CHARLOTTE, North Carolina Ten years after their last studio release, Living Room Scene, on Atlantic Records, the original members of Dillon Fence return once more to celebrate their past and forge a new beginning with fans with the release of a double disc album, entitled BEST + (MoRisen Records). Featuring 18 remastered favorites from their extensive catalog along with seven new songs, BEST + is due out in stores nationwide on September 7, 2004.
In advance of its national release, Dillon Fence fans will be able to purchase BEST + at shows along the bands tour this July and August across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Dillon Fence labelmate The Never, a four-piece inventive pop rock outfit out of Pittsboro, N.C., will support several shows along the tour. With concerts scheduled from our nations capital to the heart of the South, audiences will once again bare witness to one of the regions most celebrated live bands.
During the past decade and a half, few regional bands have amassed as impassioned of a following as Dillon Fence. Originally formed in Winston-Salem, N.C., the four-piece act rose to prominence in the early 1990s with a string of critically acclaimed major label releases while playing 200 plus shows a year in front of sold out crowds both in the U.S. and in Europe. Even long after band members split ways in the mid-90s to form other such notable acts as Hobex (Tone-Cool) and Collapsis (Universal), Dillon Fence fans have remained as fervent as ever.
The seven new tracks found on BEST + were recorded earlier this year in the Asheville, N.C. studio of Dillon Fence singer/guitarist Greg Humphreys, who also produced the album. Initially planning to record only two or three new songs, the original line-up of the band Humphreys, along with lead guitarist Kent Alphin, bassist Chris Goode, and drummer Scott Carle recorded enough new material to warrant a double-CD release. The first CD of the album contains 18 remastered hits, while the second features seven of eight new songs written and performed for this album.
The song selection process was surprisingly straightforward, especially given the bands vast and diverse catalog of material from their five full-length albums encompassing everything from mid-tempo, cathartic ballads to upbeat, funk-infused pop-grooves.
Alphin sums it up best, Im sure we took fan faves and personal preferences into account on some level, but more simply, we could listen to a song and go Yep, that needs to go on the list. It was beautifully uncomplicated.
On the selection of songs, Carle adds The band grew a lot from 1989 to 1995. Its interesting to hear the diversity in songwriting, performance, lyrics, and production.
The group wanted to give fans a cross-section of the Dillon Fence catalog over the span of their earlier recording career, reflecting their beginnings as a college rock band to one of the biggest and busiest touring acts in the country, playing to capacity crowds coast to coast in the U.S. and touring overseas with acts such as the Black Crowes.
Their first recording venture since 1995, the new songs from the + section of the album mirror the artistic and personal changes that the band members experienced since their last record and reflect a new maturity in songwriting. Each member had gone in separate artistic directions when Dillon Fence initially parted ways, pursuing different avenues in other musical acts. When the original members reunited to record the new tracks this past March, they did not miss a beat since their last album and somehow managed to maintain the same distinct Dillon Fence sound that fans have grown to love.
On recording with the band for the first time in almost a decade, Humphreys, who LA Weekly praises for writing songs like he's the godchild of Al Green and Alex Chilton, simply states, Ive been very lucky to have played with some amazing musicians in the years since Dillon Fence broke up, and Ive learned so much. But theres something special about playing music with the people that you grew up with.
Goode adds, Ive never had such a fun, positive, productive recording experience as when we got together in March at Gregs studio in Asheville. Alphin confirms, It was amazing how easy it all flowed and how comfortable we all were. It may have just been the best recording experience that weve had together.
And what should fans new and old expect from the new Dillon Fence material?
Goode replies, Im absolutely positive everyone will recognize these tunes as authentic Dillon Fence The bonus tracks hold up on their own with a pure honest sound. We wanted the listener to experience the creative and recording process and share in the Dillon Fence reunion. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
