Spring Break
Members quit; Dutton creates unique musical
Anna Clay
Issue date: 11/14/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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In 2003, Dutton formed the band Forgive Durden, in Seattle, Wash., basing the band's name off the character Tyler Durden from the critically acclaimed film and book "Fight Club." In 2005, the band was signed to Fueled by Ramen Records and within the next year, released their first full-length album, "Wonderland."
All four members were excited about the release and expected it to do well. The album possessed a unique sound pushing the boundaries of alternative rock. However, despite the band's ambition, the album just did not catch on. While the bands they shared a label and a stage with were climbing their way up in the music industry, Forgive Durden was struggling to be heard. The members became frustrated with "Wonderland's" lack of success and eventually decided to call it quits-but not Dutton. He had the hope and the willpower to make Forgive Durden something.
Inspired by music and stories sprouting from "Moulin Rouge," Shakespearean tragedies and Disney films, Dutton set off to create a musical of his own. Dutton and his brother, Paul, spent two years writing and recording a new album, "Razia's Shadow." While fans who closely followed the band knew he was writing a musical, Dutton kept everything about it a secret.
About a month before the album was released, raziashadow.com appeared online. Slowly, "cards" with characters on them showed up on the site along with song clips. The site was linked to fueledbyramen.com and people began to connect "Razia's Shadow" with Forgive Durden. Dutton had a lot more in store for this album than most people anticipated.
He needed a cast of characters and therefore brought in a guest vocalist for each one, including Panic at the Disco's Brendon Urie, Say Anything's Max Bemis, and Save The Day's Chris Conley. Dutton finally came forward announcing the release of his new album while fans waited for new characters and clips to be posted-trying to guess the guest vocalists.
"Razia's Shadow" was finally released Oct. 28 and all its mysteries were solved. The album includes two stories, narrated by Aaron Weiss of mewithoutYou, which are set in a mythical world split in two. They are connected by the exploration of merging light and dark themes as well as love and fate. The first story centers on the character, Ahrima, and the second on Adakias who both believe they are destined to fulfill a prophecy of their lands. They meet opposition as they fight to unite the world, the light and the dark.
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