BANDITS IN THE WOODS began as the partnership of JD Debski (lead vocal, guitar) and Dylan Sullivan (bass, vocal), two adolescent music fiends from Boston’s North Shore who in each other found a perfect writing partner and creative foil. Their sound was sparked by night-time R&B radio (88.9—“the Secret Spot”) and the jazz and soul coming out of Chianti nightclub in Beverly, MA. JD and Dylan would practice in Chianti after it closed for the night, often writing and rehearsing all night long.

In the spring of 2010, Seán McKenna (drums, vocal) and Christopher Bodek (sax, keys, electronics) jumped onboard, and soon after, Bandits in the Woods took up residency at some seedy Salem, MA bars. It was in the bars that Bandits perfected their signature sound—relentless, diamond-hard grooves anchored by McKenna and Sullivan’s confrontational, oddly-danceable rhythms and punctuated by slithering saxes and guitars, soulful Fender Rhodes, and the occasional electronic flourish. Their sound became a tough, visceral base for Debski and Sullivan’s songs, which draw on R&B, avant-rock, and rock & roll classicism, but sound like none of the above, turning clichés inside-out and spinning them into urgent, left-field pop hooks.

In the summer and fall of 2010, Bandits began to gain airplay on college radio and became a popular draw on college campuses and in Boston clubs.

Email the band at:

banditsinthewoods@hotmail.com

http://www.facebook.com/banditsinthewoods

http://www.myspace.com/banditsinthewoods

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