Keegan DeWitt

Following the summer release of his Nothing Shows EP via Daytrotter’s Record Barn – the first official release sold exclusively through the site – Keegan DeWitt hit the road, touring on and off throughout the US, Paris and London. The live show began to take on the driving force and full-band shape of EP, featuring young Nashvillians Isaaca Byrd (The Bridges), Matt Shaw (Hymns), Jeremy Bullock (Pico vs. Island Trees), and Dylon York (Band Marino). Inspired by this incredible group of musicians, songs for a follow-up EP (coming Spring 2011) quickly began to fall into place, and two tracks quickly began to embody the spirit of this new live show. The result is the new limited edition Two Hearts/Reluctance 7” single, which finds Keegan again expanding his sound. The driving, dance-inflected pop of “Two Hearts” follows in the footsteps of Nothing Shows’ propulsive, rhythmic closer “Hearts Beat Loud” and the delicate, shimmering uncertainty of “Reluctance,” which features vocals by Byrd, just might be the prettiest song he’s penned.?
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For a long time, it didn’t seem as though Keegan would be a songwriter at all. Growing up attending a fine arts high school writing screen- and stageplays, at the ripe age of 17 he left Portland, OR, for the exclusive SUNY Purchase film conservatory. All this time, music was mostly a way of journaling his experiences, a personal hobby. Keegan went on to attend the Atlantic Theater Company Acting Conservatory in New York, under Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and director David Mamet, as well as to serve as a Young Associate under the guidance of Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the actor built his acclaimed LABrynth Theater Company. All the while, Keegan continued to work on his music, playing shows throughout the Lower East Side and recording his own demos.?
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In 2006, childhood friend Katz recruited him to score his first film, Dance Party, USA. (Because, as Keegan says, “I was the only one he knew who did that sort of thing”). The film was one of nine chosen to premiere at SXSW that year and even earned a favorable review from The New York Times, an incredible achievement for a first film without legitimate distribution. He then scored Katz’s second film, 2007’s Quiet City, which again garnered praise at SXSW, a Critic’s Pick in The New York Times, and eventually earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination. Keegan has since scored an additional eight films, including Cold Weather, a SXSW-standout that garnered attention from Variety, The Los Angeles Times, InterviewMagazine.com, and The Hollywood Reporter. IFC Films picked up Cold Weather earlier this year.?
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The roots of Keegan’s solo career can be traced to an early 2009 tour as both an opener for and guitarist with his sister and brothers-in-law’s band Roman Candle, who encouraged him to begin recording his own material. The early recordings caught the ear of Chris Stamey (Whiskeytown, Alejandro Escovedo, Le Tigre), who shortly thereafter signed on to co-produce Islands. Keegan has since toured both the U.S. and Europe on his own.?
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For 30 days in the fall 2009/winter 2010, Keegan crossed the Atlantic and holed up in a Parisian flat to finish work on what would become the Nothing Shows EP. Melding together the tender craftsmanship of his New York Times-heralded film scores, the resonant lyricism found on his diverse debut LP Islands (co-produced by Chris Stamey; released by Izumi Records in Fall 2009), and a newly dynamic sound palate, what emerged were seven songs steeped in specific moments, locations, and emotions. Keegan teamed up with Daytrotter, an early supporter of his work, for the release, which was greeted with praise from American Songwriter, Popmatters, PasteMagazine.com, My Old Kentucky Blog, MagnetMagazine.com, and Pop Damage, among others.