THE DEWARS are an unsigned, experimental pop band out of West Palm Beach, Florida, most notable for their odd storytelling and their ability to marry uncomfortable topics (such as the apocalypse and pedophilia) into catchy sing alongs (If The World Was Gonna End & Pedophile Pete).

Twins Anthony & Zachary, now 21, began performing three years ago as a folk duo and gained a local following through gifting homemade recordings and hosting large house shows--that is, until the police would show up.

After a series of line-up changes and experimentation, the Dewar brothers settled upon their live sound with a supporting band consisting of local artists Brian Davis, Evan Mui, Kevin Williams and Steev Rullman.

Their vast song catalog has been condensed to a current 6-song EP release titled Songs From The Neverglades. The band recently completed a national tour with SURFER BLOOD and THE DRUMS and played shows with SLEEPY SUN, THE STRANGERS FAMILY BAND, GIVERS and DEAD CONFEDERATE.

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"The only way to describe opening band The Dewars, would be to imagine The Proclaimers and David Bowie getting together to write music for the circus.  These Floridians traveled a long way to arrive in Vancouver, but clearly won over the unfamiliar early crowd.  The band consists of twin brothers and songwriters Anthony and Zachary Dewar and a collection of assembled musicians.  Their upbeat 70’s pop seemed to brighten the mood of the whole crowd and by the end of the set had everyone dancing.  Bonus points for the xylophone/tambourine player who looked like he was picked off the corner of Hastings and Main and given an instrument; his frenetic playing seemed to power the band throughout the set." ~ MitchellBlack (Vancouver Music Culture)

"Then the second band, The Dewars, took the stage. There were seven members, all looking very Mad Max-esque with black trenchcoats and messy hair. They spoke as if they were from the 1920s and in an odd British type of accent. Which I gotta admit was humorous. Their music was interesting, to say the least. The sounded like a grunge version of The Kinks mixed with Dr. Dog. It was fun to watch the keyboard player, who seemed to have more fun than anyone else in the band. I can see this band making waves on the music blog scene, but not really going too much further than that. Maybe they will be a hit in 20 years, when kids are looking back for obscure music of 2010." ~ Melissa Culbertson (The Journal)

"If I hadn’t been spending all my time trying to simulate falatio with my dollar bills to get the fierce bartender’s attention, I may have missed the dreamy weirdo-pop madness of The Dewars. This West Palm Beach crew led by twins Anthony & Zachary may have been the lesser known act of the night, but they won over many new fans and may or may not have turned one stoic critic into a wet-pantied girl scout (wink). They have a huge collection of songs that display their vast influences, including tinges of Elephant Six bands like Beulah and Olivia Tremor Control." ~ Adam G. (The Deli)

"The tunes were the focal points of Young Friends’ set, but for Dewars, it was all about the lyrics. Twin brothers Anthony and Zachary Dewar led the six-piece group through dark-humored songs, whose lyrics ranged from “ Life is like a merry-go-round till the burial ground” to musings on the apocalypse, all set to an upbeat, Decemberists-like, old-timey folk sound. By the end of the performance, listeners might have walked away humming the catchy refrain to the group’ s song “ Pedophile Pete.” But it is more likely that their brains were occupied with visual memories of Dewars’ gyrating keyboardist, who, at the end of the set, laid on top of his instrument and gave it a few humps for good measure." ~ CMJ2010.com

"If you'd looked around Neurolux last night for the most awkward and unlikely people to even see at a rock show, you'd probably have settled on The Dewars, a pair of wild-haired, "comfortably" dressed oddballs. The moment you saw them it was clear they were the band. The Dewar Brothers—or "the noise boys"—as they referred to themselves lyrically, rocked pretty decently. Their sounds and arrangements have a British-invasion style of clean guitar rock—they even put on faux-British accents for some stage banter—but their songwriting style owed more to indie-folk. You could call it nerdcore minus the core." ~ Josh Gross (Boise Weekly)

"Up next, the Dewars had twice the personnel and completely eschewed the Friends' varsity-jacket-wearing innocence, casually taking on more serious themes in songs like the self-explanatory opener, "Life is Like a Merry-Go-Round Until the Burial Ground," and its anti-capitalist follow-up, "Bulls and Bears." The refrain of another song asks, "If the world was gonna end today/What would you say?" The Dewars, I'd imagine, would suggest that you just sing along while they provide the soundtrack with their indie-rock barnyard stomps." ~ Nick Murray (The Village Voice)

"Next up was this incredibly weird band called The Dewars. Like, they've got to be the oddest band I've ever seen live. The group is fronted by the Dewar Brothers, who had matching glasses and excessively geeky looks. Their most notable backing members included a Rasputin-esque maraca shaker & an insane keyboard player who moved like a nerd version of Peter Murphy, throwing bedroom eyes and sweat at everyone. Video was the only way to capture this odd group." ~ Jiff (Unpopularized Culture)

