The Silver Sun Pickups

Image courtesy of Travel DK

In my previous post I mentioned that Silverlake was the Meca of Indie music. As of right now there is no question about that. The amount of bands coming out of Silverlake and the general vibe of the city would confirm that without a shadow of a doubt. In my opinion I think there are several cities that contribute to the Indie scene. One city in particular is Seattle, home of grunge, Starbucks, Microsoft, and the almighty SubPop. I was fortunate enough to grow up about 5 minutes from downtown, in the University district of Seattle. The city itself is a plethora of different scenes and cultures, and if your not a native, you simply write the city off as being too rainy and trying to manage in a post grunge music scene.

This is quite the contrary to what the stereotype would have everyone believe. Seattle is a city full of music, and would arguably be called the birthplace of Indie Pop. When walking the streets of Seattle it’s easy to find someone who would seem offbeat and doesn’t quiet mesh with the surrounding city. When you take a step back you realize that is what the city is made of, there is a wide variety of people who don’t really fall into one category, but somehow find balance and harmony with everyone around them. The city is Home to Death Cab For Cutie, Modest Mouse, The Postal Service, Gatsbys American Dream, and The Blood Brothers, just to name a few. My own personal experiences have taken me to the famous Showbox, all the way to The Basement, a tiny little club no bigger, then well, a basement. From these experiences I have heard and met some amazing bands that make up Seattle’s Indie scene.

The Postal Service may be the most well known Indie Pop bands, but certainly not the only ones. If you pick up The Stranger you will find a local band calendar full of Indie Pop bands, just waiting to tickle your senses with Pop ditties that will make you tap your toes and want to go out and buy a Breeders album. One band that made my Indie pop meter go haywire was a band called Shake Some Action! The band came out of the ashes of The Jeunes, and consists of James Hall, David Bos, Garry Miller, and Chris Campbell. There name comes from a Flamin Groovies album released in the late 70’s and the sound is not to far off. There music is not a deep dive into introspective listening, but rather a happy bit of Indie Pop that is easy to grove to. There live show is exciting as well as a good time for anyone who attends.

One band that is worth of a mention is Dolour the brain child of Shane Tutmarc. Dolour first came to the surface in 97 as a full group of guys and not one man. Eventually the others disbanded and the name and sound was left on the shoulders of Tutmarc. The result was a pop sound that turned Seattle on it’s ear, and had the entire world trying to copy it. It should come as no surprise that the city has facilitated some of the greatest artists of our generation, and encourages anyone who goes there to think outside the box. The artists from Seattle know that they are not from L.A., and the scene in the Northwest is far removed from everything else that is going on in the world. True it’s not sunny like California, or as trendy as the East coast, but it has it’s own flavor and take on the world. And the local Indie scene knows that.

There is no denying that Seattle does not turn their back on the Indie scene. With every year a new group of kids are added to the fray, and none are taken out of the mix. It could be said that Seattle is building up to explode again, and make Indie Pop our generations Grunge. The city and the scene need no validation from the rest of the country. They are happy with what they are doing, and rather then follow the trend, would like to create one on there own. We can thank Nirvana for opening up the doors to Seattle, but being a one trick pony is not the city’s bag, or will it be its claim to fame. One thing that is for sure is that be it Indie Pop or not, the scene and music will stand the test of time, and make the next generation in Seattle and the rest of the world stand back and pay there respects to a scene that paved the way.