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Free Energy’s Paul Sprangers, John Vanderslice collaborate with new local act

by Andrea Swensson

January 12, 2012

Free Energy have been off the grid lately while they wrap up production of their as-yet untitled sophomore album, but fans of Free Energy and Paul Sprangers' former band Hockey Night will be happy to hear that the frontman has something new out this week: A collaboration with Ian Anderson from One For the Team, who was a new 7" coming out under the name Dream Brother.

The pair joined forces for the track "Haunted Heart," which features Anderson singing lead and Sprangers filling in on harmonies. On the flip side of the Dream Brother 7", Anderson pulled in John Vanderslice to assist on the track "Pretty Eyes," and both songs are available for streaming below and as a free download on Dream Brother's site.

"I've been friends with the two of them for quite some time," Anderson says, when asked about the new collaborations. "One for the Team used to play with Hockey Night, so I've been buds with Paul for forever. And John Vanderslice and I struck up a fast friendship about four years ago, worked together on a few projects, and Afternoon Records [the independent label founded by Anderson] even ended up re-issuing his out-of-print vinyl in 2010."

Anderson says that the Haunted Heart/Pretty Eyes 7" will be the first in a series of releases he's planning under the Dream Brother name.

"I'll be releasing a pair of songs every so often and they'll usually include buds of mine whose music I love," he says. "These first two tracks are a good representation of that, I am a huge fan of both of these guys and it was a ton of fun to work with them on this project. In the end, that is the real point behind this band: To have a lot of fun. For 2012, I'll likely release a few more pairs and we'll just see how it goes."

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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.