Seaweed (band)
Seaweed | |
---|---|
Origin | Tacoma, Washington, United States |
Genres | Punk rock, alternative rock, post-hardcore[1] |
Years active | 1989–1999 2007–2014 |
Labels | |
Members | Aaron Stauffer Clint Werner Wade Neal John Atkins Bob Bulgrien Alan Cage Jesse Fox |
Seaweed was an American band from
History
Seaweed and Despised (1989–1991)
The band started out in 1989, consisting of vocalist Aaron Stauffer, guitarist Clint Werner, guitarist Wade Neal, bassist John Atkins, and drummer Bob Bulgrien. All five members were still attending high school at the time, and most of them were already active in other local bands. Their early influences included a wide variety of bands, such as Soundgarden, Dag Nasty, Minor Threat, Black Flag,[3] Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum, Iron Maiden, the Beatles, Misfits, 7 Seconds, Melvins, Screaming Trees, Beat Happening, and Nirvana.[4]
Their first major tour was alongside the band
In 1990, Seaweed signed to the thriving Seattle label Sub Pop. The label wanted a single but the band wanted a full-length album.[5] They met halfway, and released the EP Despised. Six songs were brand new tracks, recorded with producer Jack Endino. The remaining four tracks were slightly remixed from their previous release, Seaweed; thus, angering their former label Tupelo. On foreign editions of the album, the aforementioned four tracks were not included. A music video was created for "One Out of Four" off of Despised, which was the band's first music video of their career.
Weak and Four (1992–1994)
The band continued their relationship with Sub Pop, releasing their third major release (and first actual full-length album) in 1992, titled Weak. Again produced by Endino, the band supported the album with a summer U.S. tour, followed by a condensed European tour with the band Pavement, stretching 69 shows over 71 days. Also in 1992, the band made an in-studio appearance on the radio program hosted by John Peel.[6] After the exhausting touring schedule, the band went home to record their follow-up album.
After impressing Sub Pop with their self-production work on a single titled "Measure", the label allowed the band to self-produce their 1993 effort Four (the title referred to the album as the band's fourth major release).
Spanaway and Actions and Indications (1995–1999)
After fulfilling their contract to Sub Pop, Seaweed signed a contract with the major record label
Afterwards, the band experienced their first lineup change as drummer Bulgrien left the band. He was replaced by
Reunion (2007–2014)
In 2007, Seaweed reunited to play sporadic shows, including Sub Pop's 20th anniversary show in 2008.[11] The reunited lineup included new member Jesse Fox on drums. The band had mentioned a new album was being recorded, titled Small Engine Repair. The album never came to fruition, as the band did not have a creative drive, and also did not want to extensively tour. A few songs from the sessions were later released in 2011, as the "Service Deck"/"The Weight" single. A third song was later released in the summer of 2014, "Rusty Ranch", on a compilation titled MAWP Comp Volume 1.[12] Seaweed played various shows and festivals from 2007 to 2014, but no full tour. Their last show was in May 2014. Frontman Stauffer later worked as a nurse in Northern California and said in an interview that "It’s hard to play a show because it hurts me physically. I only have one show in me. I can't do two."[13]
Since Seaweed's albums spanned different labels, the only release to see a reissue to date is 1999's Actions and Indications, which also included three unreleased bonus tracks as a download.[7]
Band members
- Aaron Stauffer – vocals (1989–1999, 2007–2014)
- Clint Werner – guitar (1989–1999, 2007–2014)
- Wade Neal – guitar (1989–1999, 2007–2014)
- John Atkins – bass (1989–1999, 2007–2014)
- Bob Bulgrien – drums (1989–1996)
- Alan Cage – drums (1996–1999)
- Jesse Fox – drums (2007–2014)
Discography
Albums
- Seaweed (EP) (1990, Leopard Gecko/Tupelo)
- Despised (EP) (1991, Sub Pop)
- Weak (1992, Sub Pop)
- Four (1993, Sub Pop)
- Spanaway (1995, Hollywood Records)
- Actions and Indications (1999, Merge Records)
