This is where we ask you to basically do our research. How did Dust On The Breakers come about?

Jeff Linsenmaier (The Czars): I had met Jeff Davenport at SXSW in Austin and immediately wanted to play with him. I had met Tim H. a bit earlier when his band opened for my band in Austin (during one of the biggest rainstorms in Austin’s history!), where he lived at the time. We all wound up keeping in touch, and began sending song ideas back and forth. Tim eventually ended up moving to Denver and we started playing as Dust.

Tim Husmann (Crooked Fingers): Jeff Linsenmaier and Jeff Davenport had already been playing together for a while before I met either of them.  I met Jeff L in Austin one stormy night at a tiny bar called the Flamingo Cantina.  The band I was playing in at the time opened for the band he was touring with.  During the middle of his set, there was one of the worst thunderstorms I have ever seen.  The club literally had a stream of water a foot deep flowing across the floor and out into the street.  We agreed to have breakfast the following morning and things developed from there.

Jeff Davenport (b.diddle): Jeff Linsenmaier and I had known each other for a few years, but it wasn’t until 2005 at SWSX that we decided to start playing together.  The next year, Jeff and I were back at SXSW.  We had breakfast with his friend Tim who’s band had opened for a Czars’ show.  Tim and I quickly realized we shared obsessions with recording and hit it off rather well.  That year Tim was traveling through Denver and stayed for almost a month.  The three of us started playing together in my apartment one afternoon and it never stopped from there.  When Tim returned to Austin, I started sending him tracks Jeff L. and I were working on.  He would then send us back tracks with drums or keys and we’d work that way long-distance.  After a successful first show opening for Midlake, Tim moved to Denver to spend more time working on the band.

The press release describes you as being both a band and a collective. Where do you see the difference, and do you think it changes the dynamics of the band... or collective?

Jeff L: Essentially Dust is a core group of three artists who collaborate and create with an larger group of friends and artists. Dust is a focal point for an aesthetic, and less of a collection of distinct personalities. if someone feels a connection or need to explore that aesthetic (the tension between pain and hope for American Rec..for example) or if we have a creative connection with someone, than we work with them. For American Reclamation we worked with a number of people... Some sang harmonies, some helped engineer or provided studios to record in. Some designed cd covers and some took photos. All of them were in our “Band” for that ep... I see a “band” in much more of a jazz sense than in a classic sort of Beatles setup. I like how jazz musicians record a moment in time when they make an album; This person on horn and this person on drums... the next album could have a completely different lineup. I see Dust as being close to this model of “band”.

Tim: I see no difference between either label.  Band or collective, we are trying to convey a set of emotions; life experiences, things we have felt that other people have or will at some point.  We adapt as needed when different songs call for different arrangements.

Jeff D: Its a band in that the three of us are the core members, but a collective in the sense that since the inception of the band, whether it be live or recording, we’ve always had rotating cast of musicians involved.  None of our shows have ever been the same.  We always try to shape a performance around who we are emotionally as a band at that point in time.  The same goes for recordings. I think its confusing for some people because we can seem like a different band every time we play, but its also what draws a lot of people to us. 

You've been together for four years. How come it took you so long to release this EP?

Jeff L: It was for two reasons. The first being that we all work or tour with other bands. When we started, we members of other bands and were merely sending track ideas back and fourth with the idea of, “perhaps one day we will start a real project”. Over the 4 years we went from casual to a core group with a distinct purpose.  I think we also needed that time to find our voice, both as individuals and as a collective voice. When we started, I had  only sang backups for my old band, The Czars every now and then. I had never really written a song... To me mentally, I wasn’t a singer or a songwriter and Dust was really me asking myself, “Could I be these things? Do I have something to say?”  I still don’t know about the singing part, but I definitely have something to say.

Tim: This project doesn't follow the traditional model of a band.  The timescale is forever changing.  Members are often touring with other groups and physical time is usually a rare commodity.

Jeff D: Dust is like a spaceship approaching a black hole.  To an outside observer it may look like we are barely moving, but inside that ship we cranking pretty hard on new material.  However, when we send out a record it has to travel a few light-years to reach earth.  Its this space-time delay that creates such big gaps.

Needless to point out, you've all played in some pretty fantastic bands. Between The Czars, Devotchka, Crooked Fingers, d.biddle, Meese, Hello Kavita, The Fray and 16 Horsepower, is there some sort of common musical thread, something that ties not only these bands, but also you, together? A sense of gloominess that comes from being somewhat isolated from the rest of the world by either the Rockies or the Great Plains (my American geography isn't perfect, so please bear with me)? Is there a "Denver-sound" you can tap into?

