Mitchell Dancik & The Senators
The Senators started as a song in 1979, and then morphed over the years from real band, to virtual band, to disband, to marketing brand, and finally into the partly flesh & partly fantasy internet band-brand of today. Anyone who demands proof of their existence after more than 30 years of hide n’ seek need only subscribe to their free “Song Of The Month Club” service (available from this site).
The Senators were born of the remnants of Mitch’s 1970’s NYC band “Just Water”, as documented by the song “The Senators” on the Senators’ album “Holocausts In Your Sleep”. Various members, real and fictional, have come and gone over the years, with Ira Bernstein (the original lead singer of Just Water prior to Mitch taking that job) appearing on many Senators tracks since 2008. Mitch fills in whatever gaps exist in the band, which often leaves him alone in the studio performing and engineering all the tracks.
The first Senators albums were recorded in the late 1970’s at the small four-track studio “Dancik Plant”, on Pearson Street in Brooklyn, New York, and mastered by long-time Just Water engineer Neal Steingart. During the 1980’s the Senators were homeless and recorded in various NYC studios and lofts. Most of the 1980’s studio time was provided by slipping in the back door after other sessions being run by producer David Bailes.
The 1990’s were fallow years for the Senators, due to Mitch building a successful software company. The 2000’s were a Senator’s renaissance, replete with new strings, new songs, instruments repaired, and the unearthing of the new “Dancik Plant South” in Cary, North Carolina. Since 2007 the Senators have recorded more than 120 tracks. Their first official CD of the 21st century was Short Journeys, followed by several other full length albums.
In 2013, Dancik opened Pie Man Sound, the official studios of Branded Records. Dancik’s songs have appeared in movies and TV shows including Mr. Robot and Chicago Fire. Dancik is also recording new material with his band Just Water. Dancik has released 17 albums of new material in the past few years.