The Dynosaurs (a.k.a. the “Dynos”) is a studio rock band.  We are Brian Payne, Don Williams, Gord Byrd, and Mike Moxam.  We are all from the West Island of Montreal and have known each other for more than 50 years.

The Dynosaurs is a studio band.  The Dynos do not perform publicly, but the way our songs are recorded gives the band’s recordings a live feel.

The band was formed in 2010.  Since then, the Dynosaurs have written and recorded 190 original songs.  The songs were recorded during 36 scheduled sessions.  A key aspect of the recording sessions is that we do everything ourselves, including the mixing of audio tracks.

Writing and recording songs is an ongoing process.  The Dynosaurs are keeping track of the dates, locations, and song titles for each recording session.  We have lots of photographs.

Initially, the Dynosaurs were influenced musically by Canadian, British, and American singer/songwriters and rock bands of the 1960s and 70s.  Over time, the musical interests of the band have widened, and the Dynos continue to derive a lot of pleasure from the evolution of the rock genre.

The Dynosaurs aren’t getting any younger, but we intend to continue writing and recording songs as long as we can.  Ours is an evolving story, which we intend to share with you by introducing new tracks weekly.  The Dynos have lots of original songs and stories and photographs to publish, so stay tuned.  We hope you enjoy what we have to offer the world!

Music Creation

The Dynosaurs are a studio band.  The only time we performed was at Mike’s 60th birthday party, which was a small intimate gathering of family and friends.

Our songs are all original.  Don and Mike do most of the songwriting.  Both Don and Mike have also collaborated with Gord to write some songs.  All our songs are subject to copyright law.

The Dynosaurs are originally from Montreal, but members of the Dynos now live near Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.  One of the Dynos also has a cottage near Bancroft, Ontario.  All of the Dynosaurs’ songs have been recorded in our homes, which several times a year on a rotational basis are converted into recording studios.

A typical Dynos recording session starts on a Friday afternoon or evening and ends on a Sunday morning or early afternoon.  We do everything together during these sessions including rehearsing and recording new songs, cooking and eating, discussing current affairs, getting some outdoor exercise, and having a few drinks and a lot of laughs.

Music creation with the Dynosaurs is a collaborative process.  Each new song goes through a transformation from the moment it is first introduced to the group until we all agree that a recording is good enough to go into post-production (i.e., “no major f*ckups”).  Sometimes a song’s arrangement will evolve of its own accord.  Other times, it will need some discussion, particularly with respect to how each song begins and ends – oftentimes with a drum flourish from Brian.

Gord is the recording and mixing master.  After each Dyno recording session, Gord works on the tracks in his home studio, which he calls SGTM (“Sounds Good To Me”).  When he’s happy with his wizardry, he distributes the .mp3 files to the other members of the band.  Et voila!  

Dynosaur Code

From the song 'Dynosaur Road': 

“If you go down Dynosaur Road

You've got to live by the Dynosaur code

Love while you live, live ‘til you die

Leave a big footprint under the sky”