Music

Power Chords

multi-tasking drummer takes solo, electronic plunge as White Dune

Eric Christenson, photos by Eric Christenson |

WHITE DUNE, ORANGE MOUSTACHE. Dave Power, after drumming with and expansive list of Eau Claire acts like Adelyn Rose, Meridene, and PUNCHER goes solo on his experimental electronic project, White Dune.
WHITE DUNE, ORANGE MOUSTACHE. Dave Power, after drumming with and expansive
list of Eau Claire acts like Adelyn Rose, Meridene, and PUNCHER goes solo on his
experimental electronic project, White Dune.

Dave Power’s easily one of the hardest working musicians in all of Eau Claire. When not drumming, managing and booking for Adelyn Rose,  he’s drumming for the Island Dr. Lee, PUNCHER, and Meridene. Not to mention, backboning the rhythm section for an infinite number of jazz combos – each with a different name – at Shanghai Bistro or Acoustic Cafe. Long story short, the dude’s busy! And apparently tireless and insatiable.

Not content to just be the drummer for ninety-ish percent of the entire Eau Claire music scene, Power’s striking off on his own for a new solo, electronic endeavor called White Dune – this time taking on every role in the process.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” he said. “I’ve been into electronic music for a really long time. I was like, ‘I’m not gonna be very good at this at all, but I gotta start sometime.’ ”

White Dune got its start kind of sporadically, with Power just messing around with sounds and textures, mixing live drums with weird, procured audio samples — utilizing every opportunity to be as experimental as possible.

It since evolved into a 12-track album (and an excellent coinciding sloslylove remix) called Cecilia, highlighting Power as a drummer, as an engineer, and as a prolific, switch-hitting, all-encompassing jack-of-all-trades with a brain you didn’t know worked so mysteriously and artfully once he steps out from behind his drum kit.

Featuring obvious collaborators Addie Strei, Hannah Hebl (both from Adelyn Rose) and Jaime Hansen (from The Island of Dr. Lee), Cecilia is an amazingly weird experience, drawn from chopped up live drums and digital synths, but don’t expect a White Dune live show any time soon. Power needs time to scrape together gear to perfect any potential live performance.

“If I wanted to right now, I could just get four of my friends together and learn it on live instruments,” Power said. “I’m not gonna do that.”

Ah well, he’s around. We’ll see him.

Name your price for the digital version of Cecilia by visiting whitedune.bandcamp.com