COURSE OF EMPIRE was a five-piece post-punk, tribal industrial, alternative metal group, active between 1988 and 1998. Coming out of the Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas, C.o.E. was one of the top drawing live acts in north Texas at the time.
One thing that was unique about C.o.E. was that it had two drummers playing one large drum kit.
Influenced by The Kodo Drummers of Japan, the band would roll large oil drums out into the audience and distribute drumsticks, inviting the audience to join in during a song called “Thrust”. Anyone could influence the course of the evolving music by introducing a new rhythm or motif.
After the “drum thing” with the audience ended, the band would kick into “We Got The Beat” by The Go Go’s, which was always crowd favorite.
The sound of everyone hitting the rims of the drums out of time influenced the evolution of another song called “Infested!” which was released on the band’s second album, Initiation.
Unfortunately by the time the group got signed, the “drum thing” had become too dangerous; instead of dropping down from the stage to the floor to be played, the oil drums started getting thrown around by the crowd like beach balls. Nevertheless, the band retained the two-drummer approach as a defining stylistic trademark for three albums:
Course Of Empire (Carpe Diem)
Initiation (Zoo/BMG-Sony)
Telepathic Last Words TVT (Sony)
After a decade of touring and epic shows in Dallas and Austin, the group split in 1998.
On November 18, 2019 beloved Course Of Empire drummer and Curtain Club sound man Chad Lovell suffered a fall in his home, which left him with a traumatic brain injury.
As a response, Chad’s former bandmates are now releasing a previously lost, remastered early recording which features the original five-piece lineup.
All tracks were recorded live in the SMU TV Studio, direct to two-track digital audio tape, by engineer David Castell. There were no overdubs or post mix. This recording captures the band before the first album, when the songwriting was more driven by the concept of putting the drums in the audience.
This new album is called 'FIELDS OF DISCIPLINE' and is being offered as a vinyl release in partnership with Bandwear to support Chad’s family with expenses related to his recovery.
In addition, former Course Of Empire drummer Michael Jerome Moore has produced official Chad Lovell / C.o.E. signature drumsticks in partnership with Zildjian. These signature drumsticks, the vinyl album, along with a "Thrust/We Got The Beat" single, new shirts and other items, are available now on the new /// Course Of Empire Bandwear store ///.
On Monday, October 25, 2021, fans and friends of the band gathered at Club Dada in Deep Ellum to listen to the recording and celebrate the artistic life of Chad Lovell. The evening culminated in an impromptu “drum thing” jam with an audience filled with notable Dallas drummers playing along, showing full support!
C.O.E. led drum bash circle for The Love Of Chad Lovell event 🖤🖤🖤
Posted by Mark Ridlen on Monday, October 25, 2021
We hope this will be the first of many Love For Lovell events and that a new audience will discover the band’s musical legacy.
November 2022 update: Course of Empire's second album, Initiation, will be reissued on vinyl, with proceeds to benefit Chad! Pre-ordering details are at DFW Legacy Series.
Please visit the /// Love For Lovell site /// for more info or /// Donate Here ///
/// Continue to the C.o.E archival site ///
