Sunny Day Real Estate
When they issued their Diary in 1994, no one would have guessed the ripple effect it would have. Jeremy Enigk’s voice knows no limits on its upward arc and his unabashed fervor combined with the band’s stop-start dynamics to thoroughly alter the indie-rock landscape. Diary hit a lot of kids just graduating from punk rock who were ready to move on to something more expressive and perhaps more melodic; the album became both a primary building block of latter-day emo and an indirect inspiration for many other bands (it’s hard to imagine the dour attitude of Modest Mouse, for example, without them). Its sound also helped steer the image of Sub Pop beyond the grunge that made its name. And that internal combustion you heard from Enigk was real: Soon after _Diary_’s success, he embraced Christianity, which has colored his work since—with or without Sunny Day (which has disbanded and regrouped twice, most recently as the Fire Theft) as well as on ambitious solo albums like the subdued, orchestral Return of the Frog Queen in 1996. —MM
Because of them… Emo made it to the masses.
Now hear this: Chiming, sparse guitars and murmured vocals form the heart of the band’s anthem, “In Circles,” from Diary.
Paul Tutmarc
Singing radio star, musician, bandleader, teacher—Tutmarc was a man of many accomplishments. But it’s an invention for which history will honor him. As a player of the guitar, banjo, and Hawaiian steel guitar, he opened a music school in 1931 and around the same time began a series of experiments which led to an innovative electromagnetic pickup device that could electrify and amplify various musical instruments. By 1934, Tutmarc had launched a line of electric Hawaiian-style “lap steel” guitars which he played around town and sold to his students. But his biggest claim to fame was the creation in 1936 of the Audiovox No. 736 Electronic Bass Fiddle—an instrument that beat Fender’s far more famous electric bass to the marketplace by 15 years. In the ’40s, Tutmarc and his bride, Bonnie, began performing country music; she scored her first of many national hits under the stage name Bonnie Guitar in 1957. Their daughter, Paula Tutmarc, became a successful folk-rock recording artist in the 1960s, while a great-grandson, Shane Tutmarc, is currently a rising artist on Seattle’s alt music scene. —PB
Because of him… The guitar went electric.
Now hear this: Tutmarc’s vintage recordings are near impossible to find, but in 2004 the Collector label issued a proto-rockabilly compilation CD, Steamline Boppin’, that includes his (and Bonnie Guitar’s) zingy gem, “Midget Auto Blues.”
The Ventures
Don Wilson and Bob Bogle were Tacoma construction workers when they founded their band back in 1958. Those brick-and-mortar beginnings are fitting since, without the Ventures, instrumental music might never have gotten off the ground as an offshoot that gave us Booker T. and the MGs and even popular progressive rock like Pink Floyd. Launched on the airwaves with a chance spin by famed Seattle DJ Pat O’Day, the band’s “Walk—Don’t Run”—with its iconic lockstep lounge cool—grew from a regional novelty to an international hit. Others would follow (e.g., the theme to TV’s Hawaii Five-O). All of them relied on the fleet, fiery fingers of guitarist Nokie Edwards rather than a vocalist, an untested concept at the time that nonetheless worked—the band would go on to sell over 100 million records. With the guitar the focal point of their music, they were one of the first groups to experiment with their sound—using fuzz pedals and reverse tracking before they became a part of Heavy Metal 101—and threw around the term “concept album” before the Who’s Pete Townshend penned his first rock opera. Although the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have been relegated to surf-rock compilations here in the States, they’re still huge in Japan, where their albums outsell the Fab Four by a ratio of 2-to-1. Not bad for a couple of bricklayers. —BB
Because of them… Guitar rock’s unlimited possibilities inspired legions of bands.
Now hear this: Walk—Don’t Run: The Best of the Ventures follows the band through nearly 50 years of surf, space, and psych-rock incarnations.
Published: December 2008
Agreed but would like to add another musician to list. Omar Torrez, most recently on world tour with Tom Waits as his lead guitarist. He is making a splash in other countries and has returned to his blues roots, but with an edgy quality that only playing with Tom Waits could achieve. Hot new music from Seattle’s own.
I have always thought this was true, so many people just………………?
Looking forward to watching this dvd.
I`ve been a Hendrix fan for so many years.
JIMI HENDRIX MURDERED? “NOT IMPROBABLE” SAYS NOEL REDDING…
The name Jimi Hendrix conjures up some of the most colourful and wildest moments that the sixties produced. Hendrix arrived, he conquered and took the music world by storm, got inside your head and went onto the great gig in the sky – all by the age of 27.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience , left you in no doubt that it was exactly that – an experience.
A trio of musicians who came together from both sides of the Atlantic and found common ground, fame and for one third of the group not very much fortune.
For Noel Redding the bass player in the group the experience was not to be forgotten. Since the death of Hendrix 40 years ago, much as been documented about him and the group.
Looking back to the sixties and you could be thinking you are on another planet. Any history relating to that period is taken up with music and culture. The Jimi Hendrix Experience played
it’s part.
Making a timely appearance is a DVD that is being put out by Discs International, containing a never before seen interview with Noel Redding recorded at his home in Ireland in 1988.
It makes fascinating viewing. All the years of seeing film of them in concert and photographs of Hendrix, Redding and Mitchell, you find yourself sitting in a living room not with just a legend – but an ordinary guy talking about his early days with the group. No rock star here, no pretentious name dropping, just plain talking. Listening to him you are left wondering how they made it to top.
I asked producer Will Scally who had the foresight to record this interview how it all came about. “ I had known and been friends with Noel for many years and always found him a very upfront, straightforward guy. We often spoke about doing an interview, he wanted to speak about the band, money, drugs and the death of Hendrix and much more – even speaking about the possibility of Hendrix being murdered. He was on good form that day and wanted to record this for posterity.Sadly Noel Redding died back in 2003 aged 57
For those interested in Hendrix, Redding and the history of sixties rock music this rare visual documentary should not be missed. The Redding Experience Release date
NOVEMBER 2010.
Barry LeveneThis comment has been removed.
Give Floyd Standifer some love, people. I’m sad he’s not on this list.
http://www.seattlepi.com/pop/300902_standifer24.html