The Alphabetical Order profile picture

The Alphabetical Order

2004-2008

About Me

The Alphabetical Order was a DC post-punk quartet from 2004 to 2008. Below is its old bio:
"I Am Magically Happening!" , the first full-length from Washington, DC's post-punk quartet The Alphabetical Order shows a great deal of DC indie influence, with hints of Fugazi and Jawbox skating across the soundscape. The album is raw and the songwriting employs ambitious tactics—odd time signatures, unexpected key changes, and non-traditional structure are littered across the 10 tracks. Still, the Order's love of hooks cannot be muted— "Submarines" boasts a sing-along chorus with brilliant harmonies and the anthemic "Shot From Cannons" gets heads nodding with its thundering cadence. Beyond the music, however, "I Am Magically Happening!" is a treatise on the nature and formation of identity and how the definition of self is distorted in a relationship. In support of the album, The Alphabetical Order has journeyed up and down the east coast, earning praise regionally and nationally.
"Were 'I Am Magically Happening!' recorded by J. Robbins, Ted Nicely, or Ian McKaye with Don Zientara at Inner Ear and released on Dischord, it would be instantly hailed as a great post-punk indie rock burner.... It's got urgent, tightwound post-punk guitars, ultra-rhythmic, propulsive bass and drums, Gavin Dunaway's forceful, highly enunciated vocals, and tunes. Not surprisingly, this reviewer digs it, and hopes that its lack of affiliation with the above won't prevent it from wider recognition."—Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover


"'I Am Magically Happening!' is full of twists, turns, and F-1 chicanes as not-too-common time signatures find themselves employed with massively entertaining choruses and memorable hooks. Impressive guitar solos are the secret weapon behind an infantry of lock-step beats. A little less feedback than typical post-punk, a little more color and flavor than typical post-hardcore, The Alphabetical Order have given us a clever debut LP which is fantastically catchy, awesomely rocking, and rarely misses a step."—Barrett King, Any Given Tuesday


"['I Am Magically Happening!'] is like a post punk / college rock explosion full of songs that take a while to get used to listening. The melodies jump around and it's impossible to casually listen to their songs. The Alphabetical Order demands your attention and they assault your ears to get it."—Grog Mutant, The Chickenfish Speaks


Highlights:
"I Am Magically Happening!" ranked in top 10 DC albums of 2007 by OnTap Magazine
"Submarines" awarded Track of the Day at Garageband.com, July 7, 2007
The Alphabetical Order nominated for "Best Modern Rock Duo/Group" in 2006 by the Washington Area Music Association
"Krakow Krakow" ranked in top 25 MP3s of 2006 at Indie-Music.com
Regional finals of the 2005 Emergenza Music Festival
Invited to play the concert series at Ft. Reno in Washington, DC; the Dewey Beach Popfest; Midem Music Festival; MEANY Fest; the Millennium Music Conference; and countless benefit concerts at DC-area high schools, colleges, and churches.
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Check out our live journal , where we discuss just about everything... 'Cause we're damn interesting people.
"I Am Magically Happening!" is now available on iTunes , from CD Baby (buy "The Unimpeachable EP" too), Amazon , and InterPunk.com .

What? We're on Imeem too? You just can't get away from us.

Check us out on Amie Street (and download the cd while it's still cheap!).
.. -- -- -- -- -- Amie Street Player --
View The Alphabetical Order's EPK
(Electronic Press Kit)



Stream all of "I Am Magically Happening" as well as your favorite older Order tunes at Garageband.com . You can even give us a good review...
Indie-Music.com ranked "Krakow Krakow" as one of its top 25 mp3s of 2006. You can also download high-quality versions of the I Am Magically Happening sampler at The Alphabetical Order's Indie-Music.com page.

