Avid Dancer (the nom de musique for Jacob Summers) releases his first full-length album 1st Bath via Grand Jury on April 14.
A month-long LA residency takes place at The Echo next month (dates are listed below). Avid Dancer will also be playing SXSW in Austin this year as part of a spring North American tour.
For 1st Bath's artwork, Summers wrote the album's title in his own blood over a collage of photos from his early childhood.
For 1st Bath's artwork, Summers wrote the album's title in his own blood over a collage of photos from his early childhood.
"This music represents my entire existence up to making this record," Summers explains. "I wanted to really let people in, so I decided to paint the album title in my own blood. I actually jabbed myself until I got a big enough pool to write with. I mean, what could be more 'me'?"
That philosophy boils down to the intensity suggested in Avid Dancer's moniker. "I realized the name matches what I'm doing musically," Summers says. "When we dance, we lose ourselves in it - we put ourselves out there and don't give a fuck. I'm not a guitar player, not a singer - I'm just putting myself out there with this music."
In fact, Summers began as a drummer - a champion virtuoso, who won top honors for rudimental snare at United Corps International's prestigious annual bugle-and-drum corps competition. During the songwriting process, he'd start with rhythms he'd create on percussion. This process ultimately gave his material a righteous rhythmic heft across the board - from the highly danceable "All the Other Girls" and the smoky torch-soul ballad "Stop Playing With My Heart," to even the pedal-steel Americana of "Why Did I Leave You Behind?"
Even when Avid Dancer's music does evoke artists, say - from the trippy Madchester vibe of album opener "All The Other Girls," evoking Stone Roses and Charlatans to the insistent Pixies-style bassline opening "Medication" - it's a happy coincidence.
In fact, Summers began as a drummer - a champion virtuoso, who won top honors for rudimental snare at United Corps International's prestigious annual bugle-and-drum corps competition. During the songwriting process, he'd start with rhythms he'd create on percussion. This process ultimately gave his material a righteous rhythmic heft across the board - from the highly danceable "All the Other Girls" and the smoky torch-soul ballad "Stop Playing With My Heart," to even the pedal-steel Americana of "Why Did I Leave You Behind?"
Even when Avid Dancer's music does evoke artists, say - from the trippy Madchester vibe of album opener "All The Other Girls," evoking Stone Roses and Charlatans to the insistent Pixies-style bassline opening "Medication" - it's a happy coincidence.
Raised in a strict Christian household, Summers was forbidden to listen to any secular music until his late teens; as a result, his musical discovery remains ongoing. "Growing up before the Internet, I was cut off," he notes. "I wasn't even allowed to watch MTV! I lived in an alternate reality." I remember sending some songs to a friend and he said, 'Dude, you remind me of The Kinks.' I thought they were maybe a new band, but when I listened to them I fell in love with their music. Another time, I got compared to Elliott Smith, and then I got really into him."
Summers' entrée into the world of popular music proves a most unlikely origin story. He dropped out of his freshman year studying music education at the University of Tennessee to join the Marines - enlisting, in fact, on September 12, 2001. "It was the day after 9/11, but I'd planned on doing it anyway," says Summers. He ended up in the elite United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps, with whom he'd play up to 300 performances a year in addition to regular combat training.
At the end of his time with the Marines, Summers moved to Los Angeles: there he endured a number of awkward stints drumming for bands and studied audio recording. But the pivotal moment came when he found his muse, following the woman so many songs on 1st Bath owe their existence to all the way to Alaska. After a year of heartbreak, he returned to L.A determined to write.
Summers' entrée into the world of popular music proves a most unlikely origin story. He dropped out of his freshman year studying music education at the University of Tennessee to join the Marines - enlisting, in fact, on September 12, 2001. "It was the day after 9/11, but I'd planned on doing it anyway," says Summers. He ended up in the elite United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps, with whom he'd play up to 300 performances a year in addition to regular combat training.
At the end of his time with the Marines, Summers moved to Los Angeles: there he endured a number of awkward stints drumming for bands and studied audio recording. But the pivotal moment came when he found his muse, following the woman so many songs on 1st Bath owe their existence to all the way to Alaska. After a year of heartbreak, he returned to L.A determined to write.
Blogs started raving about early Avid Dancer demos, and they also caught the ear of noted producer Raymond Richards (Local Natives). Together, Summer and Richards began recording the Avid Dancer songs that would eventually appear on 1st Bath at Richard's Red Rockets Glare studio in Culver City, California - all except for the version of "I Wanna See You Dance," which was produced by Dave Trumfio (Wilco, OK Go, Built to Spill,The Mekons).
Since then, he's formed Avid Dancer's live touring unit, a fluid ensemble that's already supported the likes of Mac DeMarco, Warpaint, Cold War Kids and Hamilton Leithauser with its live show, and is set to join Warpaint and CWK (again) for a series of dates later this year.
Since then, he's formed Avid Dancer's live touring unit, a fluid ensemble that's already supported the likes of Mac DeMarco, Warpaint, Cold War Kids and Hamilton Leithauser with its live show, and is set to join Warpaint and CWK (again) for a series of dates later this year.
"I try to learn from other bands," Summers says, "seeing how they hone in on delivering their message."
Ultimately Avid Dancer's own message manifested itself when he wrote the song "All Your Words Are Gone" - one of 1st Bath's most memorably plangent moments. "I met a sad girl and wrote that song to make her feel better,'" Summers says.
"Writing that was a defining moment. Previously, I tried to write music that had never existed before. But doing 'All Your Words Are Gone' made me realize there are no new chords; what I needed to do was write a song that means something to me. I now understood I could do whatever I want: I don't have to carry around any baggage - I can do anything. Whether it's an acoustic country song, an electro track, or a heavy guitar jam, the style didn't matter: I just channel whatever I'm feeling into a song that has something to say. That's how I've been doing it ever since."
Track listing:
1. All The Other Girls
2. Stop Playing With My Heart
3. All Your Words Are Gone
4. I Told You So
5. Not Far To Go
6. All The Things You Keep
7. Medication
8. I Want To See You Dance
9. Whatever's On Your Mind
10. Nobody Else
11. Why Did I Leave You Behind
12. Up Against The Wall
Tour Dates
2/2 The Echo - Los Angeles
2/9 The Echo - Los Angeles
2/16 The Echo - Los Angeles
2/23 The Echo - Los Angeles
Track listing:
1. All The Other Girls
2. Stop Playing With My Heart
3. All Your Words Are Gone
4. I Told You So
5. Not Far To Go
6. All The Things You Keep
7. Medication
8. I Want To See You Dance
9. Whatever's On Your Mind
10. Nobody Else
11. Why Did I Leave You Behind
12. Up Against The Wall
Tour Dates
2/2 The Echo - Los Angeles
2/9 The Echo - Los Angeles
2/16 The Echo - Los Angeles
2/23 The Echo - Los Angeles
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