A band of brothers bound together by a love of music has developed a mesmerizing sound that is captivating audiences throughout the Los Angeles area. Consisting of guitarist James Burnett, vocalist David Sandborg, bassist Dane Sandborg, and drummer Wesley Ritenour, Little Dume has been performing together since the age of sixteen. This rising alternative rock band has released a string of singles that are reminiscent of early Imagine Dragons, Kings of Leon, and Coldplay.
In 2018, Little Dume soared to fame with their industry debut of ‘Dangerous Man.’ The song garnered over 2 million streams across all platforms and was featured in the promo for NBC’s The A.D. series. Following the success of ‘Dangerous Man,’ the band continued to build on their momentum by dropping ‘Brothers’ (2018), Curious’ (2018), ‘As Always’ (2019), and ‘Halo’ (2019) while selling out shows throughout Los Angeles.
With a new decade quickly approaching, Little Dume unveils their plans for 2020 in an exclusive interview with Vydia. Here’s what they had to say:
How did your group initially get together?
We came together growing up in the Santa Monica Mountains. Topanga Canyon and Malibu to be exact. We all found ourselves at Malibu High School where David, James, and Wesley started playing together. As the band progressed David recruited his older brother Dane to join in.
Who are your biggest musical influences?
Our music influences are quite diverse. Collectively they range from Coldplay, Kings of Leon, Young the Giant, to Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, neo-soul, jazz, electronic, and classic rock. It’s honestly quite a mixed bag. Our diverse influences shine through our different songs.
You are quickly rising the ranks throughout the Los Angeles area. How has growing up in Malibu influenced your sound?
Other than our name it actually hasn’t. Our sound is influenced by our collective experiences and love of playing together. Obviously our upbringing has had an impact but it’s not entirely tied to Malibu.
As a group, you maintain that family comes first. How do you incorporate this mentality into your music?
We show up for those we love. Those who support us. Unconditionally. Family, chosen family, friends, and even strangers ultimately. It’s our code of conduct.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a group and how were you able to overcome it?
Time together. Los Angeles has many distractions and life has responsibilities other than creating music together. We’ve all been working while making time together a priority and always trying to maximize what we do together
Your debut single, ‘Dangerous Man’ saw massive success after it was featured in the official promo of NBC’s The A.D. series. What would you say is a key factor in this initial success?
“Dangerous Man” was Little Dume’s debut to the world. The song saw a lot of air time because we had it placed in NBC’s The A.D. series. We have changed a lot since then, growing into something we feel really passionate about. ‘Dangerous Man’ organically supercharged us into the game and we are very grateful for that.
How did this experience affect the way you approach creating music?
This song was originally brought in to be a custom song for the show. It was the first time we ever did anything like that, and it opened so many doors to the creative process. Now we don’t approach music with an end goal. We write and play what we feel, and really speak from our heart. We have our sound now and it’s still growing.
What was the inspiration behind your new single ‘As Always’?
We always dreamt of exploring the world to see the northern lights with people we love. This song was a promise that we would make that journey.
Can we expect a music video soon?
We have many music videos lined up for 2020. Our favorite ones being ‘Curious’ and ‘As Always.’ We filmed as always on top of a mountain and BC.
What is the best piece of advice you have received in your career?
Internalize music history and understand the musical languages that came before you, but forget everything when you’re in the moment and listen to yourself. When you are in that moment, understand what the basis of the music is in terms of the improvisational aspects and or the songwriting. The great thing about music is that songwriting and improvisation are two diametrically opposed ideas and yet you don’t ever really want to separate them. Their both legitimate art forms and can support one another in really beautiful ways.
In terms of successful collaboration, what advice can you give aspiring creators that hope to collaborate as well?
It’s all about meeting people and getting heard. We work very hard at making this music. But it takes a few other key players /writers/ producers to help our vision come to life. Network the hell out of your musical community when you find someone that works well, cultivate and build a catalog with that person.
What was your favorite music moment in the past decade?
Going to the last show of the 2017 Coldplay tour for Head Full of Dreams. We had incredible seats, the band performed beautifully. It was right at the end of show fireworks going off, lights blaring, Chris Hutton the last song ‘Fix You’, when David told James, that we’re gonna be one of the biggest bands of the 20s. We have done so much since, and we’re well on our way. Look out for Little Dume.
What is your New Year’s Resolution as a group?
- Put out an album.
- Go on the road
- Spend more time together
What can fans look forward to in 2020?
- Troubadour (Jan. 11th)
- Waking Up EP (Jan. 15th)
- Adrenaline/Amazon (Spring 2020)
- New Album (Summer 2020)
How has Vydia empowered your career?
Vydia has our distribution handled. Everything from royalty payments, playlisting, and we’re excited about the years to come.
What is a fun fact that no one knows about you?
This is our second name together as a band. We’ve been playing together for a long time, just over a decade. But we started as “first impressions”, which we all agree .. “what were we thinking?” But it took time, practice and a few bad band names to get where are now. Little Dume is our home, our sacred place of inspiration. And we’re excited to see where this road leads.
It’s a new year and a ton of new music expected to drop for Little Dume. To ensure you don’t miss out on any new music, follow the band on social media. Check back to our blog page next week to see who our next Tastemaker of 2020 will be!