Bryant Dunivan

Bryant Dunivan (born August 25, 1985) is an American reggae musician operating in a variety of bands. He has been releasing music since 2003, and is most noted for his work in the Rastones as well as his own project band Dunivan + The Myndliss Crew. He is first a bass player, heavily influenced by Eric Wilson and Mike Watt. He is also a major activist for musicians rights, and peer to peer sharing of his music.

Biography

Dunivan was born in Illinois in 1985 and lived there for 13 years until he and his family moved to Florida. His career began when he received his first bass guitar in which he proceeded to record songs which featured Bass Guitar and Singing. Bryant would release two albums during this stylistic time in his career, entitled The Junior Sessions and The Senior Sessions both respectively in 2003.These early rhythmic bass lines would not appear as frequently on subsequent releases, as they became more Guitar driven, choruses were also added to the songs, and in 2005 a seven track record entitled The Journey is Over was released on Virgin Tight Productions. Bryant was found to be unhappy with the release of this record, as two songs were cut in the final tracklisting. These missing tracks were released by Bryant via his website for a short period in 2006.

During the recording sessions for The Journey is Over, Bryant would write a few of the songs that would become featured on his first true studio endeavor entitled liveadaptevolverepeat, this record featured backing musicians, as well as more melodic song oriented bass parts. This was also the first Dunivan related release to feature samples, a small part of which aide in the culmination of Dunivan + The Myndliss Crew's sound. The tracks dealt with issues ranging from politics (the hit single Georgies Song (A Hole in the Building) featured on the Portuguese surf/skim video called Slip n Slide.) to break up songs (the critically acclaimed A Flashback...). This album would be released in March of 2007, to a notable recognition, and has since sold out its pressing; Although it is available on itunes, and in a few physical stores, no plans have been made to re release this work.

2006 also saw the release of the Playing for Broke series, an annual release which features songs from Bryant's MusicAL past and present, as well as small glimpses of what is too come in the future. It also heralded the creation of The Rastones, a Reggae, Dub, Punk outfit co-founded by Bryant, Mike Hurst, and Aaron Brown. This group, while short in existence amassed an impressive catalog of music, which will see the light of day in a variety of official releases.

The end of 2006 as well as the beginning of 2007 saw both tragedy and accomplishment for Bryant. The Rastones had disbanded following the loss of Guitar Player/Vocalist Mike Hurst, and the second Dunivan + The Myndliss Crew record had been recorded. This new record, entitled Sometimes the Underdog Wins featured 13 songs (11 of which are featured on the record) and were written in a more refined manner than any of the tracks on liveadaptevolverepeat. These new songs found a refinement of the Myndliss Crew sound, that saw the use of more electric and acoustic guitars, as well as more mature lyrical stylings.

2007 was a very slow year, as Bryant had begun thinking up the Lighthouse on the Horizon solo project. The new Dunivan + The Myndliss Crew record was in the process of being mastered. The most notable achievements of the year were arguably Bryant's endorsement by Knucklehead Guitar Strings.

During 2008 however, an epiphany appears to have been reached, as Bryant has recently fully endorsed the Pay What You Want Method. He released liveadaptevolverepeat for free on various public music sharing websites and communities, and has released his new record Sometimes the Underdog Wins entirely in this method. Bryant is currently writing a Lighthouse on the Horizon record, as well as working on songs for a possible Chillhoons release.

Project Bands

Over the years Bryant has played in a wide variety of bands exploring different styles of the Reggae and Indie Genres. Most notably Dunivan + The Myndliss Crew and The Rastones.

Musical style

Bryant Dunivan typically fuses together various genres including: Reggae, Indie, Dub, and Rock

Discography

LPs

  • The Junior Sessions (2003, Long Boad Records) (released under 'Bryant Dunivan')
  • The Senior Sessions (2003, Long Boad Records) (released under 'Bryant Dunivan')
  • The Journey is Over (2005, Virgin Tight Productions) (Available in a Limited Pressing of 500, released under 'Bryant Dunivan')
  • liveadaptevolverepeat (2006, Make A Move Records/Oneil Records) (released as Dunivan + The Myndliss Crew)
  • Playing for Broke: Volume One (2006, Make A Move Records) (released under 'Bryant Dunivan')
  • Sometimes the Underdog Wins (2008, Make A Move Records) (released under Dunivan + The Myndliss Crew)
  • Playing for Broke: Volume Two (2008, Make A Move Records) (released under 'Bryant Dunivan')

EPs/etc.

  • Bryant Dunivan: Nine Song Sampler (2007, Make A Move Records)

Production and Live Gear information

Bryant Dunivan claims to have used the following software and hardware over the years:

  • 1994 Peavey Predator Electric Guitar – Used on all recordings since 2005
  • 2004 Fender Mustang Bass – Used on all recordings since 2006
  • 2006 Rouge Mahogany Acoustic Guitar
  • Behringer ULTRABASS BX1200 – Used on all recordings since 2005
  • Behringer ULTRAVOICE XM8500 – Used on all Recordings since 2005
  • Behringer SINGLE DIAPHRAGM CONDENSER MICROPHONE B-1
  • Line 6 Spider III Guitar Amp
  • Boss DS 1 Distortion
  • Digitech Digital Delay
  • Digitech Reverb
  • Digitech Super Phaser
  • Alesis Firewire 12 Mixer
  • Boss BR-1180CD
  • Adobe Audition