Indie pop from the ironic heart of the midwest.

11 MP3 Songs
POP: Bubblegum Pop, ROCK: Modern Rock



Details:
The Next Step is a pop band living in the ironic heart of the Midwest, somewhere near Minneapolis.

It was formed by Dennis Vogen in the summer of 2002 with two of his friends. They were destroyed in a giant robot battle shortly after.

Dennis then asked his friend Andy to play bass. Dennis recorded two EPs (with Andy's help on bass) in 2003, and he was invited to record at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls. With the exception of one acoustic track, those sessions have never been released. In 2003, Dennis graduated high school and Andy died from a snake bite.

Dennis spent some time alone to reflect on the sudden and kind of weird deaths of his former band mates.

On July 13th, 2005, Dennis released the Next Step's debut full-length album, "Something Old, Something New," based on a musical he was writing in his head. He then asked his friend Nick to play bass and drums on stage.

In 2006, the Next Step played some shows. Dennis also revealed his plan for "the Streetlight Diaries," a trilogy of albums with concepts based on opposites: "Love & Fear," "Honesty & Happiness," and "Life & Death."

On September 26th, 2006, the Next Step released "Love & Fear." Like always, Dennis wrote, recorded and produced the album alone, with a little help from Nick. "Love & Fear" was released to little or no acclaim.

Dennis then looked to his darker and lighter sides to start working on "Honesty & Happiness," the second album in "the Streetlight Diaries." He also recruited his friends Jarrad and Tony to play keyboard and guitar live, respectively.

On May 1st, 2007 (Dennis' birthday), the Next Step released "Honesty & Happiness."

And today, you bought it.