Jeff L: I think there is a “Denver sound”... Kind of.  Most of our Denver contemporaries do come from this “School of somber” sonically and honesty I’m not sure what makes it sound this way. I am the son of a preacher and this influences the way I write and what I’m expressing. I’ve had countless conversations with other musicians from this group with similar religious backgrounds and perhaps this is one of the driving factors in creating this sound; Spiritual undertone, or the element of contemplation... We can’t forget either that Denver is rife with other great musicians playing other interesting styles; Matt Morris/ One Republic/ They Fray for instance are making interesting pop... There are amazing jazz and traditional folk musicians as well. I could go on, but I won’t I think..

Tim: I haven't lived in Denver for very long, but I can honestly say the "Denver Sound" belongs to bands like Slim Cessna and 16 Horsepower.  I think our collective voice comes from shared life experiences.  I am always grateful when friends are willing to sit in with us on a project.

Jeff D: I think there used to be a “Denver-sound” but this town has grown so much in the last few years that its become a more eclectic city--less known for gloominess and better for pop music.  I don’t think there is much of a common thread these days that is easily identified.  If I were to call one out it would be the overreaching feeling of you-can-do-whatever-you-want.  No one is looking over there shoulders or feeling constrained by a past here.  Denver is place where people come to start fresh and create a new future.  I think it says something that none of the bands you listed make any sense musically being in the same sentence.  We can all have close personal relationships but be doing something wildly different from one another artistically.

Yeah, cause that was my next question.  ‘American Reclamation’ sounds quite different to your material with the other bands. What was the musical vision behind Dust On The Breakers?

Jeff L: Vision-wise I think we all were experiencing some sort of emotional trauma on a personal level that we needed to work through, I think we all looked to music to do that. After countless nights talking and bouncing thoughts back and fourth, and just playing for therapeutic reasons, we ended up with this basic concept of pain and hope... What does that look like? If we were to describe that in words what would they be? This was the starting vision for Dust to me. All the lyrics I wrote came directly from conversations I had with Tim and Jeff during this time; “We must be cathedrals, making silent calls, with tiny little bells”... I was in a parking lot of a warehouse party talking with Tim at 3 in the morning.   “Is this a sin, is it a blessing.. is it real or counterfeit? And should we just float, until we know... Until we sink back into it?” We all were at my cold music warehouse in the wintertime talking and huddling around the space heaters. These experiences and this bonding formed the vision for Dust.

Tim: I think the vision for this project was born by the desire within each of us to find our own creative voice.  The life of the group depends upon the challenging of that voice and ourselves.  It's also the desire to express things we have not previously had a musical outlet for.

Jeff D:  Dust formed out of an emotional necessity rather than an initial vision. Yet, working through the process of writing we found that the common thread in our music was exploring a theme of struggle and hope.  So I guess you could say our emotional journey became the journey of the band.  Dust is such a different sound than the bands we’ve come from only because those weren’t our voices.  We were there to give life to others’ visions.  This is the first time anyone has heard us speak for ourselves.

This question might sound rude, but please, don't take it that way. But bands like The Czars, 16 Horsepower and Crooked Fingers all had, or in the case of the latter, have, pretty enigmatic lead singers. Is this also a way of stepping out from the shadows of John Grant, David Eugene Edwards and Eric Bachmann?

Jeff L:  I have always played with big personalities my entire career, I suppose you could say, not that this is a bad thing. I’ve always believed in the songs they wrote, some of them are my personal favorites... But I began hearing my own voice at a certain point. At first it was ideas for other songs, then it was entire songs etc. I just haven’t been in a position where I had much input creatively and I began feeling like I owed it to myself and to the world to at least try to realize what I heard in my head. In all of these other groups, I’m either hired as a touring musician or the creative landscape was already full. I think I also never really had any confidence in my ability until the past few years. Now I feel like I have the ability to do what I want to do... Like I’m a contemporary and not as much of an admirer.

Tim: I don't see it as a shadow that needs to be stepped out of.  They are excellent at their craft and are well-known for good reason.  I think if anything, I learned a lot from touring with Eric.  I will also say our voice is an altogether different animal.