Singles
- Seaweed 7" (1989, Leopard Gecko)
- "Inside"
- "Stargirl"
- "Re-think"
- "Love Gut"
- Just a Smirk 7" (1990, Leopard Gecko)
- "Just a Smirk"
- "Installing"
- Seaweed/Superchunk/Geek" (1990, Leopard Gecko)
- "Patchwork"
- Deertrap 7" (1991, K Records)
- "Deertrap"
- "Carousel"
- Bill 7" (1992, Subpop)
- "Bill"
- "Pumpkin (Wwax)"
- Bill 12"/CD (1992, Subpop)
- "Bill"
- "Pumpkin (Wwax)"
- "Squint: The Killerest Expression"
- Measure 7" (1992, Subpop)
- "Measure"
- "Turnout"
- Measure 12"/CD (1992, Subpop)
- "Measure"
- "Turnout"
- "Taxing" (demo version)
- Go Your Own Way CD (1993, Subpop)
- "Go Your Own Way"
- "Losing Skin" (remix)
- "Card Tricks"
- "She Cracked"
- Go Your Own Way 7"/CD (1993, Subpop)
- "Go Your Own Way"
- "Losing Skin" (remix)
- "She Cracked"
- Kid Candy PROMO CD (1993, Subpop)
- "Kid Candy" (radio edit)
- "Sing Through Me"
- "Shephard's Pie"
- Start With PROMO CD (1995, Hollywood)
- "Start With"
- Free Drug Zone 7" (1996, Hollywood)
- "Free Drug Zone"
- "Losing Skin" (live)
- Free Drug Zone CD (1996, Hollywood)
- "Free Drug Zone"
- "Losing Skin" (live)
- "Baggage" (live)
- Magic Mountainman PROMO CD (1996, Hollywood)
- "Magic Mountain"
- Service Deck/The Weight 7" (2011, No Idea Records)
- "Service Deck"
- "The Weight"
Music videos
- One Out of Four (1991)
- Bill (1992)
- Squint (1992)
- Measure (1993)
- Losing Skin (1993)
- Kid Candy (1993)
- Start With (1995)
Compilation appearances
- The Estrus Lunch Bucket (Estrus, 1990)
- "Bewitched"
- Three's A Company (Simple Machines/Merge Records/Leopard Gecko, 1990)
- "Patchwork"
- The Estrus Half-Rack (Estrus, 1991)
- "Foggy Eyes"
- International Pop Underground Convention (K Records, 1991)
- "Bill"
- Fortune Cookie Prize (Simple Machines, 1992)
- "Foggy Eyes"
- Revolution Come 'n' Gone (Subpop, 1992)
- "Baggage"
- International Hip Swing (K Records, 1993)
- "Deer Trap"
- Alternative Route '94 (Cargo Records, 1994)
- "Losing Skin"
- Jabberjaw No. 4 (Mammoth Records, 1994)
- "My Letters"
- Jabberjaw No. 5 Good To The Last Drop (Mammoth Records, 1994)
- "My Letters"
- John Peel Sub Pop Sessions (Sub Pop, 1994)[6]
- "Sit in Glass"
- "She Cracked"
- Music From the Motion Picture Clerks(Sony, 1994)
- "Go Your Own Way"
- West X North-South (Vagrant Records, 1995)
- "Sing Through Me"
- Oh, Merge (Merge Records, 1999)
- "Brand New Order"
- Nowcore! The Punk Rock Evolution (K-tel, 1999)
- "Start With"
- Patchwork Compilation (Mere Exposure Records, 2002)
- "Days Missed Dearly"
- Old Enough to Know Better (Merge Records, 2004)
- "Thru the Window"
- Sleepless in Seattle: The Birth of Grunge (Livewire Recordings, 2005)
- "Losing Skin"
- SP20: Casual Nostalgia Fest (Sub Pop, 2010)
- "Baggage"
- MAWP Comp Volume 1 (MAWP Tacoma, 2014)
- "Rusty Ranch"
- Merge Records Fall Sampler 2015 (Merge Records, 2015)
- "Antilyrical"
References
- ^ "ConcertArchives". Concert Archives. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ "ConcertArchives". Concert Archives Entry. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ Ramirez, Carlos (October 11, 2017). "Seaweed Vocalist Aaron Stauffer Looks Back on Their History, Discography". No Echo. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- ^ a b c "nwpas". Northwest Passage's Story on Seaweed. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ a b c "vice". Interview With Aaron Stauffer. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ a b John Peel Sub Pop Sessions 1989-1993 AllMusic
- ^ a b "discogs". Seaweed's Discogs Entry. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ "YT". 1993 Green Day Interview. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ Leach, Gracie (2010-10-03). "NHL 2K7 - Overview". Allgame.com. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
- ^ "Billboard Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (May 23, 2007). "Seaweed plans reunion show for Fall, new record". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
- ^ MAWP Comp Volume 1 (Media notes). MAWP Tacoma. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
- ^ Lindsay, Cam (July 9, 2015). "Rank Your Records: Seaweed's Aaron Stauffer Rates the (Mostly Dormant) Band's Six Albums". Vice.com.