Disturbing the peace

Dorcia, the band of loudness. The word “screaming” couldn’t even begin to define the intense volume that emanates from the depths of a live and uncensored Dorcia performance.

Guitarist Travis Mansfield, vocalist Travis Stewart, bass player Zach Pieren, guitarist Aaron Chapin and drummer Brian Boydstun have found tranquility through uproar in this five-piece band of yelling men.

Dorcia put about as much thought into their band name as they did into their decision to refrain from vocal calmness. “A good friend of mine was up in Reno from Huntington Beach one summer,” says Mansfield, 23. “We had a barbecue, and some of the members of the band were over at my house. We started to talk about the book and movie American Psycho. The restaurant in the book, “Dorcia,” came up. He randomly said that would be a great band name, and we agreed. Serendipity produces the best names.”

Formed in October 2004, Dorcia is a fun, adventurous band, which comes across in their storytelling. “This summer, we played a festival in Soledad, Calif.,” says Mansfield. “We always ask for a place to stay while we’re playing in hopes that someone in the crowd will let us crash at their place. Well, turns out, we got an offer from a random girl. After the show, we followed her down the darkest dirt road ever to her house.” Mansfield’s eyes light up as he proceeds to the climax of his story.

“This was straight out of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. We pull up to the house, and let’s just say it’s a bit less than appealing, but who are we to complain? It was either this or the van. … So, we walk up to the house, and there are birds everywhere. Two dogs come strolling up to say hi, and about 10 feral cats sit and stare at us. We get inside, and we’re told that the girl’s mom is a bird enthusiast. There are birds everywhere. Some birds were cute and bright, others looked like the missing link in the evolution of dinosaurs into birds. If given the chance, they would taken your hand right off. And what comes with a lot of birds? Bird smells and bird sounds. We had to sleep with earplugs and disinfect ourselves the minute we left. However, I will say that it was better than sleeping in a van all night.”

Inspired mostly by Metallica and Radiohead, but sounding much like an off-beat version of Mudvayne, this band of seemingly angry boys has done a fair job at attempting to separate themselves from everyone else in the world of loud metal bands. Whether they’ve succeeded is still to be determined.

It would seem that Reno has drawn a lot of straightedge bands to the local music scene, and Dorcia is often mistaken as one of them. Mansfield, however, disagrees. “We’re all very well-intentioned and approachable people,” he says. “All walks of life are welcome to our shows. We do have some straightedge members in our band, but we do not have a straightedge agenda—especially our drummer, who enjoys only the finest lager in the land. Beyond that, you can listen and judge for yourself.”

So whether you’ve got a beer in hand or a triple X sketched thickly across your arm, Dorcia welcomes you with the loudest “hello” they know how.