Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog is ready to switch things up and do something he’s only done once before: start a band. Introducing Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING and the debut album ’SHABANG.’
While Dr. Dog is composed of lifelong friends who over time developed an unbreakable musical bond, THE EVER-EXPANDING is exactly the opposite. For this group and their first project, ‘SHABANG,’ McMicken tasked producer Nick Kinsey with assembling a group of musicians with a specific musical goal in mind, resulting in a collaborative album performed by many people Scott had never met, with McMicken only asking for his longtime friend and collaborator Michael Nau to join the band. THE EVER-EXPANDING also includes Kinsey, Elizabeth Pupo-Walker, Neil Ochoa, Jared Samuel, Zach Tenorio, and Paul Castelluzzo.
“I needed to go into it with as little control as possible,” says McMicken. “I just want to be in a room with wonderful people and encourage them to be themselves and be present to create nice musical moments.”
Today he has shared the track “What About Now,” a song that originally started as a folk-rock dirge but when McMicken decided to add some bounce to the rhythm, the whole thing opened up. Listen to the song and watch the band perform the track at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY below.
Watch “What About Now”: https://youtu.be/Awr8-sN33Ro
Part Basement Tapes and Paul Simon and part a globetrotting foray into progressive sounds, ‘SHABANG’ is some of the most exploratory music of McMicken’s career. There are elements of jazz, dub reggae, country, and bossa nova throughout these 13 tracks, each exuding the excitement of being in a room with several other curious musicians.
“I’m constantly trying at all costs to avoid feeling like a singer-songwriter,” says McMicken. “I would like to create a welcoming place that we can share rather than trying to yank you into my inner world.”
Pre-order ‘SHABANG’
1. What About Now
2. Reconcile
3. Letters To The Editor
4. Mountain Lion
5. In My Mind
6. Shabang
7. Another One
8. Ever Expanding
9. Grateful
10. Restart
11. Ace In The Hole
12. Diamonds In The Snow
13. Worried Mind
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