Dead End Armory

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Dead End Armory
Origin	Portland, Maine, United States
Genre(s)	Indie rock country
Years active	2005–present
Label(s)	Peapod Recordings
Associated acts	Wesley Hartley (solo) Yeah Ok
Website	www.deadendarmory.com
Members
Wesley Hartley Mike O'Connor Chris DiBiasio Steven Williams
Former members
Leslie Deane Daniel Jacobs

Dead End Armory is an indie rock band based in Portland, Maine.

1 History
2 Discography
3 Singles
4 External links

[edit] History

Dead End Armory (known to fans simply as "DEA") started in 2005 as a collective of musicians who met at the now defunct but legendary Portland cafe/club Acoustic Coffee, for the most part playing the music of Wesley Hartley. Hartley, a transplanted Texan, had become known very quickly around town as a talented songwriter with a compelling, wavery, tenor vocal style some compare to Willie Nelson, Neil Young,or the Pixies' Frank Black.

In the early days the group was a loose collective of as many as 7 performers but by the fall of 2005 had settled on a 5 member lineup of Hartley, guitarists Mike O'Connor and Daniel Jacobs, drummer Chris DiBiasio, and bassist Leslie Deane. The band originally played under the name "The Easterly" and is perhaps unique in having played it's first big show at Portland's venerable (and huge) State Theatre (for a Hurricane Katrina benefit) a mere month after having formed. After discovering the existence of another band named "The Easterly" the band changed its name to Dead End Armory, after a street sign near their South Portland rehearsal space.

By 2006 DEA had parted ways with Daniel Jacobs and started work on their first record, 2006' EP Dead End Armory, recorded at Sweet Dream Recording in Portland by Frank Hopkins and released to good reviews later that year. The record established the DEA sound as country-tinged indie rock featuring innovative arrangements based on the dual guitars of Hartley and O'Connor, the creative drumming of Chris Dibiasio, the rich backing vocals of Leslie Deane, and the powerful lead vocals of Wes Hartley.

Shortly after releasing their first EP the band met producer Ron Harrity, then of Harpswell Sound (now playing with Honey Clouds), and began working on a follow up EP, titled Trailer Park Nightmares, released during the summer of 2006. This EP was also well received and helped to earn DEA a nomination by the Portland Phoenix as Best Rock Act for 2006.

Hartley had always been a prolific songwriter and DEA immediately began working on a debut full length with Harrity, and signed with his Portland based label Peapod Recordings. The resulting record, titled Hope You're Good, was released March 25, 2008, earning rave reviews and helping to earn DEA a second consecutive nomination for Best Rock Act by the Portland Phoenix.

After a mid atlantic tour in summer 2007, bassist Leslie Deane quit, to be replaced by Yeah Ok frontman Steven Williams.