20 Dent Facts
1. The Dent is an art-pop group from Connecticut.

2. The Dent is Mitchell Linker (Lead Vocals), Jeff Norberg (Guitar, Vocals), D. Rauh (Bass, Keyboards, & Vocals), and Dennis Cotton (drums) sometimes. We'll get to that.

3. The Dent was formed over a decade ago, with the three original members unable to legally drink, vote, or drive.

4. In the early days, Linker, refusing to sing a note, was the group's drummer and lyricist.
(The Neil Peart comparisons were rampant.)

5. After a short stint as a cover band, they began composing.

6. The Dent quickly learned that the 10 minute epics about peer pressure and suicide, performed in odd time signatures, weren't appropriate for ont>middle school dances and graduation parties. (Remember, this was years before System of a Down and Korn.) It was at this point that they began ont>penning pop melodies.

7. In the mid 90's, The Dent moved on to college in Ithaca, NY. Yes, they went to the same college.

8 During their time at college, The Dent began to hone their songs and their sound, culminating in the release of their first EP, The Dent, and ont>subsequently, their first full-length album, Beauty Cries.

9 Shortly before the sessions for Beauty Cries, The Dent decided to bring a more refined drummer into the fold. (You know, like someone font>who practiced, owned more than one cymbal, and who'd purchase new sticks occasionally.) With very little left for him to do, Mitchell was demoted ont>to lead singer.

10 Dennis Cotton, a talented and spiritually-inclined drummer with a really long goatee, joined the group. (See, Dennis is occasionally ont>summoned across the world to play with slightly bigger name acts in order to make extra money to feed his pets. The rest of the band, either ont>profoundly dedicated to The Dent, or simply unable to obtain work in the music business outside of the group, only play with, well. . . ont>themselves.)

11 After the release of "Beauty Cries", The Dent returned to Ithaca to live among the locals, take advantage of Ithaca's musically rich ont>environment, and plummet desperately into debt. (Beautiful area. Rough economy.)

12 Beauty Cries received critical acclaim, and by the late 90's, The Dent had a loyal fan base. However, broken promises by record labels and ont>managers, coupled with an unyielding, relentless free-fall into poverty, forced The Dent to take a much-needed hiatus, where they returned to ont>Connecticut to think, write, binge-drink, and sleep.

13 With the future of the band uncertain, the members of The Dent periodically met to casually record new music in their newly constructedont>home studio. Though at the commencement of the project they had no plans to make an official album, the sessions gave birth to, what was at the> time, the most magical music of their career, and it was clear that these formally estranged musical partners had a lot more to say. What they had to say was, in a nutshell, "Neurotica".

14 Released in February 2002, "Neurotica" summed up their ambivalence to everything from relationships to the music business.>

15 "Neurotica" received national attention for it's silky vocals, shimmering guitars and intricate melodies. Not only did "Neurotica" signify a creative leap for the band, hinting at things to come, but its success was a catalyst for The Dent's revitalization in general.>

16 Although Linker is well entrenched in his 20 something years, he still, on occasion, gets carded while buying cigarettes (for his band members of course).

17 After garnering significant attention on college radio, and even a smattering of AAA and CHR spins, The Dent hurried back into the studio to capitalize on their renewed spirit and success to record their first full-length album in four years.

18 In January 2003, The Dent will release, "Farewell." "Farewell" is an ambitious and diverse 11-track epic with everything from sweeping orchestral ballads to edgy anthemic power-pop raves, bursting with their signature harmonies and infectious hooks.>

19 "Farewell" is the most "Major-Label" sounding "Indie" ever made.

20 Though still in debt, The Dent is back!