Gabriel the Marine

Gabriel the Marine is a Long Island rock band known for lush music with orchestral jazz influences. Founded in 2008, the band has garnered praise from the likes of Spin Magazine and played several rock festivals while releasing a demo called "Gabriel the Marine" and an EP titled "Your Friends and Loved Ones". Current members are lead singer and guitarist Michael Desmond, singer, pianist and violinist Dylan Ebrahimian, Dominick D'Agostino on guitar, Jesse Lyons on bass, and Tom Davis on drums.

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In 2007, neighbors Dylan Ebrahimian and Michael Desmond decided to write songs together despite having fought often when younger. Ebrahimian took members from another band he was in, The Farewell Effect, and they began playing in a Bayville church. They put up a song, “The Invocation of Gabriel”, on Myspace, while they worked on their actual material. In February of 2008, the band debuted those songs and the name "Gabriel the Marine" at Village South Pub.

The band went into the studio in April of 2008 with Nick Zinnati to record their self-titled demo. On the EP were the tracks "Maybe Baby", "The Gold Coast", "Twilight in the Sun", and "Lovely Bones". The two other members, drummer John Leibold and guitarist Craig Kleila left the band for college before the EP was released. After some searching the band announced in October of 2008 that Dominick D'Agostino and Tom Davis would be joining the lineup.

With Mark Herburger on bass, Gabriel recorded an EP produced by Mike Watts. Because of the great support the band received from family and friends, they titled it "Your Friends and Loved Ones". After posting the songs online the band caught the attention of Spin Magazine, which described them as "Jimmy Eats World meets The Decemberists". Absolutepunk praised their orchestral sound as phenomenal rock.

The band performed at the 2009 Bamboozle Festival and Spin Magazine named them one of the 15 "Must Hear" bands of the festival. Later that month Robbie Hassett replaced bassist Mark Herburger. Soon after, Gabriel went on a US summer tour with A Love Like Pi, Theatre Breaks Loose, and Asteria. They also played shows opening for The Deer Hunter and The Sleeping.

In the fall the band officially released "Your Friends and Loved Ones" which was well received critically. Newsday praised their storytelling ability and tender post-emo musicality. The track “The Ocean” was featured on the television show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”.

In October of 2009 Gabriel played the CMJ Music Marathon and recorded the set. The recording was released in December of that year by Purevolume and was entitled, “Live at the Purevolume House”.

In December, the band opened for Danish indie rock band Mew for a portion of their North American tour after winning a contest. Later that month Gabriel opened the Christmas party of Sons Modern that featured the influential band Glassjaw.

The next month the band launched a tour of the east coast with Ocean is Theory and John Nolan. Robbie Hassett left the band soon afterward and Gabriel spent the next few months writing new songs and looking for a replacement. Jesse Lyons came on as the new bassist in April 2010. Also at that time the band signed with Strong Management.

In May 2010 Gabriel played the Bamboozle festival for the second year in a row. They also did a northeast tour with the band Hotspur. The next month Gabriel opened for Taking Back Sunday in Chicago as part of their June tour.

Gabriel the Marine continues to play shows and is currently working on their debut album.