GRAND ARCHIVES
TEXT: Lydia Sprague ||| PHOTO: Hillary Harris
Grand Archives brings me back to breezy summer afternoons spent in my great aunt’s backyard. Drinking lemonade and watching the cows graze in the pasture. As the wind rustles through the tall grass, you hear a soft guitar strumming, and somebody whistling along. The soft melodies and the harmonicas, pedal steel and the horns create an old-timey feeling that sits with the listener long after the album is done playing.
The band’s sound is marked by its strong vocal arrangements and almost every member contributes to the harmonies. Its Beach Boys-inspired harmonics are reminiscent of other Seattle natives, Fleet Foxes.
Grand Archives is one of several bands spawned from the incestual mix of musicians that made up Carissa’s Wierd, a legendary Seattle-based rock band that rocked the indie scene from 1995 until its break up in 2003. Members included Jenn Ghetto, Sera Cahoone, Mat Brooke and Ben Bridwell.
After the demise of Carissa’s Wierd, Ghetto and Cahoone went on to pursue solo projects. Cahoone has done relatively well as an alt-country act. Brooke and Bridwell went on to found Band of Horses in 2004. It has since gone on to become one of the most celebrated indie bands to come out of Seattle.
After recording Everything All The Time, Band of Horses’ debut and most critically acclaimed album, Brooke left the project. His reason for leaving, he said, was that he was just helping Bridwell out with his project, and was never officially a full-time member of the band.
From there, Brooke focused his attentions on opening and running his bar The Redwood, still open today in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. But soon enough, a friend convinced him to start a new band. Grand Archives, originally called just Archives, was formed in 2007 and hit the scene with a much buzzed about show at Neumos in March of that year. The band was signed to Sub Pop quickly following its first show.
Grand Archives is made up of musicians from several well-known Seattle bands. Bassist Jeff Montano was in The New Mexicans, two other members of which are involved in Band of Horses. Ron Lewis, who played piano and guitar on Grand Archives, has been in Ghost Stories, Mines and Joggers and left Grand Archives in November of 2008 to rejoin his band The Fruit Bats on a tour with The Shins. The band also includes drummer Curtis Hall, of The New Candidates, and guitarist Thomas Wright, of The Can’t See. During live shows the band is often joined by steel guitarist Jason Kardong, who plays with Sera Cahoone
In February of 2008, Grand Archives released its self-titled debut album to praise from critics and fans of both Band of Horses and Carissa’s Wierd. It released its second full-length, Keep In Mind Frankenstein, in 2009 and—more recently, a free downloadable EP—and has been touring in support them both.
PRESS
“Over several years Matt Brooke has been making some of the most intriguing music to come out of post-grunge Seattle. His latest band finds him leaving country-ish rock behind and heading for the sunlit uplands on a set rich in Beach Boys and Flaming Lips influences.” –Uncut
“Packed to the gills with good vibes, the band entered the studio and created an album that is lush and joyful, filled with whistling, shouting, warm layers of guitar and tender stories, including the excellent “George Kaminski” about a prison inmate who collects four leaf clovers.” –Seattle Sound
“What with all the talent in the band, you'd expect some trickiness, some showing off, but there’s none of that here. Grand Archives' songs are big and confidently simple.” –The Stranger
TOUR
July 16, 2010 • Kennewick, WA • Red Room
July 18, 2010 • Santa Cruz, CA • Crepe Place
July 20, 2010 • Los Angeles, CA • Echo
July 21, 2010 • San Francisco, CA • Rickshaw Stop
July 22, 2010 • Davis, CA • Sophia's
July 24, 2010 • Portland, OR • Mississippi Studios
July 25, 2010 • Seattle, WA • Capitol Hill Block Party
July 31, 2010 • Ostersund, Sweden • Storsjoyran Festival
August 02, 2010 • London, UK • Hoxton Bar & Kitchen
August 03, 2010 • Manchester, UK • Deaf Institute
August 04, 2010 • Glasgow, UK • King Tuts
August 05, 2010 • Middlesbrough, UK • Westgarth Sc
August 14, 2010 • Olga, WA • Doe Bay Festival
LINKS
+ Grand Archives Official Website
+ Grand Archives on Facebook
+ Grand Archives on Myspace
