IAMDYNAMITE is the musical duo comprised of Christopher Martin and Chris Phillips, originally from Michigan and now calling North Carolina home.
IAMDYNAMITE’s albums, SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC and WASA TUSA, show the bands broad musical range from fast paced, anthemic, catchy, chanting rock, to the soft synth pop you imagine you would ride off into the sunset listening too. Both albums highlight their melodic, hook-laden songwriting skills and both deliver on all emotional fronts.
IAMDYNAMITE has seen success with charting songs “Where Will We Go” and “Hey Girl” off SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC, which combined spent over 25 weeks in the Top 20 Billboard Alternative chart. Followed by “In The Summer” off WASA TUSA, debuting on the Charts as well! These being a massive accomplishment from the virtually, up to that point, unknown band out of Ann Arbor, MI.
IAMDYNAMITE is now feeding off years of touring across the US and Europe. The Chris’s have been writing, recording, and performing new material, which combines the bombastic energy of SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC and the well-crafted musicality of WASA TUSA.
SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC POST Everyone always says "You have your whole life to record your first album". For Chris and I this actually was kind of true! Here is a quick few words written about our First album SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC: SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC was recorded at Willie Nelson's famous Pedernales Recording Studio in Spicewood, TX, in the Hill Country outside of Austin. For both the band and its producer (Matt Noveskey), Nelson's studio proved to be the perfect creative environment for the task at hand, Noveskey offers, "It was really great, it's detached from everything, out in the middle of nowhere and it's got this really cool vibe that allowed us the opportunity to get lost in our own little world. We really wanted to do it old school, two weeks straight with minimal distractions." Noveskey's objective in producing the album was simple, he explains "We didn't want to do something they wouldn't be able to pull off live and we didn't want to do something that didn't sound like them, the live show is so energetic and we really wanted the album to be a true representation of that, which is why we recorded on analog tape with very minimal layering." As for the band's unique sound Noveskey believes the vocals are key, "The harmonies are sort of the nucleus of the whole thing really, sure you've got the bombastic drums and the big 70s guitar but the harmonies are really what this band is all about, there are seemingly shades of The Police, Weezer, Modest Mouse and the Beach Boys SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC includes the irresistible "Stereo", the dirty blues infused shredder "Ms. Jones", the infectious crowd pleasing "Hi Lo" and the urgent rocker "Where Will We Go", a tune that drives so hard it should come with the disclaimer, Warning: Song may inspire speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. Every song on this album Except "Riot in the Neon Light" the band had been performing for Years prior in bars and clubs perfecting the Drums and Guitar Vibe they would stick to when recording this record. SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC was released on June 5th, 2012. Jim McGuinn at KCMP in Minneapolis fell in love with the album and started spinning “Stereo” with great success. The then Detroit based band then rolled into Minneapolis for the first time and SOLD OUT 7th Street Entry. The KCMP “Stereo” airplay was obviously reacting. In November 2012 Brando Records released “Where Will We Go” as the first single to Modern Rock Radio. Then PD Christy Taylor at 91X in San Diego started spinning “Where Will We Go” in December 2012 and it shot straight to #1 on the playlist for 5 weeks beating out "Sail" by Awolnation that year. Other programmers began embracing the sound and “Where Will We Go” jumped into the Top 40 of the Modern Rock Chart where it stayed for over 20+ weeks. "We always knew the songs would have to be crafted for a Live show in mind. Using only Drums, Guitar, and vocals we had to give the same intense dynamics as any other band. That mindset brought out the best on this album. SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC is a true reflection of how IAMDYNAMITE came to be and what we continually strive for."
WASA TUSA POST Wasa Tusa was our second album that stretched us as a band! Chris and I had basically been touring the majority of the last 2 years and lived 700 miles apart. We found out pretty quickly that Writing the way we used too wasn't going to happen. But once we got on the same page, Wasa Tusa began to develop! Here are some words about Wasa Tusa and how it came to be! This new record shows the creative reach IAMDYNAMITE has always possessed. The album highlights their melodic, hook-laden songwriting skills and delivers on all emotional fronts. When asked the difference between SUPERMEGAFASTIC and Wasa Tusa, Chris Martin commented, “Our first record was more of a documentation of our live show. This is our first record where the ultimate goal was to make cool and moving recordings, where the recording was the art form, not just a documentation of some songs. Part of music is contextual. The sounds that moved you in 1995 are always going to be different from the sounds that moved you in 2005, and the sounds that moved everyone in 2010 are different from the sounds that moved people in 2015. Our goal was to make recordings that make you feel something.” Additionally Chris Phillips commented, "We took a no holds barred approach when recording this album. We needed to make a great album first and foremost. Our first album was written specifically for just drums and guitar, and to fully grab the attention of the listener and make them move. Wasa Tusa is just the next step for us as a band, it's not just drums and guitar.... it's so much more! Wasa Tusa was recorded at Orb Studio in Austin, TX over the course of two different weeks spread throughout that Fall. Then finished back in North Carolina and Michigan that winter. This time around Chris and Chris have pushed themselves not only as writers, and performers, but also co-producing with friend Matt Noveskey, who produced their first album SUPERMEGAFANTASTIC. The first single, “In The Summer,” has amassed over 3 million total streams on Spotify alone, and a regular song on many playlists across the globe. Another song "Bloom" was released to Radio after IAMDYNAMITE released a live video from one of their arena shows with the band "Bon Jovi", and it now also sits with over 1 million streams. Making Wasa Tusa was truly a Unique experience because we learned that dynamically you can add a lot while layering. While Writing was difficult with the distance between us, Wasa Tusa allowed us to be more creative and let loose from the constraints that just drums and a guitar gave us before.