Dreams So Real

For the Gary Burton album, seeDreams So Real (album).

Dreams So Real
L - R:Worsham, Allen, Marler
Background information
Origin	Athens,Georgia,United States
Genres	Rock,alternative
Years active	1983–1993 (reunions: 2009, 2012, 2019)
Labels	Arista Records
Website	Dreams So Real Official Website Dreams So Real on Facebook @DreamsSoReal on Twitter

Dreams So Realwas an Americanalternative rockband fromAthens, Georgia,who gained national exposure in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They recorded three albums, including two releases onArista Records.

History

The trio was led by songwriter Barry Marler on lead vocals and guitar, with Trent Allen on bass and backing vocals and Drew Worsham on drums.Sheryl CrowguitaristPeter Stroudwas a member during the band's later years. Formed in 1983 when its members met in an Athens record store, their debut single, "Everywhere Girl" produced byPeter BuckofR.E.M.,was released in 1985 and was very successful on college radio. Buck also produced their first album, 1986'sFather's House.The band gained a bit more exposure by performing their song "Golden" (called "Steps" in the movie's end notes) inAthens, GA: Inside/Out,a rock documentary on their hometown music scene.

Dreams So Real signed toArista Recordsand releasedRough Night in Jerichoin 1988. The title track earned some success, reaching No. 28 on theBillboardMainstream Rock Chart and receiving heavyMTVairplay. A follow-up single, "Bearing Witness" also cracked Billboard's Rock Chart. The album would reach the Billboard Hot 200, peaking at No. 150.

The 1990 follow-up album,Gloryline,met with less success both critically and commercially. Soon after, Arista dropped the band and Dreams So Real soon drifted apart. As a kind of parting gift, the band released a collection of outtakes, rarities and B-sides titledNocturnal Omissions,made available through their fan-club mailing list, and while on tour.

After the breakup

Marler and Allen briefly reformed with the band Ether in the late 1990s, but have since appeared to have mostly left music behind. Marler is a bioinformatics analyst at the University of Georgia, while Allen became a graphic artist and entrepreneur as founder of Baseline SportsMedia, a company specializing in graphic design and fan photography.

In 2003 drummer Drew Worsham was shot in the face during a home invasion by a man who was reported to be Worsham's girlfriend's ex-boyfriend. Reports said the man subsequently kidnapped and fatally shot the girlfriend before putting a bullet through his own head.Worsham miraculously survived as the bullet lodged in his cheek bone and never reached his brain, and has recovered to return to his post-Dreams So Real music projects as well as his work as a computer systems analyst.

The band received mention in a number ofR.E.M.biographies detailing their success and importance to the scene, including Marcus Gray'sIt Crawled from the Southand David Buckley'sR.E.M.: Fiction.Dreams So Real also appears in the "Athens, GA - Inside Out" movie, which is available on DVD.

The band reunited in 2009 forAthfestand again in 2012 for two shows in Atlanta and their hometown of Athens. Around that time, they re-established a web presence atdreamssoreal,which has been fairly dormant since 2012. Marler has also performed some shows as part of a new combo called Sticks & Bones.

Discography

• "Everywhere Girl b/w Whirl" - 45 rpm single - 1985
• Father's House- Coyote Records - 1986
• Rough Night in Jericho-Arista Records- 1988
• Gloryline-Arista Records- 1990
• Nocturnal Omissions- Self-released - 1992

External links

• Allmusic
• Jan. 1, 2004 Creative Loafing article