iDKHOW: The Nonexistent Band on the Rise
Visual courtesy of Elizabeth Fuire // @liz.fuire
By Vincent Paz
Rising contemporary musicians and bands often promote their music through social media and tour announcements. Some dream of headlining major music festivals and performing in sold-out arenas, but Dallon Weekes and Ryan Seaman of the indie pop-rock duo I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME - abbreviated as iDKHOW - did the complete opposite during their first several months as a band. They restricted themselves to performing unannounced gigs in small clubs, denied their existence to their fans, and just over a year later would top the Billboard Heatseekers Chart with their debut EP titled “1981 Extended Play”.
Courtesy of Dallon Weeke’s Twitter // @DallonWeekes
Frontman Dallon Weekes and drummer Ryan Seaman first collaborated back in 2008, when Seaman joined Weekes’ band The Brobecks. They made their secretive live debut as a duo in December 2016 for Emo Nite Los Angeles’ 2-year-anniversary. iDKHOW’s fanbase slowly began to grow after the performance, as did the curiosity of the fans themselves. For several months, Weekes denied his whereabouts and the existence of iDKHOW whenever he was presented with photos from the band’s live shows... but what’s the point of doing that?
At the time of their debut, Weekes was simultaneously performing as the bassist for the multi-platinum pop-rock band Panic! At the Disco, while Seaman was the drummer of the hard rock band Falling in Reverse. Weekes later stated that iDKHOW denied their existence to their fans in order to prevent exploiting the well-known bands they performed in. They furthered this by restricting themselves to playing unannounced gigs at small clubs, despite the hype going around about their secretive new musical project. Weekes and Seaman would leave their respective bands by the end of 2017 to shift their focus to iDKHOW.
The unsigned duo finally acknowledged the band after the release of their debut single “Modern Day Cain” in August 2017. Two months later, they released their second song “Choke” to outstanding success; it peaked at #29 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart, and the track’s lyric video amassed over 24 million video views on YouTube as of November 24th, 2020. Despite their formal announcement of the band, Weekes and Seaman continued their theme of non-existence through the band’s aesthetic. According to the band’s YouTube channel bio iDKHOW was a band that existed in the 1980s and their music videos are actually lost clips of their live performances from decades ago. For example, in the video description of the music video for “Modern Day Cain," it claims that the video is the band’s live performance on the cable access series “Superstar Showcase”, which originally aired in 1983. Just over a year after the band’s revelation, they released their debut EP titled “1981 Extended Play” through Fearless Records, which made an impressive debut at the number-one spot on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart.
A few weeks ago, iDKHOW released their debut album titled “Razzmatazz.” The synth-heavy album is filled with danceable tracks and groovy basslines, and has noticeable similarities to Weekes’ inspirations of David Bowie, Elvis Costello, and Joe Jackson. The album features a song titled “Clusterhug,” which was originally released as a song by the duo’s former band The Brobecks. “Razzmatazz” additionally pays homage to their secretive beginnings with the track “Nobody Likes the Opening Band.” The song originally debuted in 2018 while iDKHOW was still “non-existent,” with the band playing it at all of their live shows as they were often the unannounced opening act.
I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME’s ability to rise through the ranks of the music industry while beginning their career in secret is remarkable. They hid their whereabouts from their incredibly curious fanbase for several months and I don’t know how, but I’m very glad I found them.