Alex Ward: guitar, vocals; Jem Doulton: drums. Both of them also find it hard to restrain themselves from playing a bit of piano if there happens to be one lying about.
Influences
In general terms, too many to mention; but for demonstrating that bands with guitar, drums but no bass can be a viable proposition rather than a tiresome cod-garage gimmick, the two all-time greatest exponents of the medium - Cheval De Frise and the Electric Eels.
Sounds Like
A guitarist and a drummer, following their whims. (One of the guitarist's more frequent whims is singing - the drummer tends to show a bit more self-control in that regard, though not when he's playing in some of his other bands.)
Dead Days Beyond Help is Alex Ward (guitar, vocals) and Jem Doulton (drums). They formed in 2006 and played their first gig on February 1st, 2007. The core of their repertoire is a set of mostly instrumental compositions written by Ward specifically for this band. Having strenuously avoided anything with a prog or math taint since the demise in 2001 of his previous band Camp Blackfoot, with this material he once again allowed himself to explore (though not fixate upon) overt structural complexity. In live performances, Dead Days Beyond Help also play material drawn from his previous albums of songs “HAPLESS DAYS” (Copepod, 2005) and “SNARES AND DELUSIONS” (by Alex Ward & The Dead Ends, release pending), as well as a wide range of covers and increasingly generous helpings of improvisation. All these elements are balanced and combined according to spur-of-the-moment decisions by the 2 musicians, as they always perform without a set list. With the only acknowledged constraints being the limits of what can be achieved with one guitar and a drum kit, the results can range from country-tinged simplicity through the aforementioned composed material to flat-out noise. As one might deduce from the name, for Ward Dead Days Beyond Help initially represented the next step following on from the studio-based songs album “Hapless Days”, the loose approach to song material of his band "The Dead Ends", and his improvising quartet "Help Point" – but the collaboration between him and Doulton has now gone far beyond any of his original conceptions, and promises to go much further yet.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dead Days Beyond Help's first studio album, “ACCESS DENIED!”, consists of the material written specifically for DDBH between 2006 and 2007, and is due out on Copepod Records on October 19th, 2009. (They have also recorded a second studio album of entirely improvised material, hopefully to be released in 2010.) A compilation of improvisations and cover versions drawn from live recordings entitled "UNWRITTEN RULES" became available for purchase direct from the band in April 2009. The music on this MySpace contains a few previews of material from "ACCESS DENIED!" and also some (mainly live) recordings that are unlikely to be released in any other format but have nonetheless been deemed representative and worth hearing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dead Days Beyond Help do not like the social aspects of MySpace very much, and they endeavour to maintain this page in a manner which makes it clear that it is only intended as a promotional tool and material resource. In practice, this means that they will not post comments on other people's pages; they use the “top friends” section solely for linking to other bands that have members in common with DDBH; they do not issue friend requests, but will accept any and all they are sent; and they will delete other people’s comments or let them stand purely according to whim, without explanation or justification. None of this should be taken personally.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dead Days Beyond Help STRONGLY urge anyone with any interest in them at all to visit http://www.youtube.com/deaddaysbeyondhelp where one can view a wealth of live footage of DDBH and related projects. Thank you.
Dead Days Beyond Help would like to take this opportunity to formally disassociate itself from the slanderous implication in the comment below that as an entity it relies on anything as mundane as rehearsal to bring about its results, rather than the unfathomable spontaneous quasi-telepathic creative gush which its loyal fans have surely always envisaged. Jem is clearly all hopped up on Diazepam and not to be trusted in his current state.
Hi Alex, I trust you are well...we're playing with Awesome Color on Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace label on Monday 23rd June at the Hoxton Bar and Grill. We have a advance £4 list if you send us a message. Cheers, xx
finally YES,, News of this pair of DDBH gigage makes me more agitated than a stealthy limping hedgehog traversing the A1M minutes before rush Hour - here come the showponeeeez
I thought that was Great last night-I know you didn't, and I know the frame of mind of the punter plays a great deal in whether the gig proves enjoyable, but I think you are very human as a performer, and it communicates very strongly.
