Their live performances gained a honorable reputation among the more prominent promoters in the bay area and soon after were invited to perform at such clubs and venues as Slim's, The Great American Music Hall, and The Pound, sharing the stage with such acts as The Aquabats, Yellowcard, Rufio, Rx Bandits, Tsunami Bomb, Home Grown, Slick Shoes, Suicide Machines, A Static Lullaby, No Motiv, Northstar, Audio Karate, Ozma, The Early November, Over It, Park, The Bled, The Higher, Don�t Look Down, The Bled, Steel Train, Hello Goodbye, The Matches, Say Anything, Bowling For Soup, and many more. As word of mouth spread, they later were asked to perform on the Drive Thru Records stage on the Vans Warped Tour in summer of 2002.
The band later put out two releases on their own: an EP entitled "It's Not Pretty Being Easy," and their debut full length album "Forever Broken," both produced by Andy Ernst (Green Day, Rancid, AFI). The tracks "Access Denied," "Lose It All," and "The Second I Asked For," made their way onto mainstream radio, including Live 105 KITS FM, the largest modern rock station in the Bay Area, as well as various college radio stations across the United States.
The band felt comfortable with the crew at Orange Peal records and signed a recording contract with them in March 2003. Later that year they took off for a self booked West Coast tour then, made an appearance at the 2003 Vans Warped Tour. The band then released the EP "Written In Blood" and embarked on their first national tour with the Berlin Project in October of the same year. In Spring 2004, they were invited to join various artists, including Drive Thru Records recording artists Steel Train on the national "Blossoming Media Tour." The band got national media attention through various regional publications as well as being featured on the Budweiser True Music series for HDNet programming. Having completed two national tours in a six-month time period turned out to be a learning experience and a reality check for the band at the same time. "We've noticed that the time of being on the road has made our skin tougher. We're able to endure the hardships of the road, and stay focused on the music,� says Aymen.
After continuing to tour nationally for the rest of 2004, the band went back in the studio in January of 2005 to record "Hellafornia" at Popsmear Studios in San Rafael, CA. The album was produced by Scott Llamas and Dexter Danger, and mastered by Dominick Maita (Fall Out Boy, Hawthorne Heights, Punchline, Less Than Jake,) at Airshow Mastering in Boulder, CO. "We had a blast recording, and it was incredible hearing all our songs come to life." says Aymen.
The band took a different approach to their music prior to recording, taking in a variety of influences not particularly familiar to them. As Aymen puts it, "It laid groundwork of powerful dynamics, energy, and melody that clearly shows throughout "Hellafornia". From the time spent writing each song, to bringing the songs to life in the studio, we feel that our time and efforts creating this album represented "Hellafornia" better than we ever imagined." The result is a maturely crafted rock-influenced punk album that will reach out to new fans while keeping the current fans satisfied.
The boys took 2005 by storm with a whopping 4 self-booked, self-funded national tours, and another spot on the Van's Warped Tour, while always keeping an eye on their hometown Bay Area scene. "This is the most touring we've ever done in an entire year, and the extraordinary response we've recieved with this album has acted as a catalyst to stay on the road." says Aymen.
The band will continue touring as they have been, looking for more fans around the country that find their music as enjoyable as they do in the Bay Area, all the while keeping their D.I.Y. mentality in full swing.
�Part emo, part punk-rock, this one�s definitely for the kids. All fans of AFI, GREEN DAY, take notice. This could be your next big discovery�.
- AMP Magazine
"Bottom line: The record is certainly proof that pop-punk can take a step in a better direction."
- The Spectator, Seattle, WA
"Dexter Danger has built themselves a solid foundation to become a great force in punk rock music."
- Hussieskunk.com, Internet Punk Rock Radio
System Overload
Dexter Danger Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
Or how many problems that you've caused and made me live through
I can't stand the way you walk and talk and act like I do
I wrote these words to let you know that I'm in system overload
All of a sudden you've become
Someone I can't get along with and you've..
You've been running all along
You better pray that all the demons won't come back to haunt you
Cause you know that I'll be waiting there with a smile to taunt you
And I can't wait to see you fall and shake and break from the truth
I wrote these words to let you know that I'm in system overload
All of a sudden you've become
Someone I can't get along with and you've..
You've been running all along
From the dreams and virtues meant to save you
Just who do you think you are?
The lyrics of Dexter Danger's song "System Overload" convey frustration and intense anger towards someone the singer once had a close relationship with. The song emanates a desire to express the pent up resentment towards this individual, who has caused problems and made the singer's life unbearable to live through. The lyrics suggest that this person has changed in a way that now makes it impossible for the singer to get along with and relates it to a system's overload- a state of being overwhelmed and unable to cope. The aggressive tone in the lyrics adds a weight of emotion to the overall theme of the song.
The lines "You better pray that all the demons won't come back to haunt you/Cause you know that I'll be waiting there with a smile to taunt you," highlights the scorning and contempt of the singer towards the individual. Still, it also encapsulates a sense of hopelessness, as the person is aware of the challenge of dealing with their demons alone. The chorus "All of a sudden you've become/ Someone I can't get along with" and "From the dreams and virtues meant to save you" displays how the person has strayed away from who they once were and is represented as being unreachable.
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