Dremana
Live at the Rock House Cafe
April 20, 2002

By Joseph Filipak

By blending the sounds of Missing Persons and No Doubt into a highbred mix of techno-pop, Dremana stands at the crossroads of pop music past and present. The band consists of Grace Sharington (lead vocals), Spam (guitar), Karl Jetler (guitar), Jon Stark (bass), ZigZag (drums), and Jamie Principle (G4&vocals). Doing a live review is different than doing a CD review because a show is just one night, and a CD is forever! But on this night, Dremana put on one hell of a show, although I do have a bit of a quibble (you can blame that on my star sign). With the influences that Dremana has, one would think that the band would be more active on stage, but more or less it’s left up to Grace Sharington to put on the show.

So what is Grace Sharington like on stage? Well, she is somewhat like an Asian animated character; (there are some great Asian animated video’s check them out!). Her movements are free when she is flying, but unpredictable when standing still, she seems to move in the moment, the lyrics are the subtitle and Grace acts out the parts. This, by the way, is very cool! The band on the other hand is somewhat motionless, but with that said they do pull off the CD with out a hitch. This is no small feat, considering the CD for the most part was programmed. I do want to touch on the CD for a moment, I made the Missing Persons and No Doubt connection, but I do have to say that Dremana has their own sound and you would never confuse them with either band.

Live, much like the CD, songs such as "Monkey Shrine" and "If I Was God" stand out, but the song "Mandarin Martini", the last on the CD, is with out a doubt the single. Dremana live and on CD have a sound that few have, and like it or not Dremana is going to be a band to be reckoned with, and one that people are going to be talking about!

Live, much like the CD, I can’t help but to recommend the band, but this is up to you. If you like tecno-pop with a rock edge, then find your way to the next Dremana show, you‘ll be glad that you did! Grace will entertain and the band will play flawlessly, and much like I did, you may find yourself caught up in their pop melodies. Few bands, if any, in Chicago are similar in style to Dremana, which gives them an opportunity to capture a fan base. What they do with this opportunity is up to them. For me, as much as I like what they’re doing now, I can’t help but to wonder what Dremana is going to be a year from now.

And just for the record, Grace Sharington has my vote for the next animated super hero fem-fetal! Yes she is that cool, and so is the band! Again recommend, but only if you want have some fun - techno-pop style!

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