UF = Unlikely Friends = a bunch of people from other bands who decided to put together another band. The members include David Crane and Mark McKenzie (BOAT) & Charles Bert (Math & Physics Club) and Chris Mac (Jigsaw Records). Jackson Long (BOAT/KEXP) recorded it and Jay Cox (The Ivory Coast, The Sea Navy) joins them live. (Editor's note: Jay is also the GM of this website). A true NW band - Charles lives in Olympia, David lives in Tacoma and the rest of the guys live in Seattle.
1. When you think "Northwest Music" what performer or band or song do you think of?
David Crane/BOAT: I think of Mudhoney...Built to Spill...The Sonics???
Charles Bert/Math & Physics Club: For me it's probably Young Fresh Fellows. Maybe it's because their first record was called "The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest," but my friends and I used to see them play all the time. There were so many great bands...Fastbacks, Posies, Dharma Bums, Flop. Even though grunge was blowing up, those were the bands that I wanted to write songs like.
Jackson Long: In lieu of picking a DCFC or Pearl Jam song, I'm going to go with Modest Mouse "Dramamine." I haven't kept up with them over the years, but to me that's the quintessential "indie" song. For a time, it was law that you had to know how to play that one guitar or drums before starting a band in the NW.
Chris Mac/Jigsaw Records: When I think of NW music, I think of two distinct styles. The first is the experimental and playful pop sounds of K Records and its ilk, including the Crabs, Beat Happening, the Microphones, Karl Blau, etc, etc. The other type of music I think of is that really mopey, vaguely emo-y style. I won't name names, but let's just say that though I've always really liked Death Cab For Cutie, pretty much any other band that follows in that style is yawn city. But there's just something definitively northwestern about those two music styles, I think.
2. Favorite northwest hideout/hangout spot?
David: I like Puget Sound Pizza in Tacoma...Guitar Maniacs...Spaghetti Factory???
Charles: Gasworks Park with a roast pork sandwich from Paseo on a sunny day. Or the beach.
Chris: Besides my house? I'll say anywhere that there's a good show happening. I do love a good show.
Jackson: Can I be a broken record and say Safeco Field? It's two blocks from Hear Me Shimmer. I know, this city is all about the Seahawks, and "I'm in," but baseball is different. You don't have know anything about baseball to enjoy the outing. I caught about 15 games last year, mostly on cheap scalped tickets. I dig the leisure of catching a game with friends or my wife. I'm already looking forward to standing 10 feet from King Felix while he throws his bullpen to Mike Zunino.
3. Favorite record store?
David: My favorite record store is Jared Galleria of Jewelry in Tacoma. It used to be a pretty awesome Tower Records. Every time I drive by it makes me remember the scent of shrink wrap. I remember going there on Tuesdays after school to buy albums when they came out.
Charles: Rainy Day Records is an institution in Olympia where I live. When I was a kid I used to rush down there every two weeks to pick up the latest Rocket and immediately flip to the calendar to see which bands were on tour.
4. Northwest band/performer that we don't know about that you know about that you want to tell us about?
David: The Nightgowns are the best band that ever came out of the NW . It is unreal that they are not the hugest band in the USA. Trevor Dickson should be considered a national treasure.
Charles: This question makes me feel old.
Chris: Local bands I love? Let's start with Iji, Craig Salt Peters, Neighbors, Pitschouse, Megabog (except Erin's kind of in NYC now), Blooper and Your Heart Breaks - the latter two I like so much that I joined 'em! This is by no means a definitive list; just what I could name off the top of my head (sorry, friends' bands who accidentally got left out!).
Jackson: St. Paul and the Broken Bones. They are a soul band from Birmingham, Alabama. They're in town next month for KEXP + Starbucks "Little Big Show." I discovered them last year when I was booked to mix their KEXP in-studio. Fans of the Daptone label, or any old Stax record will dig these guys for sure… but what put it over the top for me was the singer Paul Janeway. You don't expect this humble, sort-of, nerdy guy to bust out moves, jump into the crowd and to sing his guts out. He's totally lovable. Oh my god, he's the soul version of D. Crane.
5. How did you get involved in UF?
David: This band started at Bluebird MicroCreamery at the Three Imaginary Girls Anniversary Party. Charles was kind enough to humor me and sing with me, without any practice. That's when I knew he was up for having a good time and not worrying too much. We can nock out an album in a couple days in the right garage or living room.
Charles: Dave invited me and Chris over to record a few songs. It was like 90 degrees in his garage, and I’m pretty sure Dave was just making up the songs as we went along, but there must have been a little musty magic in that garage. We've since added Mark McKenzie from BOAT and Jay Cox from The Sea Navy to the mix.
Chris: Dave asked me and I said yes; simple as that! I more often than not accept offers to be in bands, especially with friends. Right now, I'm only in two other bands, Blooper (on bass) and Your Heart Breaks (on drums), though who knows what 2015 will bring! I do indeed run a record label, called Jigsaw Records. This May is actually our 20-year anniversary - the debut Suretoss 7" (PZL001) came out in May 1995! We were active in the '90s, dormant in the '00s, and hyper-active in this decade. Last year saw 35 releases on cd, vinyl and cassette, and I love each and every one of 'em! Also note: the debut UF cd will be out on Jigsaw on January 27th.
Jackson: Making "Solid Gold Cowboys" was a highlight of 2014. It led me back to playing drums for BOAT again. I left BOAT in 2012 and lost touch with D. Crane a bit until the summer of 2013 when we caught a Rainiers game in Tacoma. Afterwords D. played me some fuzzy garage band demos that he and Charles had been working on. They were like the BOAT demos I loved, but with Charles' smooth vocals and 12-string guitar in the mix. A few months later, D. hit me up saying they wanted to make the "ultimate pop record.."
It's different than BOAT because I was actually hired to do it! That was a joke, but honestly, when you are getting paid make a record for someone, there are ground rules that are different from when you are recording for your own band. You have to let the band decide how quickly they want to be moving. Needless to say, we moved quickly for our 2 days at Soundhouse (aka "Jack Endino's House"). We got basic tracks for 8 songs.
Then tracks were taken back to my studio, Hear Me Shimmer, where I was encouraged to drop Dick Vitale samples subconsciously into mixes and replicate Chad Vangaalen's vocal delays. And we really abused this little 8bit recorder I have that that plays samples on repeat backwards and forwards at different speeds. I knew things were coming along nicely when my mom visited me at the studio one day while I was mixing and asked, "Is this R-E-M?"
All horsing around aside, people Dave and Charles come up with hooky songs innately and that's why this is a cool record. The songs are pretty bite size, but they can all get stuck in your head.
6. Does this mean BOAT and Math and Physics Club are done performing?
David: No. BOAT is working on new songs.
Charles: Nah, but right now we're having fun and running with it.
7. Have you recorded a record? If yes, when does it come out?
David: There is a record coming out on January 27th. Rumor has it there is a record release show at the Rendezvous on February 21st. There is also a second album underway entitled UF2.
Charles: Yes! “Solid Gold Cowboys” will be out Jan. 27 on cassette from Mirror Universe and CD from Chris' own Jigsaw label.
