‘Shades Of Blue’ by Dain Norman and the Chrysalis Effect
Exclusive album premiere of ‘Shades of Blue’ by Tacoma, WA “earth rock” group Dain Norman and the Chrysalis Effect.
Dain Norman is a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and audio producer based in Tacoma, WA. Together with members T.J. Wolfe on drums and Denny Byers on bass, they form The Chrysalis Effect.
“All the guitar, bass, and keyboard sounds were played through amps miked at live volume, cranked up, and sometimes AB-ing two amps together to achieve the right tone and energy level. I primarily used an all-tube Vox AC30 and a Tiny Terror tube preamp Orange head through a vintage late 1960s cab. The bass was played through a Fender Rumble 100 and a late 1960s Alamo tube amp. The guitars I used were an Epiphone Casino Coupe, a 12-string Ibanez Artcore, a Martin Acoustic, and a Fender-Squier Telecaster Thinline, while the bass was primarily an active pickup Ibanez. I played every instrument on most of the album, layering them in order, starting with drums, then bass, guitars, keys, auxiliary percussion, and finally vocals.
Five of the songs were recorded with the live band all together in the same room, straight to analog tape at London Bridge Studio in Seattle, including the title track, ‘Shades of Blue.’
I wrote the title track ‘Shades of Blue’ during the summer of 2020, during the quarantine. The song reflects the perceived psychology of people at large in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, living in shades of blue, with themes of 1960s peace and love captured in a single breath.” – Dain Norman
Norman doesn’t consider himself to be from any particular place, having moved frequently throughout his childhood, relocating from state to state and city to city. He has been performing in bands since middle school. He self-released and produced his first solo album, performing every instrument himself. Norman spent several years in a vagabond fashion, moving around the Southeast, working odd jobs, and living in his car on and off, while self-releasing demo-quality singles between 2009 and 2013. During this time, Norman played at open mics and blues and rock jams nearly every night of the week, honing his lead guitar improv skills and stage presence.
In 2013, Norman briefly played with a reggae band called “Reggae Rockus,” who shared a bill with “Ziggy Marley & The Wailers” at The JAM Festival in Gainesville, FL. Later that year, he relocated to the Pacific Northwest to pursue his dream of a music career. Norman turned his cross-country trip into a DIY tour, performing at open mics, on street corners, and in small beatnik coffee shops. He arrived in Washington with only $15, living in his car and busking to get by.
The Chrysalis Effect was formed in 2015 in Tacoma, WA. Since then, the project has toured throughout the Pacific Northwest. They released the ‘HelloJudeProductions’ EP in 2016, followed by a series of singles. In 2019, they released the full-length album ‘Lantern,’ a concept album written in tribute to Norman’s fiancée Aili, about letting love be your lantern to guide you through the darkness of life.
In June 2021, they released an EP titled ‘Back Down to Earth,’ a concept record about reconnecting with your roots, relaxing, and de-stressing “so that we have a clearer vision of the reality of the world and life as we know it,” as Norman puts it. Shades of Blue is a double album co-produced by Norman and Jonathan Plum (Pearl Jam, Brandi Carlile) and was tracked at the iconic London Bridge Studios.
Headline photo: Aili Jordan
