When I saw the show announcement for So Many Dynamos’ 10 Year Anniversary, I thought two things: 1) “Congrats on lasting so long!”, and 2) “I don’t know anything about this band.” So I decided to increase my one post per year to write an article researching this band.

I know many of you are anxious about going out and watching live music because you don’t know a lot about the band, the venue, or the social scene in general. Hopefully this post will help others who are late to the game and prevent that feeling of self-consciousness about coming out to watch live music for the first time.

HISTORY:
So Many Dynamos was formed in 2003 in St. Peters, a suburb of St. Louis. An IWTAS contributor that shall remain nameless even thinks she remembers an early incarnation of the group performing at her high school talent show.

There are currently four dudes in the band; two are original members and two have joined in the last three years. Aaron Stovall and Clayton “Norm” Kunstel have been Dynamos since 2002. Aaron is the singer and keyboardist and Norm is the drummer. Nathan Bernaix left Target Market to join So Many Dynamos after Ryan Wasoba left in 2009. Travis Lewis joined in 2011 after Griffin Kay left the band. Both of the new members are guitarists.

The band members have been very generous in giving back to the music community. Aaron and Norm are both members of the St. Louis Secret Sound Society, which “is a unique collaboration of musicians, music journalists, … to support and celebrate independent music in St. Louis.” They’ve hosted festivals, the St. Louis Arts Projects, and many other events to promote independent music in STL.

DISCOGRAPHY:
So Many Dynamos has had seven releases: three CDs, two 7″ records, one CD-EP, and last EP was released on a fridge magnet (no joke). The fridge magnet EP is a preview of the album that they are currently working on with a due date of fall.

So Many Dynamos top songs on Spotify at press time:
Analysis Paralysis – So Many Dynamos EP (2012)
Search Party – Flashlights (2006)
Artifacts of Sound – The Loud Wars (2009)
New Bones – The Loud Wars (2009)
Progress – Flashlights (2006)

INTERVIEW:
Aaron was kind enough to answer some questions about his band’s history and what to expect on Friday night:

How have you changed or grown as musicians in a decade?
We’ve grown to listen to each other much more. As young musicians, it was easy to get caught up in the moment and only pay attention to what you were playing. I feel like we’ve adopted the attitude of playing to try and make the person next to us sound better. We’ve definitely incorporated much more space in the songs, too. Kind of a less-is-more sort of a vibe. Instead of trying to fit sometimes five or six different parts together and calling it a song, we’ve begun to lay much simpler foundations. I think New Bones was the first song we wrote that was similar in that fashion. The heart of the song doesn’t change much, but the guitar and keyboard parts that weave in and out are what provides the listener with changes.

How do you improve your sound over the years without losing your SMD style?
It’d say it’s been quite a natural progression. I think we took a look at what we had been capable of in the past and decided what still interested us and what didn’t. Our musical tastes had shifted. We became more interested in dance music, rather than semi-abrasive guitar rock. When Nathan joined the band, the melodies and harmonies shifted in a different direction, too. I think all of the change was so positive and exciting that it made us want to continue to challenge ourselves in becoming better musicians. I think the most fun we’ve had has been in the switching of instruments. In the old days, everyone had their positions and stuck to them throughout the duration of a set. Now, we switch off quite a bit. It has me playing guitar on some songs, Norm playing keyboards on a song and Nathan and Travis moving between keyboards and percussion. In this way, it’s still the same people playing the tunes, but slightly different takes on instruments that they’ve had to become more comfortable playing in a live setting.

Name a favorite St. Louis show memory, and then tell us about one from a trip out on the road?
One STL show that comes to mind was the release of The Loud Wars at The Firebird in June of 2009. The air conditioning had broken the night before and it happened to be one of the hottest days that summer. By the end of the show, everyone was completely drenched, but no one cared. There have only been a handful of shows where my fingers have pruned after playing. It was kind of like standing on the bridge of The Tidal Wave at Six Flags and accepting and being okay with spending the rest of the day with soggy shoes and underwear. As far as out-of-town shows are concerned, it’s hard to even keep them all straight. This one time, we had a show booked out in the middle of nowhere Minnesota and when we arrived at the “venue,” it ended up being some kid’s high school graduation party in his parent’s basement. They had built a stage and everything. I don’t even remember if the show was good or not, but this kid had a cat who had just given birth to something like six or seven kittens. We stayed the night and slept on his living room floor and were awoken the next day by tiny paws crawling all over us. Cutest alarm clocks, ever.

What should someone expect at a So Many Dynamos show if they’ve never been before?
These days, we like to fill out the stage with as many people as possible. In St. Louis, it’s been awhile since we’ve played a show with less than seven to eight players and performers. This show won’t be an exception. We’re rolling with 4 back-up singers and percussion players. Groove is in the heart, right?

10 and 10 Anniversary Show

Now that you are comfortable about going to a So Many Dynamos show, their next show is this Friday, February 1, at Off Broadway with Neé. For all the deets check out the Facebook event.

Print out your very own So Many Dynamos Trading Cards: So Many Dynamos Trading Cards PDF