My favorite Northwest bands -- 7. Ruston Mire

Fronted by Brian Naubert (Tubetop) and including at various times members from many older Seattle bands, Ruston Mire is a combo of straight-ahead pop, new wave, and indie.

Strong songwriting and a wonderful sense of the absurd. I always felt, with the right promotion, Ruston Mire could've had a wide appeal, but alas, like many local bands, it wasn't in the stars.

http://www.myspace.com/rustonmire

My favorite Northwest bands -- 6. Built To Spill

With ever-rotating band members, Doug Martsch has remained the creative force behind Built To Spill.

One of the only bands I can think of to ever become successful from Boise, Idaho, Built To Spill bridge the gap from the early 90's indie band breakout to the late 90's/00's insurgence of bands like Death Cab, Modest Mouse, and Band of Horses.

The Plan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l95wYUPflN0&feature=related

Highly technical musicianship, free-form live jams, and wonderfully etherial songs all describe the Built To Spill sound.

My favorite Northwest bands -- 5. Mudhoney

If any band can be pointed at as creating the "grunge" sound, it's Mudhoney. Now, that might be a horrible claim to fame for some, but, the dirty and distorted sound of Mudhoney was quite awesome. It was even more awesome when you compared it the overly slick productions of most 80's music. Mark Arm was and is the driving force behind Mudhoney.

He had his start in the early 80's art/punk band Mr. Epp and the Calculations (check out the awesome Mohawk Man by them),

Mohawk Man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuSsPusKi58

then Green River (along with founding members of Mother Love Bone/Pearl Jam) on the aforementioned Deep Six compilation, before finally forming Mudhoney.

Hangin' Tree http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd6ZvfIreNU

It didn't take long for people to take notice of Mudhoney when the snarling single Touch Me I'm Sick on the brand new Sub Pop label.

Touch Me I'm Sick http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx30kfiCe6A

Most assuredly, Mudhoney did more to create the environment for future success that Nirvana rode to the top.

My favorite Northwest bands -- 4. The Subhumans

One of 3 Canadian bands to make my list, The Subhumans from Vancouver B.C. were one of the earliest NW punk bands.

The Subhumans were mostly overlooked, even by the punks of their era, because of a more famous UK band of the same name (also a great band).

The Subhumans weren't as fast or loud as some other punk bands, but they had an ear for a great hook. Both of their first two albums are fantastic.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=115182409

Here is the current myspace for the band. They continue to tour and record new music. All of the songs on this page are new, but sound very similar to the early stuff.

My favorite Northwest bands -- 3. The U-Men

In the late 80's a sampler album came out named Deep 6 which promptly launched the Seattle sound soon to be known as "grunge." One of the few bands that didn't go onto to fame as a result of that album was The U-Men.

The U-Men are often overlooked when discussing Northwest bands who were influential... that's a shame. They were like a more aggressive version of The Birthday Party. Their shows were legendary for energy and chaos. If you haven't checked out The U-Men, do it now.

check out songs on Myspace

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=71266722

My favorite Northwest bands -- 2. Death Cab For Cutie

OK, so these guys have fame, fortune, and mainstream success, but they are also a great band that paid their dues to rise up from the ranks of shoe-gazing indie-emo bands. I saw them numerous times before they achieved fame and always hoped that everyone else would someday know they were as good as I did.

One of my fave concert-going experiences was seeing DCFC at a free show in some youth club in Bellevue with my girlfriend (later to become my wife). DCFC always have great and intricate songs and have much more of a sense of humor than one might think. I saw them once play a show playing Cure songs as if they were the band Krafftwerk. They called themselves Death Cab for Krafftwerk. Fun stuff.

Other fun stuff... one show they sold the usual t-shirts along with DCFC Pillowcases!

I Will Follow You Into The Dark (Bunny Version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfBw0IWwO5U

Crooked Teeth (2nd version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBkQuoIjnJg



DCFC side projects are also quite good.

Ben Gibbard solo and All Time Quarterback

Ben Gibbard gained fame and success with The Postal Service

Such Great Heights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMOkfI7wCrI

Chris Walla produced his own solo album as well as attaining industry attention for greatness as a producer.

My favorite Northwest bands -- 1. The Sonics

Well, I think I will start a new subject. Being a long-time resident of the great Pacific Northwest, I thought it would be fun to go through my 25 favorite NW bands. I am going to number them, but that doesn't mean that number 1 is the best, I'm just numbering to keep track of how many I've listed. Just to warn everyone, I am a fan of indie/punk/indiepop/indiesingersongwriter, so don't expect to find Pearl Jam, Mother Love Bone, Metal Church, Alice n Chains, or Heart. So, here goes...

The Sonics

For anyone who hasn't heard of The Sonics... they are THE quintessential ferocious, pre-punk, garage band. There songs like The Witch and Psycho have become classics for all those who love garage rock and has been covered by numerous punk/indie bands. For everyone who feels they've heard all the great bands the NW has to offer, check out the Sonics.

THE WITCH http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_CATdHIFnc

PSYCHO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-_0V0IXEkc

So, if you ever want to raise your "cool points" with your hipster friends, pull out The Sonics albums.