Biography
Dragons Power Up! is a rock group from St. Paul, Minnesota, formed in 2005 by multi-instrumentalists Mike Coyne, Dan Ries, Mike Ries, and Chris Tures. In 2011, Coyne left DPU! and the music world under amicable circumstances, at which point longtime producer/friend Spencer Wirth-Davis (Big Cats!) offered his services as full-time bassist/collaborator/member.
Each member drawing from his own corner of musical influences, their sound marries loose, noisy guitars with tightly-wound rhythm section and vocals atypical of today's indie rock landscape. DPU! twist indie rock conventions by subtly blending the sonic freakouts of shoegaze and noise rock, unorthodox song structures and signatures of post rock, the rhythmic, atonal punch of post-punk, the love of hooks and melodies of the 60s, psychedelica, blues and whatever else they may bring into the mix. The result is both familiar and distinctly new - album rock for an age of MP3s.
They self-released their debut album "This Way to Gunshire" in 2006, later catching the attention of local indie label Guilt Ridden Pop (Gospel Gossip, Volante, Malachi Constant, Claps, Kill to Kill, etc) in 2008. Their sophomore full-length, "Brace for the Bloom" was released on GRP in March of 2010. They have shared the stage with countless Twin Cities bands as well as Titus Andronicus, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Royal Bangs, Broken Records, Sleepy Sun, Locksley, Lydia, Free Energy, Atomic Tom and Semi-Precious Weapons.
DPU! has a deep-abiding love for their hometown and the underground community within it, regularly playing shows at Twin Town venues. Tures is the co-founder of the Twin Cities based Electric Orange Music Collective, along with Brian O'Neil of Wizards Are Real. In 2010, the 10-band collective has released their first sampler and zine.
M. Ries and Tures are also part of the live backing band for Twin Town MC/producer duo Guante and Big Cats! The band also appeared on the P.O.S./Big Cats! track "Crack a Window."
Other DPU! member projects (past and present) include:
Mike Ries - Cloud Hidden, Michael and the Moonlight
Spencer Wirth-Davis - Big Cats!, Guante and Big Cats!, The Tribe and Big Cats!, Michael and the Moonlight
Dan Ries - Panther Ray, Rusty Zippers, Michael and the Moonlight
Chris Tures - Aldine, Totally Awesome Summer, Michael and the Moonlight, The Powerderhorn Cranes, The Feminist Playboy Review, The Electric Tapes, Condo$ (past)
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