Background
Dalia Shusterman was born December 25, 1973 in Montreal, Canada to a French Modern Orthodox Jewish family.
Dalia Shusterman was born December 25, 1973 in Montreal, Canada to a French Modern Orthodox Jewish family.
Shusterman attended the State University of New York at Purchase, where she studied philosophy and literature.
She played piano as a child, but discovered her talent for drums at an Earth First New Year"s Eve party when she was 16, after playing the hired band"s hand drums while they were on break and getting a positive response from the people in attendance. Inspired by this, she started hitchhiking across the country and giving street performances. This was particularly successful in New Orleans, where the jazz music she was playing got her access to several local stages, Mardi Gras parades, and even onstage at the New Orleans Jazz Festival.
While still an undergraduate, a friend convinced her to play a full-on drum kit in the opening act for the band Boss Hog.
Hopewell
In 1993, Shusterman and bassist Jason "Whip" Merrit joined brothers Jason and Justin Russo of Mercury Rev to form the psychedelic rock band Hopewell. The group recorded a series of 7" singles before releasing their 1998 debut album Contact on Burnt Hair Records.
The record was promoted by a small string of shows until the band went on hiatus, during which time the Russos toured with Mercury Rev and Merrit recorded a solo album, Song Song. The band regrouped in 1999 to record their second album, The Curved Glass, which was released in October 2000 by Priapus Records.
The album received critical acclaim and was promoted by a performance at the English Reading and Leeds Festivals, as well as an extensive European tour.
In September 2001, Shusterman, while in Manhattan, received a flyer for a Sukkot event in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn and decided to attend. Bulletproof Stockings
The group released their debut European Parliament, Down to the Top, on April 1, 2012. Since then, they have toured throughout New York and Los Angeles and announced plans to expand their lineup and release a full-length album.