The Werks

Last updated
The Werks
The Werks Band.jpg
L-R: Rob Chafin, Dino Dimitrouleas, Chris Houser and Norman Dimitrouleas
Photo: Brian Hockensmith
Background information
Origin Dayton, Ohio, United States
Genres Rock, jam band, funk, Psychedelic rock, roots rock, indie rock, Electronic dance music
Years active2005-Current
Members Rob Chafin
Chuckie Love
Chris Houser
Dan Shaw
Past members Aaron Armstrong
Dave Bartoletti
Norman Dimitrouleas
Jake Goldberg
Dino Dimitrouleas
Website thewerksmusic.com

The Werks is an American rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio and noted for its musical improvisation and exploration of music across multiple genres. Founded in 2005 by Dave Bartoletti (keys), Rob Chafin (drummer), Chris Houser (guitar) and Chuck Love (bass), the band is best known for its quick rise into the jam band music scene and appearances at major festivals and events across the US and abroad. In early June 2011, the band rose to prominence when it hit the number 2 top searched artists on the leading online Jam Magazine, jambase.com, behind the band Phish and again in early 2012 when they hit number 1. [1] [2] Current members of the band are as follows; Rob Chafin- Drums, Vocals, Samples / Chucky Love- Bass, Vocals / Chris Houser- Guitar, Vocals / Dan Shaw- Keyboards, Vocals.

Contents

History

Formation

In 2005 the foursome met while attending a local music contest in Dayton, Ohio. After agreeing to commit to a band project, they named the group after their first meal together; ordering a dish with "The Works" from a local restaurant. The naming convention would be changed to "The Werks" soon after. The band officially formed in 2007 and Dave Bartoletti would leave the band one year later; he was replaced by keyboardist, Norman Dimitrouleas who previously performed in another Dayton band, The Maji. [3] In the summer of 2011, bassist Dino Dimitrouleas, also from the Maji, replaced founding member Chuck Love and percussionist, Aaron Armstrong, from Toledo, Ohio, would join with the band from May through November of that same year. Dan Shaw, of Columbus, Ohio, replaced Norman Dimitrouleas, now deceased, [4] in 2014 as the band's keyboardist. Jake Goldberg then replaced Dino Dimitrouleas in 2016 on bass.

Musical style

Techniques

The band incorporates rock, vintage psychedelic, funk music, and livetronica into their own musical form, called "psychedelic dance rock". [5] [6] It bridges a gap by incorporating high energy music and high production values with themes that embrace "exploratory jams", [7] a more accepted "shift occurring in the musical world", according to some critics. [8]

Other

Festivals

The Werks have played many notable festivals, including appearances at The Peach Music Festival, Wakarusa Music & Camping Festival, Summer Camp Music Festival, Electric Forest, High Sierra Music Festival, All Good Music Festival, Camp Bisco, including their own festival, the Werk Out Music and Arts Festival, held annually each August in Central Ohio. [3] [5] [6] [9] [10] In 2017, 2 more namesake events were debuted, the Winter Werk Out Music and Arts Festival in Columbus, OH in February and the Werk Out West Music and Arts Festival in Denver, CO in March. The 2nd annual Winter Werk Out in Columbus in February 2018 featured Papadosio as a headliner; the 3rd annual Winter Werk Out in 2019 featured Emancipator, EOTO, Tropidelic, and Zach Deputy. At the 10th annual Werk Out Festival in August 2019 in Thornville, OH, featured their biggest line up to date: STS9, Big Gigantic, Lennon Claypool Delirium, Twiddle, Dopapod, Cory Wong, and more.

Tapers

The Werks have adopted the policy of allowing fans to tape, trade, and distribute their live shows. [3] Werkers (fans) have been taping and trading shows since their inception, which has helped them to gain their national following. [11] John Earl "Chubby" Howard was an original taper of the band. (September 5, 1960 - July 3, 2017)

Discography

Notes

  1. ↑ "Artists on JamBase". JamBase . Retrieved 2011-07-30.
  2. ↑ "The Werks Are The 2nd Most Popular Artist On JamBase « The Crazy Sign Guy". Crazysignguy.wordpress.com. 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
  3. 1 2 3 Baker, Brian (2012) "The Werks: Oct. 27, Madison Theater", Cincinnati CityBeat , October 22, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013
  4. ↑ "Norman Paraskevas Dimitrouleas (March 2, 1982 - January 9, 2016)". Routsong Funeral & Cremation Services, Centerville, Kettering, Ohio. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  5. 1 2 Sachs, Justin (2012) "On the Verge: The Werks", Relix , July 13, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013
  6. 1 2 Glass, Brian (2013) "Dayton band The Werks is taking the country by storm - one festival at a time", Springfield News-Sun , May 13, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013
  7. ↑ "Feature: Jam band evolution". www.columbusalive.com. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
  8. ↑ "Papadosio & The Werks – NYE Shows". jambase.com. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
  9. ↑ "Need We Say More? > News > Michael Kang, The New Mastersounds and Future Rock Join The Werk Out". Jambands.com. 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
  10. ↑ "THE WERK OUT FESTIVAL ADDS TALENT TO 2ND ANNUAL EVENT Ohio's Own THE WERKS Host Dozens of Bands in Central Ohio September 8–11". Cleveland Groove Magazine. 2011-07-26. Archived from the original on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
  11. ↑ https://archive.org/details/thewerks The Werks collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive Retrieved 2011-08-04.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Breeders</span> American alternative rock band

The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal, her twin sister Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim Macpherson (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disco Biscuits</span> American jam band

The Disco Biscuits are an American jam band from Philadelphia. The band consists of Allen Aucoin (drums), Marc "Brownie" Brownstein, Jon "The Barber" Gutwillig, and Aron Magner. The band incorporates elements from a variety of musical genres with a base of electronic and rock. Their style has been described as trance fusion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gov't Mule</span> American southern rock jam band

Gov't Mule is an American Southern rock jam band, formed in 1994 as a side project of the Allman Brothers Band by guitarist Warren Haynes and bassist Allen Woody. Fans often refer to Gov't Mule simply as Mule.

