The Dreamscapes Project is a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

from

Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Reston was influenced by the Garden City movem ...

that formed in 1997 and prominently features the cello.

History

1997-2000 The Dreamscapes Project formed in 1997 when Keith Center met Jeremy Rodgers and Ricky Bongos at

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

. They eventually formed a group, then later rounded out by drummer Ed Bizzell and violinist Donna Griffith. This line up self-released Focusing the Madness in 1999. 2001-2005 Bizzell and Griffith left the band and were replaced by Dave Clark on drums and Ben Guy on

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

. This lineup won the Jaxx Battle of the Bands in 2002. Also in 2002, they released their first live album ...a lot more colors in my world recorded at Jammin' Java in Vienna, VA. In the following years they competed in the

Emergenza Emergenza is "the world's largest festival for unsigned bands, with concerts in more than 150 cities around the world." It features "up and coming bands from across the globe."Craig Robinson, "Colchester: Rock Band Stalker Hoping to Land ...

Battle of the Bands. In 2004 Keith Center was named the best rhythm guitarist in the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

region, and the band ranked #1 in the Washington region by popular vote. Jeremy Rodgers was named Best bassist in the

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

region in 2005. That year they were the runner-up in the D.C. finals, making them the only band out of the 432 which participated in the DC Region to reach the Emergenza DC finals twice. It was during this period that the band also began to expand outside the DC area and become a more regional act. In 2005 they hit the studio again and recorded their third album There Are No Safe Words, with Figment Studios and Pure Shift Productions. 2006-2014 In 2006 drummer Dave Clark was replaced by Gordon Shankman and percussionist Eric Sanford. Shortly thereafter, the Dreamscapes Project was voted the highest ranked unsigned original act in DC. The band brought in producer Ted Comerford and engineers Jeff Juliano and Paul Hager for their album, Pity in a Heartbeat, released in 2007 on Figmental Records. Prior to the album, The Dreamscapes Project released the single, Still Love on myspace.com, where the group peaked at #1 in folk rock in the DC area and #2 in acoustic rock in the state of VA. The band also peaked at #13 in folk rock and #53 in acoustic rock nationally on Myspace. Pity in a Heartbeat would prove to be its most commercially successful album, receiving airplay on 150 radio stations across the country. The group also increased its performance schedule and continued to expand into new geographic areas during this time. In 2009, the band returned to the studio to record a three song EP. Due to issues with the studio, however, the songs were not released until 2014, under the name E.T.B.T.P.T. In 2010, the group launched its most ambitious endeavor: The Twelve Days Project. Every month, the band released a new song online in conjunction with a re-imagination of the song by each of the following: another local musician or group, a local visual artist, and a local poet or prose writer. Each month, they would have an official release performance and donate all of the proceeds from that show to a local charity. In both 2010 and 2011, the Dreamscapes Project was named musician of the year by Northern Virginia Magazine. In 2012, the band joined Third Eye Blind and The Dirty Heads on the bill for the Downtown Countdown in DC. Although, it had slowed its tour schedule by this time, the group peaked at #1 on the reverbnation.com DC charts in each of the following categories: Rock, Folk Rock, Acoustic Rock, Indie, and Alternative in 2012 and 2013. After taking a couple of hiatuses to focus on family matters, the band played its last show on April 19, 2014. Both Clark and Bizzell were in attendance. The final performance and the penultimate show were recorded and released on the multi-disk set, Fare Well and Good Mourning.

Band members

*Keith Center - lead vocals, 12-string

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

*Benjamin Guy -

, vocals *Jeremy Rodgers -

electric bass The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck The ...

*Gordon Shankman -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Eric Sanford -

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Discography

*'' Focusing the Madness'' (1999) *'' ...A Lot More Colors in My World.'' (2002) *'' There Are No Safe Words'' (Figmental Records 2005) *'' Pity in a Heartbeat'' (Figmental Records 2007) *'' The Twelve Days Project'' (Figmental Records 2010) *'' et bt pt (2014) *'' Fare Well and Good Mourning (2014)

References

External links

Official WebsiteDiscography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dreamscapes Project, The Rock music groups from Virginia