About Me
DD SPARKS,
BORN ON JANUARY 31ST IS AN AMERICAN SINGER, SONGWRITER, MUSIC PRODUCER,
OWNER OF THE INDEPENDENT RECORD LABEL, MAGIC CABINET RECORDS AND THE BMI AFFILIATED PUBLISHING COMPANY, MAGUS MAGNUM MUSIC. SPARKS IS A TENOR/ALTO AND IS NOTED FOR HIS THEATRICAL VISUAL STYLE AND POETIC, CONFESSIONAL LYRICS.
EARLY LIFE:
SPARKS IS THE SON OF AUTHOR, JEAN RUSSELL LARSON. AS A CHILD, HE WOULD ATTEND CONCERTS AND BLUES JAMS WHERE HIS GUITARIST BROTHER, RICK LARSON, WOULD PLAY. HIS FIRST EXPOSURE TO THE POSSIBILITIES OF LIVE MUSIC WOULD BE RECEIVED, FEELING THE VIBRATIONS WHILE SITTING ON THE AMPS AT THESE SHOWS. IN SCHOOL, SPARKS WAS INVOLVED IN THEATRE, MUSIC AND DANCE, BUT ALL ONLY BRIEFLY. "JUST LONG ENOUGH TO ABSORB WHAT I NEEDED, LEAVE MY MARK AND STILL RETAIN AN OUTSIDER STATUS". THAT OUTSIDER STATUS HE WOULD CULTIVATE WHILE DEVELOPING THE MUSICAL ROLE FOR HIS DEBUT RECORD, "MAXIMUS AQUARIUS".
WHILE ATTENDING SCHOOL AND AFTER, SPARKS CONTINUED TO DANCE AND PLAY IN VARIOUS PUNK, ROCK AND GLAMROCK BANDS AND MUSICAL ACTS. HE MOST NOTEABLY PERFORMED WITH THE JACKIE FACTORY IN NEW YORK CITY, SHARING THE BILL WITH CHI CHI VALENTI, JOHNNY DYNELL, DEBORAH HARRY, BOY GEORGE, AND JOEY ARIAS, AMONG OTHERS. DURING THIS TIME, HE WORKED ON SONGWRITING AS A CRAFT AND DEVELOPED WHAT HE SAW AS THE IMPORTANCE OF A MUSICAL
STORYTELLER FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A STAGE PERSONA.
FINDING THE CONFINES OF A BAND TO BE "ARTISTICALLY UNREWARDING" AND "HAVING TO COMPROMISE WHAT I SAW AS PERSONAL AND AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL", SPARKS DECIDED TO FOCUS ON A SOLO CAREER.
MAXIMUS AQUARIUS
IN THE FALL OF 2005, SPARKS BEGAN WORK ON WHAT WOULD BE HIS FIRST SOLO RECORD, "MAXIMUS AQUARIUS", ORIGINALLY TITLED "WELCOME THE STORM". IT WAS RECORDED IN DES MOINES, IOWA AT CAPP AUDIO, CHILLIHEAD STUDIOS, AND TRIAD STUDIOS. THE SONGS WERE ALL PUBLISHED BY SPARKS' OWN BMI AFFILIATED PUBLISHING COMPANY, MAGUS MAGNUM MUSIC. TWO OF THESE, "DANGEROUS ANGELS" AND "DRAGONFLY", WERE WRITTEN IN 1998. THE NEWER ONES INCLUDED; "WELCOME THE STORM", "BELOVED NEMESIS", "LITTLE WORLDS", "CUTTING IN THE BLUE", "TRIPFALL", "TRICK OF THE LIGHT" AND "DION FORTUNE". THE SONGS, "WITCHTRIAL", "SUSPERIA", "RGENE" AND "IMPERIAL CITY" WERE ALSO RECORDED AT THIS TIME AS DEMOS, BUT WERE NOT USED IN THE FINAL 10 TRACK ALBUM. THE LAST SONG WRITTEN FOR THE RECORD WAS "MAXIMUS AQUARIUS" AND WOULD GO ON TO NOT ONLY BE THE TITLE FOR THE RECORD, BUT WOULD BE THE CHARACTER WHO WOULD ACT AS THE STORYTELLER OF THE WRITINGS AS WELL.
MIXING THE CHARACTER IN H.G. WELLS' BOOK, "THE TIME MACHINE" AND THE MUSICAL INFLUENCES OF T REX, ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, ROXY MUSIC AND LED ZEPPELIN, SPARKS' CHARACTER OF MAXIMUS AQUARIUS WAS TO BE "AN OUTSIDER, A WANDERER IN TIME". HE WOULD SING SONGS RAGING IN SUBJECT FROM LOVE, LOSS AND SURVIVAL, TO PERSONAL PHILOSOPHIES ON LIVE PERFORMANCE, JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY AND THE TEACHINGS OF THE 20TH CENTURY OCCULTIST, DION FORTUNE.
MAXIMUS AQUARIUS WAS RELEASED ON SPARKS' SELF OWNED LABEL, MAGIC CABINET RECORDS. HE HAS PERFORMED SEVERAL REGIONAL SHOWS IN SUPPORT OF THE RECORD AS WELL AS ORGINIZING AND HEADLINING "GLITTER CITY MELTDOWN", A SEMI REGULAR NIGHT CLUB EVENT HOSTING LIVE MUSIC, RUNWAY FASHION SHOWS AND PROJECTION ART.
DD SPARKS IS CURRENTLY ASSEMBLING A SERIES OF LIVE SHOWS WHICH HE HAS SAID WILL BE THE END OF "THE MAXIMUS AQUARIUS PROJECT" AND HAS BEGUN WORK ON HIS SECOND RECORD, "THE HOUSE OF DARKHEART", DUE TO BE RELEASED IN THE FALL OF 2009.
