Dan Deacon isn't too fazed by the dire state of the U.S. economy. But then, his musical aspirations aren't of the monetary sort. Reached via e-mail on the eve of the start of his Baltimore Round Robin tour, Deacon says money didn't really factor in to his decision to take 60 Baltimoreans out on the road for a handful of East Coast and Midwest dates. So while stock markets continue to rise and recede almost as frequently as the daily tides ebb and flow, Deacon's hard at work planning additional dates for this quasi-festival tour.

In sports, a "round robin" is a tournament where teams or players play one another to determine a winner (think soccer's World Cup). Deacon's musical version of a round-robin tournament consists of all the evening's bands setting up their equipment along the walls of the venue.

The audience watches the show from the center. Each band plays a song, and then passes things off to one of the other groups.

"The idea came up back in 2005, when five Baltimore bands met up randomly on tour in Tallahassee," says Deacon. "No one wanted to open or close, so I suggested we all play at once, sort of as a joke. When we realized we could do it, we all set up in the tiny living room of the house we were playing. It went over really well and was tons of fun. After that night, I couldn't stop thinking about how much it changed the dynamic of the show."

Not long after this apparently life-altering experience, the opportunity for a bunch of Baltimore bands to play round robin-style came up again.

This time, it centered on Deacon's Wham City art collective, which was preparing to leave its current digs. Deacon figured that two massive nights of music would be the best way to say goodbye to their old stomping grounds. So they organized one night of music tailor-made for watching ("Eyes Night") and another night of music made for dancing ("Feet Night"). According to Deacon, "it was a fucking blast." And so the idea of the Baltimore Round Robin went from an experiment to a tangible product. A year later, Deacon took the first Baltimore Round Robin tour around the world. The maiden voyage featured 30 musicians and stopped in four cities along the Eastern seaboard. Deacon says the experience was "the most fun I've ever had on the road."

The only thing seemingly stopping him from doing it again is his own busy schedule.

After the release of 2007's critically acclaimed Spiderman of the Rings, Deacon became a fixture on the indie touring circuit. His sweat-soaked performances became the stuff of legend.

The last time Cleveland laid eyes on him - back in January - he was promoting his Ultimate Reality DVD at a stellar Grog Shop set. But the idea of doing another Baltimore Round Robin tour was always in the back of his mind. And when it happened again, Deacon wanted to raise the stakes. "Being an American, I'm obsessed with the idea of how growth is best," he says. "This time around, the tour is double the personnel with twice as many cities."

This incarnation of the Baltimore Round Robin tour includes 60 musicians, totaling 29 bands.

The Baltimoreans are divided among three distinct groups. "Eyes Night" includes Beach House, Jana Hunter, Wzt Hearts, Nautical Almanac, Lexie Mountain Boys and others. "Feet Night" features the Death Set, Video Hippos, Future Islands, Adventure and Deacon himself. The final group, dubbed the "Weird Round," includes an assortment of harder-to-categorize acts that will be randomly dispersed over the two nights. Deacon is also a member of Ram Ones and Sports Ghosts, both of which are part of the "Weird Round."

In addition to playing both nights, Deacon will be running sound and helping out wherever else he's needed. He says his sets on the Baltimore Round Robin tour will consist of new and old material. His latest album, Bromst, is complete and should be out in early 2009.

While touring musicians typically play a town one night and leave the next morning, Deacon is excited to play multiple days in the same town. He may actually spend the time trying to rustle up some grease from local restaurants, since the musicians travel in a school bus that has been converted to run on waste.

So between a new album, his own tours and the Baltimore Round Robin tour, Deacon's obviously got a lot on his proverbial plate.

"It feels like work, but good work," he says. "I like to work, and I like to stay busy. It doesn't feel like a chore or obligation, and I don't think it ever will. I'm not really sure how it could."

music@clevescene.com