They released their premiere EP, “Higher,” this past July. The EP is a collection of four songs that blur a fine line between pop and rock. It plays from the sad subject matter of “S.Y.B.G.” to a finale of the title track, “Higher.”
Diederik van Wassenaer, the band’s frontman said that, for attentive listeners, there is a hidden concept of transformation, which is shown in a lyric from the last line of the chorus in “S.Y.B.G.” and is repeated in the last line of the bridge in “Higher.”
The EP is available on the band’s Bandcamp page for “name your price,” and anyone who likes what they hear can contact the band through their Facebook page or email. They are giving out the remaining physical copies of the EP for free.
“We noticed that people liked the record, so these EPs are better off in somebody’s hands than in a cardboard box in a room just sitting there,” van Wassenaer said. “And at the same time, we’re a different band now than when we released this record.”
He also said the versatility of the EP comes from the differing interests of everyone in the band. The influences on each band member spans widely from bluegrass to pop to rock.
“It really complements our sound that we come from very different musical backgrounds,” lead guitarist Peter Doyle said.
The group plans to build on the range of sounds heard on their first EP when they head into the studio Nov. 30 to record their first full-length album.
This will also be the first time the band will be recording with their current lineup, and they said this is going to give the album a different sound than what was heard on “Higher.”
Doyle said the album is going to sound “thicker.”
The new Dietrich Jon album is going to be recorded in the venue below the Back Door, which the band has been referring to as ?“The Space.”
The album, which van Wassenaer said includes songs about fish, pickles, underwear and American Indians, is set to be released in the spring of next year. The band said they are anticipating that the first singles from the album will be released in the upcoming months.
Dietrich Jon isn’t just stopping at new music, though. They released their first music video Tuesday for their song, “S.Y.B.G.” The video features a trio of dancers at an old limestone mill near the B-Line Trail, as well as three of the band members performing.
To follow up the first video, they are now working on a music video for their song, “Higher,” that is being filmed entirely on VHS.
Mark Edlin, the band’s drummer, said the video for “S.Y.B.G.” is “pretty serious, in a sense,” but “this next one is going to just be goofy.”
The band will also be hitting the road this winter to do a tour around the Midwest.
The tour will begin Jan. 2 in Evansville, Ind. The band will then do a loop around the Midwest, stopping in Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. They will conclude their first tour Jan. 10 in Indianapolis. The tour is being organized by local, up-and-coming record label, Winspear.
The band is still in the process of figuring out how they are going to get around with a six-person band.
“It’s definitely going to be interesting,” Edlin said.
Dietrich Jon’s winter tour marks the beginning of a close ?relationship between the band and the record label, Winspear. The band’s full-length album is intended to be released through the label as one of the first releases since the label started.
“They are going to be instrumental in putting this record out,” van Wassenaer said.
