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DAGMAR (Andrea DAGMAR Brown)
Vocals

Dagmar

Photo by R.K. Swenson

Dagmar began her musical life as a classical musician, playing violin, learning to read and write the language of music. She studied violin for many years and joined some quartets that performed publicly. It was very structured. During this time, she taught herself classical guitar. Her very first backup band was her high school orchestra accompanying her in her senior year graduation performance. She played solo, Vivaldi's “Guitar Concerto in D,” all three movements straight from memory. As a young guitarist, she was fortunate to attend concerts played by classical master Andrés Segovia and jazz master Charlie Byrd. She studied them as they played, watching their fingers and listening to the nuances of each style. She was lucky to have a brief audience with each maestro after those two concerts, talking to them and shyly requesting their autographs, which they kindly gave.

She listened to the radio and old '45's and knew all the Top 40 hits by heart. Singing in choruses and choirs became too limiting and they lacked the beat she craved. She was moving to vintage rockin' material with its harder beat, and this change was reflected in both her voice and instruments. Dagmar's playing style was moving towards a combination of jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock'n'roll which she wove together into her original songs. Only occasionally did she play classical music. She had a truly unique sound that used finger picking, smacking the strings and guitar body with her hand for percussive effect, and using her thumb like a bass, because, as she put it, since she didn't have one she had to make up her own band. Her sound was so eccentric that few could accompany her and she began to switch styles to more conventional rhythms. She played solo gigs around the Washington, D.C., scene in clubs like Desperado's, Columbia Station, and the Psche Delly, opening for local and regional bands or doing her own shows at places like the Singer's Studio and small cafes. Occasionally, she sat in with bands and was a regular at the Childe Harold's Monday Night Blues Jam where she met many DC musicians, some who would eventually perform with her in her own groups.

Radio station WGTB-fm, written up in many publications for its radical attitude and choice of material, picked up on her sound and featured her on many live shows including Pandemedia, a large outdoor concert with hours of local, regional and national acts performing into the night. It was broadcast live from the studios at Georgetown University. The producers at WGTB gave her her own concert at Gaston Hall which she packed. A well known club owner referred to her style as “provocative.”

She was recorded on vinyl on an album produced by Adeena Sarah, nee Lipson, singing her original material and some of the most obscure covers she could dig up. But she longed for the fuller more rockin' sound of a band because her craving for rock'n'roll, rockabilly, early blues and old country was pulling her like a musical tornado and plucking her from her structured classical roots. Dagmar believes structure is necessary for creativity but too much structure can suck the life out of one's work.

The hard seductive beat of rock'n'roll caught her. She listened to R&B, R'n'R, and RaB constantly. Not only was she finger picking but now she was using a pick and this little plastic triangle was something new to her. Such a different sound! She used it while playing rhythm on her Gibson J50 and on her 1965 Epiphone Olympic Special guitars. Apparently, the time had come for her first band, a rhythm and blues group called, “The Kokomo Mojos” that played from a song list of known and lesser known R&B material. But it wasn't enough; Dagmar was being absorbed by the combination of musical styles she heard in rockabilly, such as early Sun Sessions Elvis and the rare girl rockers like Brenda Lee, crooner Sarah Vaughan and blues babe Ruth Brown. Years later after a gig, someone in the audience came up to talk to Dagmar and she said to him, “Oh, I know should have done more rockabilly for you guys since this gig was advertised as a rockabilly gig,” and her fan answered, “You just keep on doin' it!! Everything you do is rockabilly!!” Whether or not that was true, Dagmar loved what she was doing. And so Dagmar put together a new group, this one with her friend and guitarist extraordinaire, soon to be a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, 2nd Generation players, Mr. Bob Newscaster. She called this band, “Dagmar and The Seductones,” because she knew that this music was seductive. But, for the sake of brevity and newspaper ads, she decided to shorten it to “The Seductones,” and for a couple of years it stayed that way, but eventually went back to Dagmar and The Seductones. Over the years, you may see the group listed either way.

The earliest iteration was all female but never performed publicly. However, after the first personnel change, when Bob Newscaster agreed to play with the bass, drummer, and rhythm guitarist, all three women in hi-heels and short skirts (except the drummer who had to wear flats), Bob announced, “It's a rough job but somebody's got to do it!” and the new Dagmar and The Seductones became known on the circuit for their look and their style. In the third iteration, Dagmar decided to add a second guitarist, change the bass and drummer, and put both of her own guitars back up on their stands all the while keeping the platform shoes and hi-hemmed skirts - now she could enjoy the unencumbered freedom of movement on stage, particularly if it was a big stage. In fact, Dagmar is both a singer and instrumentalist. As a player, she misses her guitars, but has happily settled into her role as pure singer, loving to focus just on her vocal instrument, at once creamy, gritty, or moving with ease between styles.

Dagmar is the founder, artistic director, manager, and lead singer of Dagmar and The Seductones, and in 2001, invited some of the finest musicians available to be part of the group. The band has toured since its inception. After years on stage, she is a first-class entertainer and her electric stage presence engages audiences wherever she performs, including her tours to Europe and Africa, where she entertained the troops at U.S.Navy bases.

She holds many copyrights for her songwriting and has won grants, honorariums, and awards for work on
video sound tracks; was a featured artist on National Public Radio and on Blues Deluxe/Bluebloods; was noted with an Honorable Mention by Billboard Magazine; and her singing is included in the movie soundtrack of “Swarm of the Snakehead.” Her bluesy, rockabilly material is broadcast regularly on stations in Europe, Australia, South America and, of course, the USA. Her vocal work has been featured on CD and vinyl recordings. She sings the lead and backup vocals on all Dagmar and The Seductones' CDs.

