March 29, 2011 - 8:02pm
Ella Riot is the new My Dear Disco
BY JULIA SMITH-EPPSTEINER
Local band My Dear Disco has simultaneously come forward with a spiffy new music video “It Could Be” — recently filmed in Ann Arbor — and a enigmatic new name: Ella Riot. What prompted the name change, in part, is the meeting of an Australian band called My Disco. Keeping My Dear Disco's name would have been legally dangerous for the band, and this was a opportunity for novelty.
The new name takes away the expectation that the band's music is “Disco” when in reality it's genre-spanning. More distinctively, Ella Riot invented a new genre for themselves — “DanceThink,” which awakens the feet and brain. I assume what’s in between those body parts will subsequently come alive.
Founding member of My Dear Disco and 'U' alum, Tyler Duncan, reveals on the band's official website the reason behind the choice of “Ella Riot.” He says female singer Michelle is a blasted fan of Ella Fitzgerald and that Ella in Greek means “light” or “torch.”
This in combination with a “riot” leads us to an “elegant, rebellious, brightly shining torch, moving with crowds of people, spinning out of control, ending in hilarious party chaos,” writes Duncan.
Well that all sounds like trend-setting material, fame in the party world. It is possible that this name could clump this band with many other edgy, up-and coming alternative-pop groups, but underground stardom seems more plausible after rocketing with catchy beats, vocals and enough glitter to make your night cosmic.
