DEAD SEASON. A house hold name in Maine. 16,000+ cd’s sold with no distribution outside Maine and with no help from a record label. It still seems surreal for the Truman brothers who started the band in 2003 with no expectations for success other than to fulfill their passion for metal and hard rock. Ever since being exposed to Metallica in their early high school years by their older cousin, the brothers have shared a love for powerful music with true meaning and inspiration. They had vocals (Ian) and guitar (Matt) covered but they needed a bass player and drummer so they searched the web and local classified ads and found bassist John Patenaude. Several months later, Jeff Craig joined them on drums and the band was named “NeverTrust”. NeverTrust primarily played covers songs w/ a couple originals and only played a few shows before they decided that Craig was not a good fit and parted ways with him. The search was on for a new drummer and they came across a classified ad in the Portland Phoenix. The potential drummer looked to be a good fit based on the bands he’d listed as his favorites. Martin Nadeau came in for an audition joined the band at the end of 2003. After brainstorming band names for a month, Matt came up with the name “DEAD SEASON” and it was voted in. DEAD SEASON immediately started learning more cover songs and wrote a handful of originals. They recorded a 5 song demo at Baked Beans Recording Studio in Harrison, ME. The band quickly became very popular and packed the local bar every show. They released their first EP titled "Down Again" in 2004 and went on to win the 105.1 WTOS-FM Battle of the Bands earning them $1000 regular roation for a year. The first single “The One” became a hit on the station and was the #54 most played song in the Top 55 for the year. With the upcoming birth of his daughter on the horizon, bassist John Patenaude decided he wasn’t going to be able to commit to the band’s rigorous touring schedule anymore and left the band. DS wrote and recorded its second EP in 2005 titled "The Fight". The band still hadn’t found a replacement for John on bass so Matt recorded all of the bass lines along w/ his normal guitar duties. Shortly after, the band welcomed Craig Chaisson as the new bass player and went on to win the WTOS battle of the bands again earning another $1000 and another year of airplay. Singles “American Nothing” and “Driven” rocked the airwaves all year long. Martin Nadeau decided it was time to call it quits at the end of 2005 to spend more time raising his young son Orion. Early 2006, drummer Andy Hackett who was band-less at the time, contacted DS for an audition. He came in and really impressed the guys and was given the job that night. The Truman brothers were starting to write heavier and more technical songs and they needed a drummer that could bring double bass and a more technical approach to the drums… Andy was perfect. The band wrote and recorded its first full length album titled "Rise" and released it in the fall of ’06. On the day of the release, the band won the WTOS Battle for the third straight year forcing the station to retire them from the competition since they had won it 3 times in a row. The band had garnered such a huge, passionate fan base that the radio station deemed it was no longer fair for the band to compete. Earning yet another $1000 and year of airplay, “The Mirror” became a big hit on the station from 2006-2007 and their remake of Garth Brook's "The Thunder Rolls" quickly became the most requested song on WTOS at that time. As ’06 winded down, the guys decided that Craig was no longer a good fit for the band and let him go. Bassist Steve Church joined the band in 2007. Steve was well known in the Maine music scene as a very accomplished bass player who had played in many, many bands over the years. He brought a jazz style of bass playing to the band and his ability to come up with unique bass lines added some nice texture to the songs that hadn’t been there in the past. Still supporting their debut album “Rise”, the band embarked on a two week east coast tour which made stops in Philadelphia PA, Virginia Beach VA, Jacksonville FL, Tampa FL, Miami FL, Englewood FL, Spartanburg NC, and Bedford NH. The new year marked a very hard time for Matt and Ian. They lost their favorite uncle to cancer in Jan. ’07. Shortly after, the band recorded two single “Hero” and “The End”. “The End” was written for their late uncle. “Hero” was written for their dad to give him a boost because he had lost his brother (and father figure) and wife (Matt & Ian’s mom) was currently in a fight for her life with ovarian cancer. “The End” was added into rotation on 105.1 WTOS. DS was also named “Best Metal/Heavy Music” by the Portland Phoenix in the 2007 Best Music Poll. Matt & Ian’s mom’s five year battle with cancer ended when she passed away Feb. 2008 during the writing of the second full length cd "When Everything's Lost...”