Being in a full-time, touring band, a great chemistry is essential for the everyone to function properly. It is the glue that holds the band together. For Portland-based band Dresses, comprised of Timothy Heller (vocals) and Jared Ryan Maldonado (guitar), it was more than just a musical chemistry, it was a romantic relationship.
The band formed in 2012 through Facebook messaging. Maldonado was on tour with his other band Plug In Stereo, and Heller, being an admirer of Maldonado’s solo work, began reaching out to him through the social media site to see if he'd be interested in writing music with her. Maldonado obliged, and when he returned home from tour, the two began working together.
Once they began writing together, they knew instantly that there was a musical chemistry.
"I have always loved vocal harmonies and a cappella music, but none of my friends at the time ever pursued singing," Maldonado explains. “When Timothy and I got together, our voices instantly meshed. The first day, we sat down and wrote a whole song. Then we just went from there.”
But even more than the music, there was a strong personal chemistry between the two. It was one that led them in May of 2012 to begin dating.
"When I was on tour with my other band, Timothy and I couldn’t really do anything musically, so we just started talking every day about cool ideas we had and just generally kept each other company," he says. “When I came home from touring, we felt like it was natural for us to start dating.”
Last November, the two decided to end their romantic relationship. Maldonado says it was mutual and for the better of the band. Since then, he says, Dresses has been full steam ahead working on new music and booking new tours.
On Sunday, Dresses shares the stage at the Bourbon Theatre in Lincoln with Gloworm and Dear Herman.
The two-piece band's debut album, Sun Shy, was released last March through SideOneDummy Records.
Featuring music that Maldonado refers to as “indie-pop,” Sun Shy is an upbeat, eclectic collection of songs from Dresses. With catchy guitar rhythms under Heller’s soothing, cheery vocals, the album conjures thoughts of driving with the windows down on a warm, sunny day.
Each track on Sun Shy has it’s own unique quality. Songs like “Sun Shy” and “Back to Life” boast a catchy, dance vibe while others like “Gotta Love” and “Real People” present a slower, more introspective feel. Maldonado cites the band’s large gamut of influences for the variety of song styles on the album.
“We could go from listening to Vampire Weekend to Elvis and then to Drake,” he says. “The mixture of our influences makes us not want to stick to one particular genre. Also, every song on the record was written at different times throughout the year. The album is that the styles are all a little different, and you can tell it was an album written over a long span of time.”
The album's lead single, ”Blew My Mind”, is the first song the band wrote together on that very first day they formed. The song features the sleek vocal harmonies that Maldonado had yearned to create before forming Dresses. He says he wrote the first verse minutes before Heller arrived to the first practice so he could say he had a song to work on with her.
“I was super nervous because she texted me and said she was getting off the bus in five minutes, “ he says. “So I wrote something real quick, and that was ‘Blew My Mind.’”
While the romantic relationship is no longer for the two members of Dresses, Maldonado says the musical relationship and morale within the band is stronger than it ever was when they were dating. Dating a fellow band member can be a bit challenging, he says. And the end of their relationship means Maldonado and Heller can push all of the emotional clutter aside and focus their energies on the band. With all of the petty arguing aside, the band can focus solely on songwriting.
“We are closer friends now,” he says. “We don’t let our emotions get the best of us anymore and we don’t get in silly arguments that really don’t matter. We have had a chance to step back and really realize what matters most. And for us, that will always be the band.”
Sean Holohan is Hear Nebraska's editorial intern. Reach him at seanh@hearnebrask.org.