Mission Creek Festival Preview: Dinosaur Feathers
Dinosaur Feathers have undoubtedly put out one of this year’s big spring records. Having just self-released Fantasy Memorial on March 2, they are already receiving tremendous amount of hype. If you haven’t already hit the wall on the indie-fun madness, Mission Creek is a great opportunity to see them first rather than follow the trend later.
So, why the hype? Dinosaur Feather’s Fantasy Memorial blends salsa with Animal Collective in a way that is sexier than I could have imagined. “Vendela Vida” may cause a few wet jeans at Public Space One, assuming it’s played on March 30.
The album isn’t strictly salsa, though. It spans the sounds of the Sixties, triumphs the indie obsessions of Vampire Weekend and Ruby Suns, houses harmonies like the Fleet Foxes, and a has hint of David Byrne‘s eccentricities. Each song is different, but well tied together. Some songs are a bit rough, but they put together and released the album themselves. I can only imagine what the trio could do with a production team and wad of money behind them.
So what’s the deal with these unsigned unknowns from Brooklyn? Dinosaur Feathers consists of Greg Sullo (lead vocals, guitar, drum machine), Ryan Michael Kiley (bass, vocals), and Derek “Duck” Zimmerman (keyboard, vocals). The boys love lessons in history — they cite National Geographic, Google, and “stuff beyond our control” as their influences. It was a trip to the Museum of Natural History that led to their band name; Dinosaur Feathers evolved from the wild excitement of Sullo when he learned that dinosaurs (even T. Rex) had feathers.
These are happy-go-lucky indie nerds who truly managed to make something out of nothing. I can only imagine what the rest of this year will bring them.
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Download: Dinosaur Feathers – Family Waves
Who: Dinosaur Feathers, Replacing the Robots, So Much Fun, and Happy Chromosomes
Where: Public Space One
When: Tuesday, March 30
Doors: 6 pm
Cover: Free!
With the festival right on the horizon, you might feel the need to catch up on all the happenings we’ve been alerting you to right here.