. They were very close to their mother and used the writing of the album to vent their anger and deal with their pain. It was the only source of therapy they could lean on. They wrote the song “Mother” for her and were able to play it for her acoustically while she was very sick and bed ridden just a month before she passed away. They played it acoustically again at her funeral and were later told that there "wasn’t one dry eye among the hundreds of people packed into the church that day." The song “Cancer” was the last song written on the album after the loss of their mom. The cd was released in May and charted 6 times on the Billboard Top Heatseekers (northeast) chart and was #5 in the top 10 overall cd sales in Maine including national artists. It outsold Disturbed’s “Indestructible” and finished just behind Metallica’s “Death Magnetic” and Kid Rock’s “Rock & Roll Jesus”. Amazing feats for a band that has done it all by itself without the help of a record label. During the summer of ‘08, something bad happened. Clear Channel sold 105.1 WTOS to Blueberry Broadcasting and the new company immediately fired the extremely popular staff which included PD Steve Smith “The Reverend” and dj’s Alisa Smith (Jessie) and Chris Rush (The Rushman). This marked the immediate end of DEAD SEASON’s five year legacy on WTOS as they were pulled from the regular playlist. The annual battle of the bands was also discontinued which was a huge blow to the local rock scene. DS’s time on the radio in Maine would find a new beginning however. 94.3 WCYY-FM (Portland, ME) stepped in and added "Never Decide" into regular rotation and the band saw immediate success on the station. The song made the Top 5 @ 5 numerous times and received 510 spins. The station then went on to add "You Keep Me Alive" and added a third single "Cancer" in 2009. “Cancer” was #1 on the Top 5 @ 5 for several weeks and received 310 spins. In between the final months of writing the third full length album, the band won the Music as a Weapon IV, Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands during the summer of 2009 and received an opening spot for Disturbed in Glens Falls, NY. Fall 2009 marked the release of “Life Death”. The cd charted #1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers (northeast) chart and remained on the chart several weeks. WCYY added the single “Everything” into rotation near the end of the year. Around the time of the cd’s release, another Portland radio station, 96.3 The Bone-FM announced a contest where Maine bands could submit two songs to the station and they’d pick the best songs to put on a compilation cd. DS submitted “Coming to Get Me” and “This Depression " and both songs were selected. The station then linked the songs on their website for people to vote what song they liked the best. The three bands that received the most votes played a live battle of the bands in front of a panel of judges at The Bone’s holiday bash. DS was declared the winner and took home $10,000 cash. Despite winning the huge prize, the band’s relationship with bassist Steve Church had become very strained and they decided to part ways. Steve’s final show w/ Dead Season came in Jan. 2010. WCYY asked the band to play live in the Androscoggin Bank Colisee arena during “WCYY night” at a Lewiston Maineiacs pro hockey game. It was the first time this had ever been done and was a huge success and made for a good show for Steve to go out on. The band’s search for its fourth bass player ended when Chris Michaud auditioned for the band in Jan. of 2009. He had previously been in a legendary Maine hard rock band called “Uncle Jack” and most recently had been singing and playing bass in a popular cover band called "Funnel". The guys had always admired Chris’s ability to play the bass and his potential as another back-up vocalist for the band. He had an extremely impressive audition and was offered the position immediately. It’s now the year 2010 and the band is hard at work touring the northeast and working hard writing the next album…stay tuned! _____________________________________________________________________________ DEAD SEASON's music is best described by the five "I's": Integrity, Intensity, Inspiration, Intelligence, and Innovation. Music w/ real meaning seems rare these days and DEAD SEASON is trying their damndest to fill that void. DEAD SEASON has played w/ the following national bands by invitation (band has never "paid to play": Korn, Disturbed, Shinedown, Sevendust, Chevelle, Puddle of Mudd, Papa Roach, Quiet Riot, Killswitch Engage, Buckcherry, Nonpoint, Saliva, Lacuna Coil, Black Stone Cherry, Powerman 5000, Mushroomhead, Hatebreed, 10 Years, Chimaira, HED pe, God Forbid for more info, visit: www.deadseason.com
