THE LONG WINTERS
LABEL: Barsuk  |||  TEXT: Lydia Sprague  |||  PHOTO: Autumn DeWilde

Listening to The Long Winters is like watching a series of short films. Every song paints a picture, bringing life to new characters. There’s Honest, a teen girl whose mother warns her of the dangers of falling in love with a singer. Honest, it seems, is the product of her mother’s love of a singer. Or the protagonist in “Fire Island, AK” who, after waiting for a reply, has discovered his love letter got lost. What’s a guy to do?

The Long Winters is one of Seattle’s most prominent bands, sharing the stage with mainstream bands like Death Cab for Cutie and the Decemberists. And John Roderick, the bearded, quirky leader of the band, is somewhat of a local celebrity. He’s appeared on records and stages with some of Seattle’s most popular bands, made guest appearances on local radio shows and contributed to the Seattle Weekly.

In Seattle, when people talk about The Long Winters, they usually are talking about Roderick. He’s a man that’s hard to describe. An ex-history professor, he is a born storyteller who exercises this talent everywhere he goes. Interviews with him often turn into conversations about his life, including growing up in Alaska and the time he’s spent wondering around Europe.

The band also featured “the nicest man in Seattle rock,” Nabil Ayers, co-founder of Seattle’s famed Sonic Boom Record Stores. He played drums for the band until 2009 after moving to New York to head 4AD Records.

The Long Winters is one of the first bands I was introduced to as a kid just breaking into Seattle’s rich music scene. I remember racing home every Sunday night to listen to John Richards’ weekly local music show, occasionally summoning up the courage to call in a request for The Long Winters songs like “Blue Diamonds” and “Cinnamon.”

Critics describe The Long Winters’ music as solid indie-pop. The most intriguing facet of The Long Winters is Roderick’s lyrics, which tell stories of lost love, self-doubt and revisionist history.

The Long Winters have been a band since 2001, when Roderick’s friend
Sean Nelson, of Harvey Danger, suggested he start his own band. The Worst You Can Do Is Harm, the band’s first album, was released in 2002 with help from Nelson and Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, who recorded the album in his newly opened studio. When I Pretend to Fall followed quickly in 2003.

After a couple of years of touring, and many changes in the band’s line up, The Long Winters released the Ultimatum EP in 2005. It was a preview of 2006’s Putting the Days to Bed, the band’s last released and most critically acclaimed album. During their celebrated tour, they sold kazoos at the merch table for fans to purchase before shows. During their set there was an interactive song in which fans were instructed to play a melody on their kazoos.

While it’s been some time since the Long Winters released anything, the band is playing Sasquatch in 2010 they are reportedly working on a new album.



PRESS

“Roderick’s writing continues to ascend to new heights of wisdom, so that having listened to the record three times through in your car, driving around and around the Puget Sound, not wanting to get out of the car and the intoxicated state Roderick’s song put you in, you realize he just might be the best songwriter in Seattle.” —Three Imaginary Girls

“[John Roderick’s] charisma and knack for the occassional joyful moment, honed on his band’s third album, makes for addictive listening, especially when the soaring choruses and intuitive insights click.” —Spin

“Indie rock can get too self-consciously weird. Power pop can become cloying. Roderick knows where to place the line between them. And on Putting the Days to Bed he holds it like a vise.” —New York Daily News



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TOUR INFO
May 27, 2010 • Eugene, OR • Wow Hall
May 28, 2010 • Portland, OR • Barbati’s Pan
May 30, 2010 • George, WA • Gorge Amphitheatre (Sasquatch Festival)



LINKS
The Long Winters Official Website
The Long Winters on Myspace
The Long Winters on Facebook