Dream Spectrum is an instrumental hard rock band from Buffalo, NY. The band’s progressive and modern sound blends with classic rock, metal, and jazz influences to bring a new level of energy to instrumental music. Featuring a unique blend of blistering solos, a powerful rhythm section, and crowd grabbing melodies, Dream Spectrum delivers an awe-inspiring live show that leaves an indelible imprint in the minds of fans.
The band consists of Sam Osmond on lead guitar, Todd Glosser on rhythm guitar, Alexander Braun on bass, and Jake Schoenle on drums. Formed in late 2013, Dream Spectrum has shared the stage with major acts including the Goo Goo Dolls, Molly Hatchet, Buckcherry, Jackyl, and many more. They also were nominated for the best new band in Buffalo in 2016.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Dream Spectrum about their latest music, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We’re an instrumental progressive rock band from Buffalo, NY. We have a wide range of influences, so it’s pretty difficult to pinpoint an exact style. Our music is melody-driven, and we try to incorporate a mixture of heavy riffing, unique chord progressions, and odd time signatures for added interest.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
We began playing instrumental music as Dream Spectrum because we found a style and workflow that worked for us. There was a point at which we decided that adding another member, such as a vocalist, would completely change that, and decided against doing it. The band has been a great creative outlet for all of us. We all bring quite contrasting ideas to the table, and it’s a fun process to stitch them together. The result is definitely greater than the sum of its parts, in our opinion. Having two records under our belt, and another on the way, we really feel that the finished product is what motivates us. It’s incredibly fulfilling to hear the music that we’ve spent countless hours writing, recording and mixing.
How is your upcoming release going to be different than your previous albums? Are you trying to accomplish anything specific?
We hadn’t written any music in nearly three years, and it was definitely time to get back to it. With our drummer away at Berklee for most of the year, it’s difficult to be able to have the opportunity to write. However, due to current world events, we were left with a lot more time on our hands and began writing remotely. We wanted to make something more innovative and more unique than we ever had before, and you can really hear that in our new music. We started to go in a new direction with our previous album Lost and Found, and are taking that even further. We think the new material we’re writing is the best we’ve ever written, and we’re extremely proud of it.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
Being an instrumental band has definitely been a challenge. Not having a vocalist shrinks our marketable audience a significant amount, and not having a big name or connections to well-known artists also makes it difficult. There aren’t too many similar artists to us, which is helpful and a hindrance. People like the music because it’s unique, but if they aren’t familiar with the instrumental guitar scene it’s harder to find it.
What was the last song you listened to?
Todd listened to Champagne by Polyphia, and Sam listened to Handmade Cities by Plini. For Alex and Jake, it would be La Villa Strangiato by Rush.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
There isn’t a complete consensus – Jake, Sam, and Todd prefer streaming, as the convenience is unbeatable. Alex, on the other hand, prefers CDs. He likes to have a physical copy of the album.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Jake and Todd primarily use Spotify. Sam uses YouTube Music, because he really likes music videos and likes the ability to watch them on the same platform. Alex uses both Spotify and YouTube.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
You can find all of our music, as well as videos, shows, and news on our website, www.dreamspectrumband.com.
You can also check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dreamspectrum2k13, or on our Youtube channel, www.youtube.com/dreamspectrumband.
Anything else before we sign off?
Stay tuned for new music coming soon!
