press photo
Course of Empire
Vaughn Stevenson: vocalist
Mike Graff: guitarist
Paul Semrad: bassist
Chad Lovell: drummer
Course of Empire is a group with a philosophical and moral agenda, named after a
series of five paintings by 19th century environmentalist/artist Thomas Cole
depicting the cyclical rise and fall of industrial civilization. The band's
vision is an apocalyptic one, using high technology guitar and the primal
catharsis of drumming to express the conflict between nature and science that is
at the heart of modern society's struggle to survive and sustain itself.
The roots of the band go back eight years to 1984, when cofounders Mike Graff
and since-departed drummer Anthony Headly hooked up in the film department of
Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where they shared an interest in
ambient video soundtracks. They soon began playing music in the TV studio and
advertised in local record stores for a vocalist "with an interest in
vegetarianism and ideas concerning mass consciousness," which caught the eye of
North Carolina native Vaughn Stevenson, recently relocated to Dallas from
California.
"Vegetarianism is just an aspect of a world view which we all share in the
band," says Vaughn. "It's all about individual action. You're not going to
stop people from killing animals entirely, but you can control where your money
goes and what you put in your mouth."
The idea that the individual can make a difference - that the micro can affect
the macro - is at the heart of Course of Empire's point-of-view and music.
Live, the band believes in making its audience part of the show by handing out
drums during the tribal stomp, "Thrust," gathering one and all in a communal
experience that reflects the current interest in getting back to humankind's
true nature.
"It's our desire to let go and not try to predict, control, and analyze," says
Graff.
Adding bassist Paul Semrad and a second drummer in Chad Lovell, Course of
Empire became one of Dallas' hottest post-punk outfits, placing the track
"God's Jig" on a 1990 compilation of area bands, Dude You Rock. The track
inspired a bidding war between two local labels won by Allan Restrepo's Carpe
Diem Records, who signed the group and put them into the studio to record their
debut.
Remixed and remastered for release on Zoo Entertainment, Course of Empire
offers a glimpse into the band's mythos and methods - a style that incorporates
slabs of industrial musique concrete and pastoral symphonics. "Ptah" is an
evocation of some ancient, forbidding God, while the initial track/video,
"Coming of the Century," announces the beginning of the end, a harrowing
glimpse into the near-future churned up by Graff's thunderstruck guitars and
Semrad's thudding bass.
"God's Jig" is a harsh observation of the cultural relativity of organized
religions and practices, especially in the East ("While the women walk behind /
Just as culture taught them to"). "Copious" is an industrial blast Graff
compares to Charlie Chaplin's classic Modern Times about "finding yourself
caught in the cogs of a vast machinery," while "'Thrust' is about trying to
find some organic way out."
The closing "Dawn of the Great Eastern Sun" (a phrase taken from the writings
of Tibetan Buddhist Chogyam Trungpa) offers rebirth and a humanist concept of
enlightened transcendence. With death hovering over every track, Course of
Empire completes the seemingly dark circle with a gentle, ethereal melody.
"There's only a finite-sized globe," says Graff. "We reached the point where
we can't go through another cycle. It's up to this generation to break that
cycle. Maybe there is some kind of chance for real communication through
music after all."