It could have been the portioning off souls to some inert devil. Or it could have been an egg-headed, whisky-tongued promise made good upon and hatched into notes and chords. Whatever the origins of the pieces, they eventually settled into place as Decibully, a tag that was misnomer from go. Meekness and lack of pomp were what defined the group as far back as its inaugural performance in 2001. That first gig showcased three gents—William Seidel (gtr & vox), , Kenneth Siebert (gtr) and Nick Westfahl (keys)—struggling to be heard over the babbling of a barroom brook, cigarettes weaved between their guitars' headstock strings. Jason Gnewikow (ex-Promise Ring) was quickly reigned in to provide some slur-canceling percussive back beat. Before you can swing from the branches of the Decibully family tree, it's important to know that the band's hometown, Milwaukee, is a musical forest populated by unprejudiced, discretion-starved gnomes. In such a place, things bloom wildly. And things get tangled. Sounds and styles mix. Decibully, comprised of ex-players of everything from hardcore to twee pop, is a benefactor of the city's verdancy. They consider themselves blessed. And so members budded and fell until 2003, when a base was found in William Seidel (vox, gtrs), W. Kenneth Seibert (gtrs), Ryan Weber (keys, gtrs), Nicholas Sanborn (keys, accordion), Aaron Vold (drums), Justin Klug (bass). On steady ground, the unit holed up in various studios and attics throughout Milwaukee's Bayview neighborhood and began cobbling together what would become their first proper LP, City of Festivals. After Polyvinyl Records released that collection in autumn of 2003, Decibully immediately started cutting across the USA in support. Boosted by favorable reviews ("It's an amazing album that is almost too beautiful to listen to." – munchkinmusic) and the intimacy of the road, the band returned home with a batch of new songs coursing through their heads. After litmus-testing the cuts on hometown audiences, the group began committing City of Festivals's successor to tape. Back in Bayview's studios and attics, countless hours were spent meticulously piling layer upon layer. Eventually the seams were sealed and in March 2005, Polyvinyl began shipping copies of the new Decibully record, Sing Out America! The band once again traced America's highways and byways in support of their new album, Sing Out America! then went on to play a series of shows in front of receptive audiences throughout Europe in the late-spring of 2005, after which they slunk quietly back into their daily Dairyland routines.
We are currently putting the finishing touches on our third proper full length album, World Travels Fast, a collection of genre bending pop songs about growing old in the modern world. Added to the ever expanded family tree that is Decibully are Andy Menchal (bass) and Jim Nuemeyer (guitar) both from the late great Milwaukee band, Temper Temper. Look for our new music in late '08.
*decibully speaks!
*video for penny look down. directed by austin alward
*Live @ 400 bar Minneapolis 5/17/07 "Sing Out! Sing Out! Sing Out!"
*BOOKING WITH NICODEMUS AGENCY:
[email protected] *MANAGEMENT:
[email protected] READ SOME SING OUT AMERICA! REVIEWS:
stylus
hybrid
30 music
delusions of adequacy
