Presently, Louisville, KY native Dawn Landes may be best known for her cover of “Young Folks,” for which she enlisted a group of “old folks” – the WST Bluegrass Band from Austin.

But that’s all going to change with the unveiling of her second album and first formal US release, ‘Fireproof’. ‘Fireproof’s’ first, and perhaps most infectious track, “Bodyguard” was written following the burglary of Dawn’s Brooklyn apartment. She didn’t have much, just a Casio keyboard, a laptop computer and a hard drive…with her complete second album ready for production. Album two, and years of Dawn Landes’ creative work, were gone forever.

“I never looked back or tried to recreate those songs, never played them, nothing. I just started over from scratch. I wrote ‘Bodyguard’ in the kitchen while waiting for the police to show up,” reminisces Dawn.

Dawn Landes Download – “Bodyguard” MP3 off of ‘Fireproof’

Watch Dawn Landes “Bodyguard” video

The aptly named album was recorded live to 2″ tape in a single day in an old fire station in Red Hook, Brooklyn (along with drummer Ray Rizzo, bassist Jonny Flaugher and engineer Adam Lasus.) It’s an astonishing mixture of the urban and the rural. ‘Fireproof’ is like a little kitchen garden planted between high-rise buildings; in it’s own way, a remarkable act of resistance.

“I think albums are always marked by the places where they were conceived or written. New York was bound to color many of the sounds I recorded for Fireproof,” explains Dawn. But at the heart of these songs, there’s still that girl playing the guitar in a cornfield in the Midwest. The only difference is that the corn has been replaced by high-rise buildings.”

‘Fireproof’ will be released March 4, 2008 in the US on Cooking Vinyl.

Dawn Landes – Fireproof on amazon.com

Dawn Landes 2008 tour dates
w/ Jason Isbell (Drive By Truckers) and Will Hoge

Dates could be added or changed! Go to Dawn Landes’ Official Website for the latest tour dates and information.

February 6 – Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN
February 7 – High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI
February 8 – Double Door – Chicago, IL
February 9 – Music Mill – Indianapolis, IN
February 11 – Southgate House – Cincinnati, OH
February 12 – The Basement – Columbus, OH
February 14 – Magic Stick – Detroit, MI
February 15 – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH
February 16 – Tralf Music Hall – Buffalo, NY
February-17 – PA World Cafe Live – Philadelphia, PA
February 19 – Toad’s – New Haven, CT
February 20 – Paradise – Boston, MA
February 21 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
February 22 – 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
February 23 – Satellite Ballroom – Charlottesville, VA
February 24 – Soapbox – Wilmington, NC
February 26 – Headliner’s – Columbia, SC
February 27 – GA Theatre – Athens, GA
February 28 – Bluecat’s – Knoxville, TN
February 29 – Headliner’s – Louisville, KY
March 1 – Cannery Ballroom – Nashville, TN

For more info and music:

Dawn Landes Official Website
Dawn Landes on Myspace