One Act Play (band)

One Act Play

One Act Play is an instrumental rock, post-rock band from Dallas Texas. Heavily influenced by and often compared to bands such as Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, and The Cancer Conspiracy, One Act Play has been known for their impassioned and diverse sound, from simple profound elements of post rock with classical Spanish style guitar rhythms, to off-the-wall psychedelic drum and jazz-style bass patterns. Though considered a low-profile band, they have a great local following in their native North Texas region as well as infant national and even international fan support and acclaims. They are currently writing and recording for a new untitled release due before the year's end.

Early History (2003 - 2005)

Christopher Sanchez and Bob Aranda met through mutual friends in high school. The two each had individual interests in forming his own band, so they both found it only fitting to collaborate and see what would happen. Ultimately, the chemistry between the two was satisfying enough for them to begin looking for other personnel interested in joining up. In November of 2003, Bob's younger brother, Ignacio (Chito) Aranda, was given a low-budget beginner drum set for his 12th birthday as a gift. Chito was a surprisingly talented prodigy on the drums, and inevitably joined his brother and Sanchez. This became the first complete formation of One Act Play. They would spend the next 9 months, from December 2003 to July 2004, rehearsing whenever possible and writing music before they would embark on putting on musical performances. During that time, they recorded their first two releases - "One Act Play (2004 Demo)" and "Incognito Blue". From August 2004 to May 2005, the trio booked any show opportunity they could from house shows to Battle Of The Bands to build up their following. They eventually built a good enough reputation to perform at venues in the Deep Ellum Arts District, the prime area for local and national musical acts to perform in Dallas. In June 2005, OAP recorded their first studio effort, their self-titled EP, and released it under a newly-formed collaborative label project entitled Dead Envy Recordings, which Bob now currently operates along with help from Albert Harbour, guitarist of fellow post-hardcore band Fall Hero Fall. In August of 2005, Chito lost interest in the band and no longer sought to participate.

(2006 - Present Day)

After a quiet 2005 Fall season, Bob and Chris decided to restart OAP. In February 2006, they became acquainted with Matthew Vasquez, an advanced-level drummer who was actually referred to Bob from Chito. After a few auditioning rehearsals, Bob, Chris, and Matt collectively liked the sounds and the vibe of what was coming out of their jam sessions that they agreed on moving forward. Plans to record a full-length record, consisting of 8 to 11 songs, were immediately set and the newly reformed OAP got to work. In November of 2006, they booked recording time at a local house studio operated by a friend of Chris' older brother. The band went in and tracked three songs during the first phase of their recording sessions. The second phase was to commence in December, only for the band to realize that their producer relocated to Arizona and took the tracks with him (they would soon be recovered in the summer of 2007). Because of the unfortunate circumstance, the band decided to go back and just work on re-editing their material. After some time, OAP played a small stint of shows in which they released their 2007 demo, a recording consisting of 4 rough cuts of songs that would appear on their next release. In May of 2008, the band relaunched their campaign for a new studio release, although it was not stated whether or not it will be a full-length. They did released a demo version of the song "Dead Can Dance" exclusively for streaming on their Myspace page, which is the first confirmed song to appear on the record. The yet-to-be-titled new studio release is rumored to be completed before the end of 2008.

Current Members

• Christopher (Chris) Sanchez (2003 - present) (electric guitar, acoustic guitar)
• Roberto (Bob) Aranda (2003 - present) (bass guitar, backing electric guitar)
• Matthew (Matt) Vasquez (2006 - present) (drums, keys, and misc. percussion)

Past Members

• Ignacio (Chito) Aranda (2003-2005) (drums)

Releases

Demos/EPs

• One Act Play (2004 Demo) CD (2004)
• Incognito Blue CD (2004)
• One Act Play CD-EP (Dead Envy) (2005)
• One Act Play (2007 Demo) CD (Dead Envy) (2007)
• (untitled release - TBA) (Dead Envy) (2008)

Misc./Unreleased

• Unreleased Studio Sessions (initially intended for first LP/CD) (2006)
• Live At The Door - Dallas (concert recordings; appear/appeared on Myspace and Purevolume pages) (2006)

References

• www.myspace.com/oneactplay One Act Play's myspace profile page
• blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=3047002 Blog update regarding news of studio cancellation, new music, and new demo recording.
• blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=3047002&blogID=395424846 Blog update regarding forthcoming 2008 release
• www.stereokiller.com/bands/bands.cfm?id=16317 Featured page on Stereo Killer, with original lineup
• interview with R. Aranda regarding history of the band's formation.

External links

• One Act Play's Official Myspace page
• One Act Play's Purevolume page
• Dead Envy Recordings Myspace page
• Original webpage for One Act Play (their Myspace page is now considered their official online database, although updates are occasionally made on this page)