Jeff D: I can only speak for myself.  My last band d.biddle, started as a solo project of Duncan Barlow who was somewhat of a legend in the American Hardcore Punk scene of the 1990’s. Being a part of his journey to re-mold himself from a punk icon to an americana songwriter was an amazing privilege.  I was lucky to learn from someone who had 15 years of hard-fought success and struggle behind them.  I see those experiences as invaluable mentorships.  I wouldn’t be who I am without them.

What's the state of the music scene in Colorado these days?

Jeff L: Well there is a ton of talented people doing interesting things in lots of different musical genres... There’s the Wovenhand/ Devochka/ Slim Cessna’s Auto club sort of genre, then there’s the Matt Morris/ The Fray/ One Republic kind of genre. Those are the ones we tend to float in and out of. There’s also the kind of hipster thing going on in it’s own 5 bars that it tends to exist in, similar to every other pseudo metropolitan city in the world (I hope that doesn’t sound too cynical). There is a thriving electronic scene and great singer/songwriters. Actually, you should ask Jeff D this question. I second whatever he says as he actually knows! I’m so 4 years ago to Denver I think. I tour so much I have a hard time existing in that culture at the moment.

Tim: The music scene here is very close-knit.  We recently finished producing Caleb Slade's first album, Victory In Defeat, which will be released this winter.  I am also excited about the new incarnation of Meese, called The Centennial.

Jeff D: The music scene in Colorado has really expanded and matured in the last five years or so.  There are so many bands now its hard to keep track.  Its a very enthusiastic and supportive scene right now.  These days there’s a whole new crop of bands and artists breaking out of Denver that I’m really excited about.  Pictureplane really broke open the experimental and lo-fi scene here for people to notice.  Bands like Tennis, Gauntlet Hair, Candy Claws and Woodsmen are really leading the way.  On the other end of the spectrum you have huge pop bands like The Fray and One Republic here so its a pretty fascinating dichotomy.  The great thing about Denver is having friends on both sides of that.  I like that Dust on the Breakers can bridge what some people would consider a musical canyon in this city.  I think the collection of people appearing on American Reclamation is part of that story.  We want to be the Oprah of Denver (not sure if that translates to the UK!). 

I know that you've been playing a lot of new material. Is 'American Reclamation' just a sign of greater things to come?

Jeff L: Well, I was counting earlier today and came up with at least 30 songs that I want to record. I really feel a big push coming from us starting now and going til who knows when! I can’t wait to hear how our sound matures over time.

Tim: I hope so.  We have been working on a lot of new material.  Our current plan is to begin releasing new singles this winter.

Jeff D: I can’t promise greater but I can promise more!  It will be a different that the record because that was just the first chapter of a bigger story.  We like EPs and singles because they are like short stories and poems.

Where does the title American Reclamation come from?

Jeff L: ‘American Reclamation’ is essentially a contemplation on the theme, “from pain comes hope”. It was a thought that drove the writing of the album. I found it interesting that as we 3 people were experiencing this tension in a very real and palpable way personally, the nation seemed to be going through the same thing as a whole. I kept hearing the word hope, mostly brought on by the presidential election, even though most of my friends were out of work or were going through some sort of hardship, and I had the thought, “Dust on the Breakers is my Obama”. I wanted to make some sort of reference to the connection between the internal (within) and external (national) struggles for the EP title. Not a “look what I’ve been through” but a “look at what we’re going through”. ‘American Reclamation’ carried the weight of that thought to me.

Tim: It's about reclaiming a plot of musical and mental space.  It's about making it your own again.

Jeff D:  Everyone has something they need to take back for themselves. Its a good title because it fit our story as three people and also alluded to struggles with American identity in politics.  Its a pretty punk rock title now that I think about it!

Do you think you'll eventually reach a point where Dust On The Breakers won't "just" be a side-project, but a regular band?

Jeff L: In this music landscape, it’s hard to earn a living off music and not being tied to a project has it’s advantages... Such as feeling more free creatively and just being able to retreat to it when your “not working”... that being said, I think it’s just a matter of time before it becomes our lives. I’ve been around enough to know that people like myself and Jeff D and Tim don’t end up together often... It’s a special thing that we have and I see it going nowhere but up for a long time! There’s no telling what heights we’re capable of reaching!

Tim: I think it is a possibility for us.  Whatever the outcome, I view it as a continually evolving project.

Jeff D: Sometimes I think it would be nice to be a regular band and do all those things regular bands do.  But its like how unmarried people look at marriage; its either a romantic vision yet to be fulfilled or something that could ruin a perfectly happy relationship.

Dust On The Breakers' American Reclamation is out now on Rainboot. For more, go to Myspace.com/Dustonthebreakers