{image1}Despite the success of duos like The White Stripes and The Kills, it's not always easy for two-person bands to be taken seriously. Just ask The Dammitheads: frontman and guitarist David Tomaloff and drummer Steve Hawkins.
The Racine duo, which takes an artsy but aggressive approach to classic and indie rock influences from the Rolling Stones to Spoon, has been turned away by clubs and radio stations -- perhaps with visions of acoustic acts playing Jimmy Buffett and James Taylor covers -- simply because there's just two of them.
In the early days, before Hawkins was a full-time member, group founder Tomaloff was even portrayed as an egomaniac in a newspaper article about The Dammitheads because the reporter couldn't understand the concept of a one-man band.
"My mother's friend saw my mom and said, 'I read the article about Dave. He sure seemed like a jerk,'" Tomaloff says.
In spite of those difficulties, The Dammitheads have found success since the release of their debut CD, "Freeze Mothersticker," last year. The self-released album, which was mixed at John Vanderslice's popular Tiny Telephone studio in San Francisco, garnered the band praise and recognition from Wisconsin and beyond.
The band's sophomore effort, "The Heart of the Matador," is due Oct. 25. A CD release party with the MAHP is slated for Oct. 22 at McAuliffes Pub, 3700 Meachem Rd., Racine.
Like its predecessor, the new album was recorded in Tomaloff's home studio -- the Hey! Low Sound System -- in his basement. The band traveled east to mix that record at Studio G in Brooklyn.
"We sort of have the East Coast-West Coast rivalry going on with our records," Tomaloff says.
This time, the Dammitheads went for a more abrasive sound that's "weirder" than "Freeze Mothersticker," he says.
"I believe it's a deeper album lyrically. In some ways, it's a more personal album lyrically," Tomaloff says. "As far as the sound, I wanted to sound a little more saturated and thick, almost as a contrast to some of the things I was saying. I wanted the music to just pour out. I wanted it to sound like it was relentless."
In addition, he says he spent more time refining his songs on "The Heart of the Matador."
"Normally when I write I song, I don't think about it much," Tomaloff says. "I go from the gut and if it sounds cool, that's what I go with. This record, I didn't really allow myself to stop at 'this sounds cool.' I made myself ask, 'Why does it sound cool? What are you trying to say there?' And if I couldn't come answer myself, I wouldn't leave it.
"The biggest challenge was to come up with lyrics that would work inside of these big rock 'n roll songs that were trying to say something, without getting real pretentious. I think what's cool about that is you can listen to the songs and take them at face value as rock 'n roll songs or you can listen a little closer and think, 'Oh wow, this is trying to say something. It's not about being out all night and getting drunk. It's about something.'"
Tomaloff began writing songs that would eventually appear on "Freeze Mothersticker" in 2002 after splitting with another group.
He then started playing with Hawkins at a local bar's acoustic open jam night. The two had already known each informally for several years.
"We were in rival bands, I guess you could say," Tomaloff says. "We were probably the two guys talking the most smack about each other."
But they kept playing together and eventually assembled about 40 songs.
"We started having more fun writing and playing, and all of a sudden we were sort of a band," Tomaloff says. "He was still in another band and was sort of doing both."
Around the time "Freeze Mothersticker" was mixed, Hawkins' other band had broken up and he had become a full-time Dammithead. After past musical experiences, Tomaloff and Hawkins decided to keep the group a two-piece.
"We've both been in bands where you always have to deal with the politics and attitudes and the people not showing up and people are this and people are that," Tomaloff says. "We know each other, and we've argued so many times that we know how each other is in an argument and can say what we want to say. This way you get shows, you got one call to make. A band decision, you got one guy to ask.
"This is the most fun I've ever had in a band. And I think I can speak for Steve that this is the most fun he's had in a band. It's just something that we don't really have to think that much about."
The band's Web site is ourdamnwebsite.com.
