American Dumpster: The Floyd Connection
Once I get up to dance, I don’t sit down again until the band leaves the stage. The waitress, thinking my unfinished mug of Sam Adams was abandoned, swiped it off the table before I could stop her. I made do. In between songs, I sipped what was left in the bottle, until a second waitress came and took that.
American Dumpster was back in Floyd, after having played at Floyd Fest in the summer and Floyd Fandango in October. Joe and I missed them entirely at Floyd Fest – so many bands play simultaneously there. From the warm-up we heard at the Fandango, we knew we wanted to hear more but had to leave early. When we left, the lead singer, who sounded like Lou Reed meets Tom Waits, was weaving a free style rap about art, hunting, and growing up in a junkyard in Charlottesville, Virginia, the son of a well known sculptor.
They were playing at Ray’s Restaurant for a party hosted by Tuggles Gap Restaurant and Motel. The folks at Tuggles Gap wanted to celebrate some upcoming changes and thank all their patrons for their support over the years. They party on the lawn at Tuggles Gap in the summer, but inside, they don’t have much of a dance floor.
I got another beer. I didn’t have to pay. Short of making a “do not disturb” sign, I set the bottle in an ashtray and constructed a fence of Sweet and Low packets all around it before resuming my business on the dance floor. I was dancing with Joe (above photo), next to Yarrow and Uriel, the Yard sisters of “Woodsong Flutes” fame who grew up home-schooling in a local community, where Joe had lived for a short time.
The description of Christian Breeden, American Dumpster’s lead singer and primary songwriter, that I clipped from the Charlottesville Daily while writing a story about Floyd Fandango for the Floyd Press still stands: “a young Bob Dylan’s charisma with Howlin’ Wolf’s voice.” 
According to the American Dumpster webpage, the band’s name suggests “a recycling movement of ideas” and relates to Breeden’s family farm: His family home just outside Charlottesville, Virginia is a curious nexus where art, agriculture, industry, and intellect merge in the most unpredictable ways. The Breeden farm is home not only to Biscuit Run Studios, a sculpture studio and long-standing institution in the Virginia art scene, but also to an extensive junkyard of rusted cars, motorcycles, farm tractors, and assorted machinery.
“Look what happened to the Dave Matthews Band (also from Charlottesville), I said to Joe as we listened to one band member doing a washboard solo, “maybe they’ll be famous someday.” The dancing heated up, and Floyd musician, Billy Miller, joined the band onstage.
At the break, a group of us gathered at a table, like the American Dumpster Floyd fan club chapter, talking about the band. Yarrow leaned in when she heard the name of the lead singer. Turns out she knows him. They were both raised unconventionally in artist’s farm communities and had run into each other from time to time on the art and craft show circuit scene.
November 25th, 2006 12:18 pm
Sounds like you had a great time even if you did lose a beer! Here today from Michele’s
November 25th, 2006 12:24 pm
Wow…it sounds like it was a lot of fun. I like to dance as well but rarely have a chance to do it any more. Hope you have a fantastic day.
I sort of came here via Michele’s. I got your site from a comment a few above the last one. 🙂
November 25th, 2006 1:34 pm
I love that you and Joe LOVE to dance! Besides being fun…It’s great excersize!
I am unfamiliar with all the bands and musicians you mentioned.
November 25th, 2006 4:54 pm
For a amall town, you sure have a ton of live music happenin’ that you can enjoy! Amazing what talent lurks everywhere.
November 25th, 2006 5:20 pm
Seeing that crowd and thinking about the pounding music makes me tired. Is that a washboard there?
November 25th, 2006 7:38 pm
The next time you go dancing, you should make a sign to hang around the neck of the beer, saying “I’ll be baaaaaaack!”
November 25th, 2006 7:59 pm
Visiting from Michele’s…..that’s what I was going to tell you about that disappearing beer….make a sign, “DO NOT TOUCH”….geeze, nothing’s sacred anymore…not even beer that’s not empty yet.
November 25th, 2006 7:59 pm
Sounds like a lot of fun. And the bands have great names too. Loving the acoustic vibe too. I saw at a folk music festival in the Summer and we had some similar grooves.
You should check out Whole Wheat radio on the net, if you don’t already know them.
Best.
rashbre
November 25th, 2006 8:06 pm
Here’s a linkie to Whole Wheat and you can subscribe via iTunes (free). Great to just stream it.
November 25th, 2006 10:20 pm
getting your groove on, huh? sounds fun! i haven’t done that for a while! people don’t dance around here. that’s what i miss about asheville, too- all the awesome music and EVERYONE dances!!!
November 26th, 2006 8:07 am
Well you guys know how to party. Interesting band and even more interesting name. Checked out their site…they have a nice sound.
November 26th, 2006 8:11 am
You sound like such a happenin’ chick! LOL. Your blog always makes me smile or think. So glad you are enjoying life.
November 26th, 2006 7:17 pm
Martin said to tell you he is grateful for the review, he could dance vicariously through you and Larry Kreager! (we glimpsed Larry in the photo) Looks like a blast and I really hate we missed it. MArtin now has my bug so I guess it is moving right along…..
November 26th, 2006 8:32 pm
Frankly, I don’t like what happened to the Dave Matthews Band~,:^)
Floyd is such an incredible place. It defies many things. One day I’m swinging through there. Maybe I’ll round up the Incroyable, and we’ll band-battle the Dumpsters (even though most of the Incroyables look like, if no are, insurance salesmen). I think it’s all down to how you shake it, right? Bring ’em on!
November 27th, 2006 1:11 am
Dancing is my favorite form of exercise — I’m the same way, even if I’m the only one on the dance floor. I like the idea of hanging a note on the beer….