Come listen to us on Last.fm —

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 7/8/2004
Band Website: thealphabeticalorder.org
Band Members:

Gavin Dunaway : Guitar, Vocals

Kate Rears : Bass, Vocals

Gabriel Fry : Guitar, Vocals, and Keyboards;

Ashraf Younes : Drums

Former members: Ben Dover, Chris McKinney, Jeff Miller
Influences: Gavin: HUM, Chavez, Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbox, Smashing Pumpkins, David Bowie, At The Drive-In, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, The Afghan Whigs, Mogwai

Kate: Failure, Sparklehorse, Stone Temple Pilots, Joy Division, The Police, Foo Fighters, Blur, Rival Schools, Claude Debussy, Burt Bacharach

Gabe: Jeff Buckley, the Smiths, the Jealous Sound, Built to Spill, the Dismemberment Plan, Modest Mouse, Elliott Smith, Catherine Wheel, Elvis Costello

Ashraf: World of Warcraft
Sounds Like: Post hardcore sneaks up behind powerpop with a piece of piano wire.
Record Label: Self released
Type of Label: None

My Blog

The complete press for "IAMH!"

So we're changing up the myspace a little bit so you don't have to scroll through thousands of words of text. Here is all the great press we've received for "IAMH!""Somehow I missed this DC quartet's ...
Posted by The Alphabetical Order on Mon, 03 Mar 2008 10:08:00 PST

Forty bands, explained.

It's not just forty bands, not just forty local bands, not just forty local bands that are still together (mostly), but forty local bands that are still together THAT I LIKE. Think about that for a se...
Posted by The Alphabetical Order on Fri, 21 Sep 2007 05:07:00 PST

Insight Into Our Doings And Goings On.

Hi there. We're working on album artwork. And new songs. And stuff. We are excited to only have two shows on the books, and that those shows are with Beauty Pill, Carol, and the B&P Experience/Pro...
Posted by The Alphabetical Order on Fri, 15 Jun 2007 04:31:00 PST

Can we really fill a dance floor?

Washington Post Sunday Source write-upTHE ALPHABETICAL ORDER-- Friday at 9:30 p.m. The local indie-rock quartet can fill a dance floor with its hook-filled power-pop. With Bridges and Powerlines, Lang...
Posted by The Alphabetical Order on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 04:23:00 PST

Tour Diary.

Friday, 10/20/06 5:45am - I wake up. 7:00am - I get to work. 3:00pm - I leave work. 3:30pm - I get to Dulles airport. 4:35pm - My flight is scheduled to take off for JFK. 6:35pm - An actress from...
Posted by The Alphabetical Order on Tue, 24 Oct 2006 04:03:00 PST

We're back in Chuck Ronan's studio, making a new thing.

On Saturday we tracked all the drums and bass and a good portion of the vocals, and on Sunday we did all my guitars and more vocals, and on Monday we did all of Gavin's guitars and more vocals, and th...
Posted by The Alphabetical Order on Fri, 13 Oct 2006 03:18:00 PST

1001 friends!

We're so popular! Wait till I tell my mom this weekend that I have 1001 myspace friends. She'll be so excited. She'll say "1001 myspace friends? You must be one hell of a sexual predator! See, I told...
Posted by The Alphabetical Order on Thu, 21 Sep 2006 03:12:00 PST

Press...

We've received some flattering press the last few years and I thought I would share...It would be easy to say The Alphabetical Order are the most exciting thing to come out of Washington DC, but when ...
Posted by The Alphabetical Order on Mon, 04 Sep 2006 10:59:00 PST

We need a new drummer - like whoa.

Do you want to play drums in our band? Are you really good at drums? Do you enjoy playing music? Do you want to hang out with us and eat pizza? Do you like to drink beers? Are you a credit to your gen...
Posted by The Alphabetical Order on Mon, 26 Jun 2006 01:53:00 PST

A Formal Invitation! To You & Yours!

Dearest Alphabetical Order Listener,We here at A.O. headquarters have been concerned recently that perhaps you, the object of our affectation, have grown weary of making the journey up 14th street to ...
Posted by The Alphabetical Order on Mon, 22 May 2006 12:37:00 PST