"From the moment the Dewar brothers took the stage and opened with "Life is Like a Merry Go Round Until the Burial Ground," it was clear that they had ample personality and presence, something one of the brothers attributed in part to having six PBRs before getting on stage. There were some immediate and obvious touchstones to the music, from the eccentric, broken lyrical and musical phrasings of the Fall to the silly, sometimes inspired, playfulness of They Might Be Giants. A number of the songs also evoked Robyn Hitchcock's solo material, as well as Pulp -- but without sounding like any of that.
At one point during their set, the Dewar Brothers informed us that the place they're from is "a really good place to die" and then played "The Neverglades." This sort of sardonic, dark, offbeat sense of humor characterized the band's banter between songs, even when one of the guitars malfunctioned and one of the brothers awkwardly told bad jokes, knowing full well they were lame but somehow managing to win us over anyway.
If nothing else, The Dewars proved themselves to be a compelling band whose penchant for colorful storytelling only added to their already considerable charm as performers fully capable of laughing at themselves as part of the fun. You have to have a sense of humor, apparently, to survive being a band like this in West Palm Beach, Florida." ~ Tom Murphy (Westword, Denver)

"Floridians Surfer Blood and the Dewars opened for the Drums at Neumos earlier this month. They both put on such enjoyable shows and I particularly think myself fortunate to have seen them together. I actually listen to these bands’ CDs and am glad Surfer Blood brought the Dewars with them so that I, and the other audience members, could be introduced to something this special." ~ Dagmar (Back Beat Seattle)

BAND OF THE DAY (8.11.10) THE DEWARS
"South Florida strikes again... twin bros, who sound like melodic Lou Reeds, with Leonard Cohen’s mind and a splash of Florida sun. They give us wholesome mellow rock without repetition, clean guitars, strings and uplifting drum splashes. It’s mood rock and it’s meant to get you engaged with shimmering voices to remind you of the swaying afternoon waves. Take Sweet Bronco, The Jameses and The Dewars and I dare say South Florida is primed with some kick-ass unique sounds. “Sunshine” is the oddest summer tune of the year" ~ NewBandDay.COM

GLIMPSES OF THE SOUTH FLORIDA SCENE: THE DEWARS
"West Palm's the Dewars are clouded in dreamy mystery... their songs are psychedelic, mildly nautical, acoustic affairs. Given the enigmatic nature of their music and their attitudes about songwriting itself, the title of their upcoming release, Songs From the Neverglades, is especially fitting - Anthony and Zachary Dewar are purveyors of a swampy, bluesy Florida that exists only in aural fairytales." ~ New Times

DEAD CONFEDERATE INTERVIEW
"And there’s this band called The Dewars, they’re twin brothers, and we played with them down in Florida. They gave me their record. It has 22 songs on it, and they’re all awesome. It’s whacked-out, folky Syd Barrett-meets-The Beatles and Bob Dylan-meets-something-really-new, too." ~ Hardy Morris (Dead Confederate) ~AVClub.com

SURFER BLOOD TWITTER
"The Dewar Brothers are my favorite songwriters." ~ Thomas F. (Surfer Blood)

WEIRD WIVES BLOG
"The Dewars are a lot like The Addams Family... they are a family with so many odd little qualities you can't help but be fascinated by the way they interact with the world outside." ~ Weird Wives Blog

MOODVANE
"I finally saw twin brother-fronted The Dewars perform last Wednesday night at the oil spill benefit show. They were nothing less than phenomenal. I’ve got to get deeper into their recordings. I need time to digest what I’ve already seen... I wish that I were a Surfer Blood fan in a faraway town so that I could go to the concert with no expectations for the opening band and get my mind blown by the twinsy trippiness of The Noise Boys." ~Mood Vane

12/17. Lake Park, FL - The Orange Door
ZitFest 1
w. Nerve City, Russian Tsarlag, Partial People, Diet Cokeheads, Cop City/Chill Pillars, Band in Heaven, Lil Daggers, Jacuzzi Boys, Teepee, Little Beard, The Jameses, Guy Harvey, Snakehole, Plains, LLLR, Slippery Slopes
12/31. WPB, FL - Respectable Street (NEW YEARS EVE)

9/10. Miami, FL - Vagabond
9/14. WPB, FL - Respectable Street ***
10/3. Portland, OR- Wonder Ballroom ^^^
10/4. Seattle, WA- Neumos ^^^
10/5. Vancouver, B.C. - Biltmore Cabaret ^^^
10/7. Boise, ID - Neurolux ^^^
10/8. Salt Lake City, UT- Urban Lounge ^^^
10/10. Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater ^^^
10/12. Fargo, ND - The Aquarium @@@
10/13. Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater ^^^
10/20. New York, NY - Webster Hall ^^^
10/22. Philadelphia, PA - Making Time at Voyeur ^^^

@@@ w/ Surfer Blood
^^^ w/ Surfer Blood, The Drums
*** w/ Sleepy Sun, Strangers Family Band

dewar89[at]gmail.com