Nov. 1, 2006Seasons change. When DeYarmond Edison arrived in North Carolina in August of last year, the Wisconsin quartet was vibrant with possibility. The band’s membersBrad Cook, Phil Cook, Justin Vernon and Joe Westerlundwere longtime childhood and college friends, and, together, they set out to reinvent their Midwestern roots rock in bright new contexts. They succeeded in whole, playing some of the most inventive, transcendent and holistic sets of music the Triangle has seen in years. An unreleased, five-song EP the band recorded in July shows evidence of as much, realizing their hefty centerpiece of songwriting in new environments.
But, weeks after finishing those living-room sessions, the band broke up. Three-fourths of the band reformed as Megafaun, andtwo sets into their careerthey’re equally promising, if remarkably different. They embarked on their first tour last week, days before Vernon headed back to Wisconsin. Some eight months after we explored the Triangle’s new, brightest light, we bid a farewellwith expectations. Grayson Currin
Watch Derek Anderson’s multimedia slideshow of DeYarmond Edison, with music by the band.
Read Grayson Currin’s Feb. 22, 2006 story, “A new residency.”
To hear the final sessions, visit www.myspace.com/deyarmondedison.
