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Dana Punk Reggae band Limelight releases Debut Album
Declares "Our Mission is to Have a new GanJam"
Dana, Duchy of Suldanor
June 15, 5662


Dana Surfers turned musicians Limelight want more festivals in Kalistan

Perennial Dana Beach Dwellers and occasional Punk/Reggae Musicians Limelight have recently been signed to Last Chance Records and have released their debut album called Danavision. "We decided it was time to stop surfing all the time and doing parties and stuff and start doing this music s--t seriously," said frontman, guitarist, and primarly songwriter Keith McDonald. "Its time to, you know, take life serious and stuff."

With Eric "Vinnie" Jones on bass, and Lenny Goldman on drums, the trio of Dana surfers recorded a demo EP in Goldman's garage just off of Dana's North Beach where the three live together. "It was kind of a lousy piece of garbage," said Goldman. "We had this beat up four track that I think Vinnie found in this dumpster one time and we got it working and decided what the hell, but the beach was so loud when we were recording that when we finally listened to the tape, the waves crashing were really all you could hear. But we didn't have any more tapes, so we sent this one in to LCR and like four weeks later this guy calls us and says he listened to the demo but thought it was recorded at like a beach party or something, and he wants to meet with us down in Sulari to see what we actually sound like."

The guy turned out to be Robert Turner, A&R director for LCR, and when he finally got the band into a proper studio he was impressed. "He said he really liked how we sounded, and he thought we could make a real record," said McDonald. "He asked us how many songs we had and we were like oh you know like the three on the demo and then, maybe one or two more." So the band was given a homework assignment and ₭2000 Imperial to acquire better instruments--"Vinnie's bass wasn't properly wired or something and used to shock him half the time," said McDonald-- and sent out to write some additional songs for the record.

"We came back with maybe 12 or 13 new songs, mostly of the punk rock and reggae variety, but a couple punk songs in there too," said McDonald. "And then we got cleared to do abut 6 classic covers from reggae artists we really loved, just to pay tribute. And the guy LCR set us up with to produce the record was Diamond Mike Monroe from Addisjah, the famous hip hop DJ from up there, and we were like What's this man? We aren't a hip hop band... And Mike was like No man, I'm just gonna kinda take your music to the next level. You guys can say yes or no to everything, cool? So we went to work."

The record took six weeks to produce and what resulted was a studio album that really keeps a lot of the punk-reggae edge to it, but also has a lot of hip hop elements includes. "Diamond Mike took me from all this speed and fast aggressive playing that I do in punk down about like about 14 degrees and said, you gotta feel the flow in here, man" said McDonald. "We puffed some Dah, chilled out, and then he says 'While you all have been playing, here's what I've been doing,' and he busts out this backing track full of samples and like nods to old school hip hop, tradska and reggae, and he was like Let's try this. It totally changed the sound of the music from what we thought we were trying to do to what we were actually trying to do."

"Mike said that recording a record is not the same thing as jamming in the garage or playing a house party," said Jones. "Like we're paying for the f--king studio you know. If we want to jam, we can do that for free, but if you want to make a record, there's like ways to do it and then there's other ways to definitely not f--king do it. And Mike knows how to do it." The band said they were happy with their experience and working with such a professional, and they offered to give him points on the sales. "He's a real pro--he said he took the payment upfront from the record label and wished us good luck."

So far the record, relying primarily on word of mouth and a moderate amount of radio promotion is selling reasonable well. "The label said we sold 12,000 records in the first week," said McDonald. "It's not Dea level or anything, but I think the Dana stores have had to reorder another batch, and that's pretty cool." The band is also getting requests to play around Kalistan. "We are gonna play Sulari and up to Eshar, and then we're playing the Luxon Open in August. It should be awesome."

The band says they want to use their new found stardom to revive GanJam. "We have heard all these people saying 'If only there was a GanJam today, GanJam GanJam GanJam. And I was like what is GanJam, so we looked it up, and it sounds dope AF. We want to bring it back." McDonald said he wants to meet with ODEN-K and KRTVN to try to see if there is any interest in reviving the summer festival. "Even if its a one time thing, I think people really want more live music and we should bring it back. Maybe even right here on the beach in Dana. Wouldn't that kick ass?!"

You can get Limelight's Danavision at your local record story, but also check out the link

You can also check out the video for the first single from the record "The Regimen", starring Sulari model Callie Caballero.

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQnzeKKg7Yc]

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