawn refused to give his medical dramas any power over his life, and didn't talk about them even to his closest friends. Instead, he turned to electronic music, which spoke to him on a deeply personal level. “When I put on the headphones to listen to my favorite bands,” says Decker, “everything else felt secondary, and manageable as a consequence.”
Synthetic Division is now making the music. In 2006-07, Shawn collaborated with Richmond-based electro musician Kyle Wiggins, and together they produced Get with the Programs, recording the album at Final Symphony Studios in Charlottesville, Virginia, by Micah Consylman of Bella Morte. In late 2007, former In Tenebris keyboardist, Marshall Camden, joined Synthetic Division to add a dynamic presence to the live show, helping to deliver the dance-heavy tunes that move your heart as well as your feet. _____________________________________ Synthetic Division's debut full-length CD, Get with the Programs, is now available on the official web site and on iTunes . The CD was recorded in 2007 at Final Symphony Studio in Charlottesville, Virginia, and was produced by Micah Consylman and Synthetic Division. Shawn's memoir, My Pet Virus: The True Story of a Rebel Without a Cure , was published by the Penguin Group in September of 2006.

WHAT BADASSES ARE SAYING ABOUT THE BOOK:


"Shawn Decker has a way of making us thickblooded negatoid musicians feel like limp dicks for not making the most of our talent and our lives."
- Jeff Diehm of The Last Dance "I picked up My Pet Virus and didn’t set it down ‘til I was done, and I’m a busy guy. Shawn Decker’s getting more attention for this book than Britney Spears’ got for forgetting her panties. I dig it, and I’m damned sure you will too!"
- Andy Deane of Bella Morte
"Shawn Decker is the King of the Thinblood Hotties!"
- Augusten Burroughs, author of Running With Scissors What the hell is all this "thinblood" and "negatoid" nonsense? Pick up My Pet Virus at your local bookstore and find out! You can find Shawn gigging as Synthetic Division, on TV and at college campuses talking about HIV/AIDS or hounding his friends in Bella Morte as BMTV.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 12/14/2006
Band Website: synthetic-division.com
Band Members: CURRENT Shawn Decker -Vox, Programming
Marshall Camden - live synths
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Synthetic Division Hall of Fame- Kyle Wiggins
Influences: Depeche Mode, Bella Morte, The Smiths, OMD, Nirvana, Nitzer Ebb, Iris, New Order, Shiny Toy Guns, And One, Assemblage 23
Record Label: unsigned
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Last Dawning at Outback: Come out May 31!

It's the last downstairs Dawning at Outback, so come out and help Myotis and Synthetic Division give the night (which will find a new home soon!) a good send-off. Hope to see you all there!  And ...
Posted by Synthetic Division on Wed, 07 May 2008 04:31:00 PST

IDIL Gothic Version of "Nobody Could See This Coming" is up!

Here's a mega blog about my show in L.A... go to the music player to hear the remix of "Nobody Could See This Coming", click below to see live footage of L.A. show. Josh D'Elia of The Sane,...
Posted by Synthetic Division on Fri, 02 May 2008 03:15:00 PST

Live TONITE in L.A.

Last night I finally worked up the courage to open the box, having checked the neon Synthetic Division sign with the airlines. (UPS did a fine job packing it, the sign was safe and sound.) And tonight...
Posted by Synthetic Division on Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:09:00 PST

in L.A. this Saturday

It's true, Synthetic Division is heading to L.A. My longtime pal, Josh, whom I wrote about in My Pet Virus, is filling in for Marshall, the keyman for Synthetic Division. Today I was being pretentiou...
Posted by Synthetic Division on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:37:00 PST

ReGens Top Industrial and Goth Music Videos

Nitzer Ebb grabbed the 14 spot with "Murderous". I love NE. If Rocky IV were set in modern times (ignore the fall of the Soviet Union, of course), Ivan Drago would have attempted to gain a ...
Posted by Synthetic Division on Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:38:00 PST

Synthetic Division interviews Ric Flair

Check it out!  Over at my other blog: My Pet Blog. Shawn
Posted by Synthetic Division on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:05:00 PST

Live in LA and DC

Saturday April 19th show at The Galaxy on Melrose, with special musical guest Josh D’Elia of The Sane sitting in for Marshall Camden.Then, Synthetic Division LIVE in DC at Midnight on June 7!Cha...
Posted by Synthetic Division on Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:08:00 PST

Live in RICHMOND and LOS ANGELES

Yes, you read it right. Coast to coast live Synthetic Division action!First up, The East Coast Gothic Fest at Alley Katz on Saturday, March 22. Then on Saturday, April 19, in Los Angeles at The Gala...
Posted by Synthetic Division on Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:59:00 PST

RICHMOND show Sat. March 22 @ Alley Katz

It's on: Synthetic Division in Richmond, Saturday March 22nd at Alley Katz. Check out my Top Friend to hear all the acts performing, here's a list below: ..> Members Schedule of Performers:Doors ...
Posted by Synthetic Division on Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:49:00 PST

Bella Morte news/vid/Gopals new band!

Some of my favorite people on Earth are in Bella Morte.  Some of my favorite music on Earth has been made by Bella Morte.  In short; I love Bella Morte.Check out their video for "On the Edge", filmed ...
Posted by Synthetic Division on Sun, 17 Feb 2008 01:14:00 PST