The Werks is an American

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

originating from

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

and noted for its

musical improvisation Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of immediate ("in the moment") musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous ...

and exploration of music across multiple genres. Founded in 2005 by Dave Bartoletti (keys), Rob Chafin (drummer), Chris Houser (guitar) and Chuck Love (bass), the band is best known for its quick rise into the

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational "jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often cr ...

music scene and appearances at major festivals and events across the US and abroad. In early June 2011, the band rose to prominence when it hit the number 2 top searched artists on the leading online Jam Magazine, jambase.com, behind the band

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

and again in early 2012 when they hit number 1. Current members of the band are as follows; Rob Chafin- Drums, Vocals, Samples / Chucky Love- Bass, Vocals / Chris Houser- Guitar, Vocals / Dan Shaw- Keyboards, Vocals.

History

Formation

In 2005 the foursome met while attending a local music contest in Dayton, Ohio. After agreeing to commit to a band project, they named the group after their first meal together; ordering a dish with "The Works" from a local restaurant. The naming convention would be changed to "The Werks" soon after. The band officially formed in 2007 and Dave Bartoletti would leave the band one year later; he was replaced by

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

, Norman Dimitrouleas who previously performed in another Dayton band, The Maji.Baker, Brian (2012)
The Werks: Oct. 27, Madison Theater
, ''

Cincinnati CityBeat ''Cincinnati CityBeat'' is an independent local arts and issues publication covering the Cincinnati, Ohio area. It has the second largest readership in the Cincinnati area behind ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' daily newspaper. History ''CityBeat'' ...

'', October 22, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013 In the summer of 2011, bassist Dino Dimitrouleas, also from the Maji, replaced founding member Chuck Love and

percussionist 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. Ex ...

Aaron Armstrong Aaron Nigel Armstrong (born 14 October 1977) is a track and field sprint athlete who competes internationally for Trinidad and Tobago. He is the 2008 Olympic champion in 4 × 100 metres relay. Armstrong attended the University of Florida in Ga ...

, from Toledo, Ohio, would join with the band from May through November of that same year. Dan Shaw, of Columbus, Ohio, replaced Norman Dimitrouleas, now deceased, in 2014 as the band's keyboardist. Jake Goldberg then replaced Dino Dimitrouleas in 2016 on bass.

Musical style

Techniques

The band incorporates

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 ...

, vintage psychedelic,

funk music Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, and

livetronica A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational " jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often cr ...

into their own musical form, called " psychedelic dance rock". It bridges a gap by incorporating high energy music and high production values with themes that embrace "exploratory jams", a more accepted "shift occurring in the musical world", according to some critics.

Other

Festivals

The Werks have played many notable festivals, including appearances at

The Peach Music Festival The Peach Music Festival is a music festival started by the Allman Brothers Band and Live Nation Entertainment that has been held annually since 2012 at the Pavilion at Montage Mountain and Montage Mountain Ski Resort in Scranton, Pennsylvania ...

, Wakarusa Music & Camping Festival,

Summer Camp Music Festival The Summer Camp Music Festival is a multi-day music festival created by Jay Goldberg Events & Entertainment and held annually on Memorial Day Weekend at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, Illinois. The event typically attracts around 20,000 visi ...

Electric Forest Electric Forest is a multi-genre music festival produced by Madison House Presents and Insomniac Events with a focus on electronic music and jam band genres. Original named Rothbury Festival in 2008, it is held in Rothbury, Michigan at the ...

High Sierra Music Festival High Sierra Music Festival is a multi-day music festival held in Quincy, California, United States, a mountainous area about 80 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada. History The first High Sierra Music Festival was in 1991, and was the genesis of ...

All Good Music Festival The All Good Music Festival and Camp Out was a weekend-long event held annually in July. Since its inception in 1997, it had been held at venues along the Mid-Atlantic, including Trip's Farm (Terra Alta) Masontown, West Virginia, Brandywine, Mar ...

Camp Bisco The Disco Biscuits are an American jam band from Philadelphia. The band consists of Allen Aucoin (drums), Marc "Brownie" Brownstein (bass guitar, vocals), Jon "The Barber" Gutwillig (guitar, vocals), and Aron Magner (keyboards, synths, voca ...

, including their own festival, the Werk Out Music and Arts Festival, held annually each August in Central Ohio.Sachs, Justin (2012)
On the Verge: The Werks
, ''

Relix ''Relix'', originally and occasionally later ''Dead Relix'', is a magazine that focuses on live and improvisational music. The magazine was launched in 1974 as a handmade newsletter devoted to connecting people who recorded Grateful Dead concert ...

'', July 13, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013Glass, Brian (2013)
Dayton band The Werks is taking the country by storm - one festival at a time
, ''

Springfield News-Sun The ''Springfield News-Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Springfield, Ohio, by Cox Enterprises, which also publishes the ''Dayton Daily News''. Both newspapers contain similar editorial content, but tailor their local news coverage to the ar ...

'', May 13, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013 In 2017, 2 more namesake events were debuted, the Winter Werk Out Music and Arts Festival in Columbus, OH in February and the Werk Out West Music and Arts Festival in Denver, CO in March. The 2nd annual Winter Werk Out in Columbus in February of 2018 featured Papadosio as a headliner; the 3rd annual Winter Werk Out in 2019 featured Emancipator, EOTO, Tropidelic, and Zach Deputy. At the 10th annual Werk Out Festival in August 2019 in Thornville, OH, featured their biggest line up to date: STS9, Big Gigantic, Lennon Claypool Delirium, Twiddle, Dopapod, Cory Wong, and more.

Tapers

The Werks have adopted the policy of allowing fans to tape, trade, and distribute their live shows. Werkers (fans) have been taping and trading shows since their inception, which has helped them to gain their national following.https://archive.org/details/thewerks The Werks collection at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

's live music archive Retrieved 2011-08-04. John Earl "Chubby" Howard was an original taper of the band. (September 5, 1960 - July 3, 2017)

Discography

*'' Dig It'' (May, 2007) *''

Synapse In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or to the target effector cell. Synapses are essential to the transmission of nervous impulses from ...

'' (May, 2009) *'' Live at The Werk Out Music Festival 2010'' (October, 2010) *'' The Werks'' (April, 2012) *'' The Mr. Smalls Sessions'' (September, 2014) *'' Inside A Dream'' (November, 2015) *'' Live at The Werk Out 2016'' (January, 2017) *''

Magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

'' (March, 2017) *
Sonder: Encounters
' (January, 2019)

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Werks Musical groups from Dayton, Ohio Musical groups from Columbus, Ohio Musical groups established in 2005 Jam bands