On Amazon:
Come Back To Me” and “Little Bitta Love

On iTunes “Come Back To Me” and “Little Bitta Love

For a more detailed bio with photos, see Dagmar

Links:
Featured Reviews
Blues Rag Feature
DC Rock and Roll Feature
Country Showcase America Records “Proud To Be A Farmer,” Compilation (A NATURAL THING TO DO)
-- Watch LIVE! --
ComeNGetIt



      …and now…

      

The Seductones…


CDs-->Where to get 'em
All-Original Tunes in MP3 format written by A.D.Brown and R.K.Swenson
PIX-->What you'll see
INK-->What'd they say?
GIGS-Where we'll be
LINKS-->Who we know

____

THE SEDUCTONES

Bob Newscaster

Bob “Newscaster” Swenson
Guitar

Bob Swenson, aka 'Newscaster', is a Rockabilly Hall of Fame Inductee (2nd Generation). He has been playing guitar professionally since he was thirteen. A classical guitar student at Sophocles Papas' Guitar Shop, he also studied at American University under John McGregor, a student of the great classical pioneer, Andres Segovia. Bob has backed up many great performers including Bo Diddley, The Clovers, Jack Scott, Robert Gordon, Narvel Felts, Tex Rubinowitz and others (see Bob's detailed bio for more info and links). Newscaster toured France in 1981 along with Sonny Fisher and Gene Summers. Bob's work can be found on Ripsaw Records, Bluelight Records, Raucous Records, No Club Records, and Hungry For Music Records. Newscaster plays rhythm and lead with Dagmar and The Seductones and is featured on both of Dagmar and The Seductones' CDs, Little Bitta Love, and Come Back To Me.

Read MORE about Bob Newscaster…

Links:
Blues Rag Feature, Part 2, Bob's Story
Tex Rubinowitz, Bob E. Rock, and Billy Hancock
“Shakin' That Rockbilly Fever”
Eva Cassidy
(Photo of Bob Newscaster by Louie Newmyer)


Bryan Smith

Bryan Smith
Upright and Electric Bass

Bryan's bass sound first gained international exposure in the mid-Seventies when he recorded and toured in the U.S. and Canada as a member of The Star Spangled Washboard Band. He worked with Bob Newscaster in the Tennessee Rockets, appearing on Ripsaw Records, backing many rockabilly stars. He also performed with the U.S. Navy Band and worked with some of the best country and bluegrass musicians in the world. He is featured on upright and electric bass on both of Dagmar and The Seductones' CDs, Little Bitta Love, and Come Back To Me.

Read MORE about Bryan Smith…

Links: The Star Spangled Washboard Band
Billy Hancock
(Photo of Bryan by Andrea D. Brown)


George Sheppard, Drums George Sheppard
Drums

Since 2005, world renowned drummer George Sheppard has performed with Dagmar and The Seductones.

George Sheppard is a a protegé of Henry Adler and Louis Bellson, and has toured and recorded with greats ranging from jazz icon Dizzy Gillespie to the rock group The Talking Heads, from Grammy nominated guitarist Eric Johnson to Handy Award winners the Smokin' Joe Kubek Band with B'nois King.

Hear George featured on Dagmar and The Seductones' newest CD, “Come Back To Me.”
Read MORE about George Sheppard…

Links: Modern Drummer
(Photo of George by Ken Eng)

For bookings and info, email Dagmar and The Seductones

Dagmar and The Seductones'
EXCELLENT SUPPORTING CAST
Medal of Excellence



E-mail Dagmar and The Seductones


...Dagmar and The Seductones...the best in Roots Music...specializing in Real Rock'n'Roll...Rock-a-Billy...Country...Blues...and Rockin' Originals...For the latest reviews, catch INK...Thanks to all the AM, FM, and Internet radio stations broadcasting our music...in all 50 states and US territories and around the world...and thanks to the multitude of international rockin' visitors who have stopped by from...*** Algeria * Argentina * Australia * Austria * Aruba * Azerbaijan * Bahrain * Bangladesh * Belarus * Belgium * Bermuda * Bosnia And Herzegovina * Brazil * Bulgaria * Canada * Canary Islands * Chile * China * Colombia * Cook Islands * Costa Rica * Cote D'ivoire * Croatia * Cyprus * Czech Republic * Denmark * Dominican Republic * Ecuador * Egypt * El Salvador * England * Eritrea * Estonia * Faroe Islands * Finland * France * Germany * Ghana * Greece * Greenland * Guam * Guatemala * Guinea-bissau * Hong Kong * Hungary * Iceland * India * Indonesia * Iran * Ireland * Israel * Italy * Jamaica * Japan * Jersey* Kazakhstan * Kenya * Korea * Kuwait * Laos * Lebanon * Lithuania * Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic Of * Malaysia * Maldives * Malta * Mauritius * Mexico * Mongolia * Morocco * Namibia * Netherlands * New Caledonia * New Guinea * New Zealand * Newfoundland And Labrador * Nigeria * Norway * Pakistan * Panama * Paraguay * Peru * Philippines * Poland * Portugal * Puerto Rico * Qatar * Republic of Moldova * Romania * Russian Federation * Saudi Arabia * Scotland * Senegal * Serbia And Montenegro * Singapore * Slovakia * Slovenia * South Africa * Spain * Sri Lanka * Sudan * Sweden * Switzerland * Syrian Arab Republic * Taiwan * Thailand * Trinidad And Tobago * Tunisia * Turkey * Ukraine * United Arab Emirates * United Kingdom * United States of America * Uruguay * Venezuela * Viet Nam * Wales * Yemen! *** ROCK'N'ROLL, THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE! ***

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