Dumbass History in Brief:
Dumbass was born sometime in 1994 in Vancouver Canada. For nearly three decades they have been engaged in an ongoing process of ceaseless artistic experimentation. Their expressionist works and performances have challenged and continue to challenge both their audience and the artists themselves.
Here is a brief history of their career to date in outline:
1994
An, as of yet unnamed band begun by Zeke Mason (songwriting, vocals & guitar) and a friend, Jeff (percussion on paint cans and buckets). They begin to make experimental recordings with a tape recorder.
1995
A second guitarist and a real drummer join. The second founding member leaves. The new format (2 guitars, vocals and drums) now resembles a real band and ZM names the band.
1996
Dumbass begin performing live and continue writing songs. Members come and go.
1997
In the spring Dumbass begin recording their first real album (Hell) with a 4 track tape recorder. In response to the departure of their drummer just before the recording process begins, Zeke Mason learns to play the drums for the studio recording. The album is released on home-copied cassettes. At the end of the year Dumbass begin work on their second album in a real recording studio.
1998
In the spring Dumbass release their second album (Salvation), this time on compact disc. In the fall they begin work on their third album (Hate Beyond Hope), the culmination of which coincides with the break-up of this third incarnation of the band. Zeke Mason begins working on some new songs that will eventually become the Misery double album.
1999-2000
Dumbass now exists as a studio project alone. For a two year period Zeke Mason works on a new double album. There are no live performances during this period. On December 21, 2000 the album (Misery) is released.
2001
Zeke Mason forms a new live band, consisting of 2 guitars, vocals, keyboards and programmed drums. This new man/machine incarnation of the live version of Dumbass embodies a new approach to and philosophy of performance art that does away with the constraints of the traditional rock band format. On November 23, 2001 Dumbass celebrate the 5year anniversary of their first live performance with an epic invite-only performance. Zeke Mason begins his first collaborations with Fixer who quickly moves from being merely a live performer of Zeke’s material to a full artistic partner. Dumbass becomes an artistic duo. Zeke and Fixer record the next Dumbass album (The Execution of Certain Actions) in scrap yards, railway tunnels and the studio. After the anniversary performance the live band looses its keyboard player and now consists of just Zeke and Fixer (the live band and the studio band become the same duo).
2002
This year sees the release of several projects including a new studio album (Hymns of Disillusion), an album that consists of a single 61 minute long song (Stories), and the first week of a project that is to be written and recorded in 2 weeks, one in the middle of summer, the other in the dead of winter (Summer/Winter/2 Weeks) and a 2 disc best of collection (The Best of 1995-2002). In the fall Zeke travels to Europe and gets the idea for a new album in Berlin.
2003
From October 2002 (working on the theoretical premise in Berlin) to November 2003 Zeke and Fixer work on the new album (Die Mauer). The album’s songs are based on site recordings that the band make while traveling around the wilderness of British Columbia in a 4X4. The instruments are bridges, power towers, a disused ferry dock, trees, rivers, rocks and assorted found objects. The band then take these recordings into the studio and add guitars, piano, vocals and other instruments.
2004
After the monumental Die Mauer album Dumbass decide to move in another direction for their next project. Their next album (The Me Generation) is an album of industrial-rock songs that explore themes of commercialization and socialization in the most advertised to and catered to generation yet. The album, true to its theme is released completely free both in hard-copy and as an internet download. Zeke and Fixer also assemble and release 2 albums of collected mood-piece songs from the years 1995-2004 (Lumina and Lumina 2).
2005
From January to April 2005 Dumbass write and record a new album that deals with some new musical and thematic territories (Jouissance). This album saw Dumbass tapping in to some old and deep musical roots (Neil Young- esque folk and rock, jazz, etc). Zeke and Fixer quickly bash out a sister album to The Execution of Certain Actions (The Execution ofRandom Actions) and further continuations begin to follow. Dumbass begin work on a new heavy industrial-rock style project that further develop themes from The Me Generation.
2006
Dumbass release a series of free singles for download from their website. They continue to work on the Modernity album as well as several other projects. Dumbass also begin releasing videos and producing DVDs.
2007
Dumbass release the 10 song Dumbass Sampler online and in hard copy. The sampler is a collection of 10 of the more accessible tracks from the past 6 years and is meant to be a general introduction to the band for the uninitiated. Fall 2007 sees the release of Modernity – an industrial-rock flavoured distopic look at the world around us – as well as the launch of a new and improved Dumbass website and work in many more areas.
2008
This year sees the release of The History of Idiocy (The Best of 2002-2008), a two disc collection spanning an incredibly fertile period in the band’s history. This collection contains not only the best Dumbass songs of this period, but some of the best Dumbass songs ever created. The band also work on a new album that will see release the following year.
2009
Dumbass release God’s Garden – an organic and experimental album that feels like a logical development from the movements of the previous several years of work, which sees the addition of guest musician Stanley Pushkin on some tracks. The band also begin the early stages of work on a new album, as of yet untitled.
2010-2016
Now living in different countries, with families and careers, Zeke & Fixer find it difficult to find a method of collaborating over long distances. They start and then abandon several projects. Eventually, the idea of leaning-into the difficulty and working in a method that will intentionally increase distance, disconnection, and difficulty becomes part of the theoretical and practical framework for the new, double album that they craft through these years.
2016
Dumbass release the double album: Robbing Graves. Its creation was a long and difficult process, but the final result is one of Dumbass’ best works, in the league of their magnum opus die Mauer. The album begins with a nearly one-hour long song on disc one, which, as in the work of Victor Frankenstein, weaves together newly recorded material with bits of the corpses of past artistic work, going right back to the 90s. In addition to the digital download, they create a physical portfolio edition, with 2 cds, a large-format booklet, and a series of numbered woodcut prints, which they give away for free to anyone who requests the physical edition.
2017-2021
After the massive, difficult process of creating the Robbing Graves album, Dumbass search for another new long-distance working method. Projects are again started and abandoned (itself nothing new). Eventually a new, 2-track album, Death, is released in December of 2021. The two tracks, “Death” and “Life”, were written over the past year, but the lyric and vocal are the result of the death of a dear friend. Written and recorded in the immediate impact of his death.
Fall/Winter 2022
Dumbass begin working on new material. Further atrocities are planned…