DRMS (pronounced Dreams), a newly-formed collaboration fronted by Emily Ritz of Honeycomb and Yesway and led by keyboardist Rob Shelton of The Moanin Dove, melds multiple genres into a pulsating rhythmic psychedelic pop juggernaut. The ensemble’s sound has been described what would happen if Billie Holiday was selected to perform in an electro-afro-pop infused band curated by David Lynch. DRMS is scheduled to release their upcoming album in Summer 2012.

The band prominently features Ritz's distinctive swaggering vocal style. Fans familiar with her other more folk/jazz influenced musical projects should come prepared to be surprised. "I've created an alternate personality for this group. She's more of this big diva personality, owning the stage; high heels, glamour and lipstick. Each song and lyric has its own dance move," says Ritz. "I still haven't come up with a name for her yet."

True to its supergroup status, DRMS boasts an all star cast of some of the Bay Area's best musicians, with resumes including a wide range of projects, from Magik*Magik Orchestra to Thao and Mirah. In addition to Ritz and Shelton, the group features Andrew Maguire and Geneva Harrison tag-teaming the vibraphone and various percussion instruments, Jesse Cafiero on bass and lap steel guitar, Jake Nochimow on drums, and Zach Rubin-Rattet handling the guitars. "Leading such a big band is so much fun, because you have this really broad color pallet to choose from for each song, and the ability to really build things up big," says Shelton.



"The biggest surprise of the evening was the newly-formed DRMS, a seven-piece band formed around vocalist Emily Ritz (of Honeycomb and Yesway) and featuring vibes and a parade's-worth of inventive percussion. Their sound was a dynamic tidal wave that hit the room with one of those revelatory "What are we hearing?" moments of genuine surprise. Ritz's agile, feline, Holiday-inflected vocals drove each song. The display of musicianship by the band was peerless. Brazilian jazz and pure rock experimentation worked side by side, but the result was something that sounded very new..."
- SF Weekly's Casey Burchby
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2012/02/jolie_holland_noise_pop.php



"The voice of Billie Holiday blended with a drop of folk and an electro-infused ka-pow of Afro-pop. It's the stuff of dreams, isn't it? Sort of. Dreams (DRMS), besides being the mind's subconscious porthole, is a new East Bay indie supergroup."
- Band of the Week according to Music Editor Emily Savage of San Francisco Bay Guardian: http://www.sfbg.com/noise/2011/09/27/localized-appreesh-dreams


"Of the vast wasteland that the Internet’s become, you can still find a few undiscovered gems if you look hard enough — and Dreams (DRMS) is a perfect example. Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, Dreams, the brainchild of keyboardist Rob Shelton, are an expansive indie-pop band who recently set up shop in John Vanderslice‘s Tiny Telephone studios to record their first two songs, “Don’t Want This to Die” and a song inspired by a billboard sign, “With You.”'
- MTV Hive: http://read.mtvhive.com/2011/10/19/dreams-with-you-song/ Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.