In late 2000 San Francisco's Dexter Danger hit the ground running with a D.I.Y. ethic unmatched by bands in the Bay Area local music scene. By utilizing creative Internet networking techniques to gather a vast local fan base, while leading a barrage of guerrilla promotion around the Bay Area, the band's efforts led to sold out concerts at all ages venues and youth centers across the Bay Area.
Dexter Danger's live performances gained an honorable reputation among prominent promoters in the Bay Area, and soon after they were invited to perform at prominent San Francisco clubs and venues such as Slim's, The Great American Music Hall, 924 Gilman Street, and Bottom of the Hill.
In late 2000 San Francisco's Dexter Danger hit the ground running with a D.I.Y. ethic unmatched by bands in the Bay Area local music scene. By utilizing creative Internet networking techniques to gather a vast local fan base, while leading a barrage of guerrilla promotion around the Bay Area, the band's efforts led to sold out concerts at all ages venues and youth centers across the Bay Area.
Dexter Danger's live performances gained an honorable reputation among prominent promoters in the Bay Area, and soon after they were invited to perform at prominent San Francisco Bay Area clubs and venues such as Slim's, The Great American Music Hall, 924 Gilman Street, and Bottom of the Hill.
Dexter Danger shared the stage with numerous acts including The Aquabats, Yellowcard, Say Anything, Ozma, Rx Bandits, Plain White T's, Tsunami Bomb, Home Grown, Slick Shoes, The Suicide Machines, Audio Karate, Steel Train, Hello Goodbye, The Matches, Bowling For Soup, and many more.
As word of mouth about Dexter Danger spread across not only the Bay Area, but also around the United States, Drive-Thru Records (New Found Glory, Fenix TX, Something Corporate) asked Dexter Danger to perform on the Drive-Thru Records stage on the Vans Warped Tour in 2002. Drive-Thru's admiration for the band also led Dexter Danger to appear on various Drive-Thru compilation CDs and DVDs.
Dexter Danger ultimately released two albums independently: an EP entitled "It's Not Pretty Being Easy," and their debut full length album "Forever Broken," which were both produced by Andy Ernst (Green Day, Rancid, AFI). The tracks "Access Denied," "Lose It All," and "The Second I Asked For," made their way onto commercial radio, including KITS Live 105.3 FM, the largest modern rock station in the Bay Area. Dexter Danger were also on regular rotation at a large number of college radio stations across the United States.
The band felt comfortable with the crew at Orange Peal records and signed a recording contract with them in March 2003. Later that year Dexter Danger set off on a self-booked West Coast tour then made a brief appearance on the 2003 Vans Warped Tour.
The band released the EP "Written In Blood" in September and embarked on their first national tour with label-mates The Berlin Project in October of that same year. Near the end of 2003, the Written In Blood EP was subsequently released in Japan and over one thousand copies of the EP were sold in the first week of its release.
In Spring 2004, the band was invited to join various artists, including Drive-Thru Records recording artists, Steel Train, on the Blossoming Media Tour, in which Dexter Danger played over 60 shows in two months of touring through major cities across the the United States. The band received national media attention through various regional publications and were also featured on the Budweiser True Music series for HDNet programming.
Completing two national tours in a six-month time period turned out to be a learning experience as well as a reality check for the band. "We've noticed that the time of being on the road has made our skin tougher. We're able to endure the hardships, and stay focused on the music,” says Aymen.
After continuing to tour nationally for the rest of 2004, the band went back in the studio in January of 2005 to record their second full-length album "Hellafornia", at Popsmear Studios in San Rafael, CA. The album was produced by Scott Llamas and Dexter Danger, and was mastered by Dominick Maita (Fall Out Boy, Hawthorne Heights, Less Than Jake) at Airshow Mastering in Boulder, Colorado.
The band took a different approach to their music prior to recording, taking in a variety of influences not particularly familiar to them. As Aymen puts it, "It laid a groundwork for powerful dynamics, energy, and melody that clearly shows throughout 'Hellafornia'. From the time spent writing each song, to bringing the songs to life in the studio, we feel that our time and efforts in creating this album represented 'Hellafornia' better than we ever imagined."
The result was a maturely crafted rock-influenced punk album that will reach out to new fans while keeping the current fans ecstatic. "We had a blast recording, and it was incredible hearing all our songs come to life." says Aymen.
The boys took 2005 by storm with four independently booked and funded national tours, as well as another spot on the Van's Warped Tour. In fact, the band managed to book a national tour around their southwestern Warped Tour dates.
"This is the most touring we've ever done in an entire year, and the extraordinary response we've recieved with this album has acted as a catalyst to stay on the road." says Aymen. Since the band's formation in December of 2000, they have toured the United States on eight separate occasions, leaving a trail of fire behind every mile driven, and every show played.
The band will continue touring as they have been, looking for more fans around the world that find their music as enjoyable as they do in the Bay Area, all the while keeping their D.I.Y. mentality in full swing.
"Dexter Danger could be your next big discovery." - AMP Magazine
"Bottom line: The record is certainly proof that pop-punk can take a step in a better direction." - The Spectator, Seattle, WA
"Dexter Danger have built themselves a solid foundation to become a great force in punk rock music." - Hussieskunk.com, Internet Punk Rock Radio
"This quartet from California bring an energy and determination to their music that captures you and doesn't release you - great musicianship, an awareness of melody and introspective lyrics." - DailyVault.com
"These guys will be huge, it's just a matter of time." - Hussieskunk.com
“Hellafornia” is much like the reincarnation of Green Day’s 'Dookie' record." - TheHxC.com
"'Hellafornia' is one that could be listened to all the way through, without wanting to skip forward to the next song. There is a sound for every mood, so for those that like variety, Dexter Danger's 'Hellafornia', will give you just that. It goes to say without question they've got what it takes to be heard." - Zero Magazine
