@nandokeys IG. Musician in Dallas. I create and make things. I love Space and all the mysteries within

Two hands, two sticks. Two feet, two drums. I park my demos here so my co-conspirators can get their ears on 'em.

I'm a guitar player and singer/song writer.

COURSE OF EMPIRE was a five-piece post-punk, tribal industrial, alternative metal group, active between 1988 and 1998. 

Coming out of the Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas, C.o.E. was one of the top drawing live acts in north Texas at the time.

One thing that was unique about the band was that it had two drummers playing one large drum kit.  

Influenced by The Kodo Drummers of Japan, the band would roll large oil drums out into the audience and distribute drumsticks, inviting the audience to join in. 

Dissolving the invisible boundaries between the performer and audience was an idea that the band thought was applicable to society in general and worth exploring in a live context. 

During a song called “Thrust” everyone would be invited to become a drummer with the band. Anyone could influence the course of the evolving music by introducing a new rhythm or motif. Once at a show in Houston, for example, a sound man lept onstage and took a flute solo during the “drum thing”! 

After “Thrust” ended, the band would kick into “We Got The Beat” by The Go Go’s, which was always crowd favorite.

The sound of everyone hitting the rims of the drums out of time influenced the evolution of another song called “Infested!” which was released on the band’s second album, Initiation.

Unfortunately by the time the group got signed, the “drum thing” with the audience had become too dangerous, because instead of dropping down from the stage to the floor to be played, the drums started getting thrown around by the crowd like beach balls. 

Nevertheless, the band retained the two-drummer approach as a defining stylistic trademark for three albums:

Course Of Empire (Carpe Diem)
Initiation Zoo/BMG (Sony)
Telepathic Last Words TVT (Sony)

The band’s single “The Information” from Telepathic Last Words featured footage from the Alex Proyas sci-fi thriller DARK CITY. 

After a decade of touring and epic shows in Dallas and Austin, the group split in 1998.

On November 18, 2019 beloved Course drummer and Curtain Club sound man Chad Lovell suffered a fall in his home, which left him with a traumatic brain injury. 

As a response, Chad’s former bandmates are now releasing this previously lost, now remastered early recording which features the original five-piece lineup playing live together in the SMU TV Studio. 

All tracks were recorded in a single afternoon, on July 5, 1989, by engineer David Castell live, direct to two-track digital audio tape. 

All songs were recorded in single takes, with no overdubs and no post mix.

This recording captures the band before the first album, when the songwriting was more driven by the concept of putting the drums in the audience.

This new album is called FIELDS OF DISCIPLINE.  It is being offered as a vinyl presale in partnership with Bandwear to support Chad’s family with expenses related to his recovery.

Former Course drummer Michael Jerome Moore has produced official Chad Lovell / C.o.E. signature drumsticks in partnership with Zildjian, also now available.

On Monday 10/25/2021, fans and friends of the band gathered at Club Dada in Deep Ellum to listen to the recording and celebrate the artistic life of Chad Lovell. The evening culminated in an impromptu “drum thing” jam with an audience filled with notable Dallas drummers playing along, showing full support! 

We hope this will be the first of many Love For Lovell events and that a new audience will discover the band’s musical legacy.

All master recordings in this album are owned by Course Of Empire.

All songs composed and published by Course Of Empire except:

“We Got The Beat” by Charlotte Caffey
Universal Music Group - Mgb Songs

For more information, contact:
mikegraffmusic@yahoo.com

Please visit:
https://loveforlovell.com

Please visit the Course Of Empire store:
https://shop.bandwear.com/collections/course-of-empire-shop

Other links:

https://courseofempire.com
https://hallsofthemachine.com
https://mikegraffguitar.com

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