THE REIGNDEAR BIOGRAPHY
Reigndear are a 3 piece experimental psychedelic folk band officially founded in Taiwan, January 2007, by South African brothers Kent Dylan & Wesley Jay as well as lifelong friend and multi-instrumentalist/producer Johnny Atterbury.
The early beginnings of Reigndear started as an inspired sprawl of musical-ideas, poetry, lyrics, philosophy, illustration and photography by Kent Dylan around 1998 shortly before he left South Africa for the shores of Taiwan in January 2000. While living in Taiwan the concept and feel of the band grew steadily until Wesley joined Kent in Taiwan mid 2004 and started developing his own musical contribution towards the still unnamed band. During October of 2005 Johnny visited Taiwan and the first song [Your Imagination Goes Here] was recorded featuring Johnny (guitar & production) and Kent (vocals & lyrics). It wasn’t until New Years Day of 2007 that the name Reigndear popped inexplicably into the mind of Kent Dylan and the band finally had a name; Reigndear.
The name Reigndear is meant to represent the inner desire and multi-faceted nature inherent in all human beings that pushes us to succeed and find contentment on earth, attainable or not. We like to say, “There are no rainy days, only perfect days to reign, dear.”
The members of Reigndear, all being of a multi-talented nature, control everything that the band puts out from conception to completion. Kent is responsible for song writing, lead vocals, guitars & various instruments, photography, online & print design, illustration, poetry and production. Wesley Jay currently takes care of but is not limited to guitars, backing vocals, photography, filming, video editing and song writing. And Johnny Atterbury is involved mainly with production, bass, melodica, glockenspiel, mandolin, song writing and the arrangement of strings & delicate instruments for the recorded work of Reigndear.
Reigndear are a band who believe in the profound effects of music and they create a blend of music that is best described as “a nostalgic look at the present through the past & future”. The musical aspiration and inspiration behind the music of Reigndear are, but are not limited to: Dinosaur Jr., Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Bad Religion, the Beatles, Juluka, the Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Portishead, Mansun, Modest Mouse, Longpigs, Elliot Smith, Blonde Redhead, Sparklehorse & most recently Bob Dylan.
The official online and limited pre-release edition of “Good Old Fashioned Life Afterbirth” arrived on the 9th of the 9th 2009 and is set to be the official album in the limited edition “Good Old Fashioned Death, Birth & Life | Collection” which features the full-length albums “Good Old Fashioned Birth” (singles: Hurse & Blackeyes), “Good Old Fashioned Life” (singles: Wee Embers & Royalties) & “Good Old Fashioned Death” (the singles of which are still to be announced). Each album contains 9 songs and make up the 12-song feature album “Good Old Fashioned Life Afterbirth” which was recorded and produced in Taiwan, South Africa & the UK by Kent Dylan, Johnny Atterbury & Andy Long (who produced Reigndear’s first single Hurse). The album “Good Old Fashioned Life Afterbirth” (as a limited edition pre-release album) is currently available proudly & exclusively from www.reigndear.com and the “Good Old Fashioned Death, Birth & Life | Collection” (as a limited edition 3 album set) is to be officially release on the 11th of the 11th 2011.
To promote the release of “Good Old Fashioned Life Afterbirth” Reigndear started mailing out limited edition copies of the promotional pre-released debut album “Good Old Fashioned Birth” on the 8th of the 8th 2008 as a self-funded free album, and have sent out all 300 physical copies to fans around the globe who wrote to Reigndear requesting one, among thousands of listens and downloads through their website and various social networks.
Starting January 2009 Reigndear began touring as a live duet in and around the greater Johannesburg area playing acclaimed venues such as The Bohemian, Tanz Cafe & Voodoo Lounge. In December 2009 Reigndear left Johannesburg for the sunny shores of Cape Town for 4 months, where they have been playing gigs at venues such as Zula, The Purple Turtle, Boo Radley's & The Royal Albert Hall. Reigndear are then moving on to Taiwan for the rest of the year in preparation for their jump to NYC in December 2010, after which the band have their sights set on Germany and various other parts of Europe & Asia.
Starting early 2010 Reigndear began working with Tom Sarig and the Esther Creative Group in NYC under management & administration. Reigndear are pleased to have Mr. Sarig and ECG on board and look forward to the future with them.
In May 2010 reigndear released their first Official Music Video for Royalties, the video was voted 12th most viewed video from South Africa after a mere 2 days online by YouTube, the band are looking forward to having the video aired on various TV stations and internet sites in the weeks to come.
Keep up-to-date with Reigndear by visiting www.reigndear.com where you can join various social networks of your choice, read the official blog, subscribe to the mailing list and of course listen to Reigndear.
©2005~2010 Reigndear. All Rights Reserved