Slave was an American Ohio-based funk band popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist Steve Washington, born in New Jersey, attended East Orange High School, and was one of the first users of the "electric trumpet". He and Trombonist Floyd Miller formed the group in Dayton, Ohio, in 1975.

"Hang On Sloopy" is a 1964 song written by Wes Farrell and Bert Berns. Rhythm and blues vocal group the Vibrations were the first to record the tune in 1964. Atlantic Records released it as a single, which reached No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song is associated with The Ohio State University and is Ohio's official rock song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ekoostik hookah</span> American jam band

Ekoostik hookah is a jam band from Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 1991, the band has made multiple national tours in the US, as well as performing in overseas locales like Amsterdam and Jamaica, although they may more commonly be found playing local Columbus, Ohio venues like Newport Music Hall and Lifestyle Communities Pavilion. They are fixtures in many fine venues across the midwest. The band has shared the stage with many of today's top touring "jam bands", as well as stars such as Willie Nelson, Arlo Guthrie, Bob Weir, and Bruce Hornsby.

"Psychedelic Shack" is a 1969 single for the Motown label performed by the Temptations and produced by Norman Whitfield. It became a hit single in 1970.

RAQ are a psychedelic/progressive rock jam band quartet from Burlington, Vermont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Good Music Festival</span>

The All Good Music Festival and Camp Out was a weekend-long event held annually in July. Since its inception in 1997, it had been held at venues along the Mid-Atlantic, including Trip's Farm Masontown, West Virginia, Brandywine, Maryland and most notably Marvin's Mountaintop. It moved to Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio in 2012. All Good announced they would be taking a short hiatus in 2014 and not be having a festival. They returned in 2015 in Summit Point, West Virginia. Headlining acts were Primus, moe. and Cake. In 2016, it was announced the festival had been retired and would be replaced by a two-day event at Merriweather Post Pavilion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Reinhardt</span> Musical artist

Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt was an American rock guitarist who played with Iron Butterfly and Captain Beyond. At one time Reinhardt was known by the nicknames "El Rhino" and "Ryno".

Rock on the Range was an annual rock festival that was held at two locations. The first and main location was in Columbus, Ohio, United States at Mapfre Stadium from 2007 to 2018, while the other was in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at the Canad Inns Stadium from 2009 to 2011. Rock on the Range debuted in Columbus on May 19, 2007, and in Winnipeg on June 27, 2009. The Columbus festival was always held in May, while the Winnipeg festival was pushed back to August in 2010. In May 2019, Rock on the Range was officially replaced by the Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival.

The Bridge is an American jam band. They are based in Baltimore, Maryland and formed between 2001 and 2002. The band is known for their live performances, blending various elements of blues, folk, funk and bluegrass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus (American band)</span> American instrumental electronic jam band

Lotus is an instrumental electronic jam band formed in Goshen, Indiana in 1998 now based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Denver, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio Players</span> American funk and R&B band

Ohio Players is an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster", and for their erotic album covers that featured nude or nearly nude women. Many of the women were models featured in Playboy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Damned Things</span> American heavy metal band

The Damned Things is an American rock supergroup consisting of Fall Out Boy's Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Every Time I Die's Keith Buckley, and Alkaline Trio's Dan Andriano. The band's name is inspired by the lyrics in Ram Jam's 1977 version of "Black Betty".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Heavy Pets</span> American jam band

The Heavy Pets are an American jam band based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, renowned for their funk, jazz and reggae-infused brand of rock and roll. Officially formed in 2005, the band tours nationwide and appears regularly on the summer music festival circuit. Currently, the group is composed of guitarists Jeff Lloyd and Mike Garulli, keyboardist Jim Wuest, bassist Chris Patsis, and drummer Jamie Newitt. In 2010 they released their second studio LP The Heavy Pets. The album was dubbed a "Top 10 Album of 2010" by The Huffington Post.

Aron Magner is a Philadelphia-based musician best known as the keyboardist and founding member of The Disco Biscuits. Magner and The Disco Biscuits have been instrumental in bringing live and studio improvisational, electronic-based music to the forefront of the live music scene and, increasingly, to popular culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jam band</span> Musical group whose live albums and concerts relate to a unique fan culture

A jam band is a musical group whose concerts and live albums substantially feature improvisational "jamming." Typically, jam bands will play variations of pre-existing songs, extending them to improvise over chord patterns or rhythmic grooves. Jam bands are known for having a very fluid structure, playing long sets of music which often cross genre boundaries, varying their nightly setlists, and segueing from one song into another without a break.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Peach Music Festival</span>

The Peach Music Festival is a music festival started by the Allman Brothers Band and Live Nation Entertainment that has been held annually since 2012 at the Pavilion at Montage Mountain and Montage Mountain Ski Resort in Scranton, Pennsylvania. One exception was in 2020.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.