The Current

Great Music Lives Here ®
Listener-Supported Music
Donate Now
Local Current Blog

Daisy Dillman Band to release first album in 34 years

by Austin Gerth

January 02, 2015

Minnesota country rock pioneers the Daisy Dillman Band are taking the reins once again to release their first album in 34 years. The album is titled Radio, and the band will be playing a CD release party in its honor on Jan. 10 at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.

The Daisy Dillman Band comprises Dan Flaherty on drums; Pat Frederick on violin, guitar, and vocals; Steve “Stymie” Seamans on bass, guitar, and vocals; and Steven “Feagan” Solmonson. Radio features ten new original songs written by Seamans, Solmonson, and Frederick. A press release for the album characterizes the music as reflective, tackling subjects like aging, Hurricane Katrina, and change.

The Dillmans got their start in the Twin Cities’ western suburbs in 1976. They took their name from bassist-vocalist Steve “Stymie” Seamans’s grandmother, who lived to the age of 104. They quickly garnered regional and national attention for their spry musicianship and the glowing four-part harmonies that colored their songs.

Their self-titled debut album was released on United Artists in 1978, and their second album, Lovin’ the Night Away, was released on RCA in 1981. They managed to crack the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100 with the release of the song “Lovin’ the Night Away” as a single. The group recorded one more album for RCA but it was never released due to restructuring that went on at RCA at the time.

The group has not remained entirely dormant these last three and a half decades, having pulled together for a number of reunion shows in 2003 and earning their induction to the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

Over the course of their career the Daisy Dillman Band have toured with the likes of Alabama, Asleep at the Wheel, Jerry Jeff Walker, Bonnie Raitt, the Allman Brothers, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Accolades they’ve received include three Minnesota Music Awards.

Radio will be available on Jan. 10 via digital and independent retailers including the Electric Fetus.

Austin Gerth is a member of the class of 2016 at Concordia College. He also writes for Concordia’s student blog, The COBBlog; and Concordia’s student newspaper, The Concordian.

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