Local band Sebadoh reunites at Pearl Street

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From the Daily Collegian:

http://media.www.dailycollegian.com/med … 0712.shtml

Local band Sebadoh reunites at Pearl Street
by: Corey Charron, Collegian Staff
Issue Date 03/29/07 Section: Arts & Living

Sebadoh, one of independent rock’s forefathers, will swing through their hometown of Northampton, Mass. during their first tour accompanied by their original lineup in fourteen years. Founding members Lou Barlow, Eric Gaffney, and Jason Loewenstein will pay a visit to the Pearl Street Ballroom tonight.

Sebadoh began as a side project of Barlow’s during his tenure as bassist in the equally influential and recently reunited band, Dinosaur Jr. Barlow initially worked with J Mascis in a hardcore band known as Deep Wound, which after its breakup in 1983, morphed into Dinosaur Jr. Classic albums such as "Dinosaur Jr.," and "Bug," caused Dinosaur Jr. to become cult heroes. Their distinct use of guitar distortion and feedback helped inspire Nirvana and the grunge era.

In 1986, Barlow, while still a member of Dinosaur Jr., started working with multiple instrumentalist Eric Gaffney on projects that included making sound collages on simple tape recorders and four-track machines. The title of "Sebadoh" came from a nonsense word Barlow would frequently utter during recording sessions. They released their first two collaborations, "Weed Forestin’," and "The Freed Man," in 1987 and 1988, with very little distribution, the former as a bonus with Dinosaur Jr.’s second album "You’re Living All Over Me." The supplementary disc could only be found at a Northampton record store at the time.

During that period J Mascis and Barlow’s relationship became strained, especially as Barlow spent more time working on his side project. He was eventually kicked out of the band in 1989 and began focusing his energies on Sebadoh.

Homestead Records soon heard "The Freed Man," and signed the band, re-releasing the album as an LP. Loewenstein joined the band at a gig at Smith College, and the trio started touring, visiting local destinations like Hampshire College, Hadley, and Northampton.

"Sebadoh III," which came out in 1991, was a more refined but still low-fidelity recording. Gaffney’s psychedelic noise experiments and Barlow’s romantic folk-rock combined to produce one of the first true landmark albums of the 1990s. Many took notice of Barlow’s writing technique, which would encourage bands like The Mountain Goats and Casiotone for the Painfully Alone to record powerful love songs on simple devices. "Sebadoh III" became critically successful, and Sebadoh signed to independent record label Sub Pop.

Tensions between Barlow and Gaffney escalated in 1993, leading to Gaffney quitting the band and Bob Fay taking over as drummer. The band went on to release their most successful album in 1994, "Bakesale," that included their well known single, "Rebound." The 1996 album, "Harmacy," landed the number 126 spot on the U.S. charts. In 1999 the band fired Bob Fay and replaced him with Russ Pollard. The group went on hiatus in 2000, appearing again in 2003 with a very brief tour.

Sebadoh’s current tour stems from the re-release of "Sebadoh III" on Domino Records, which includes liner notes written by each band member and an extras bonus disc. The group started their reunion in San Diego, Calif. on February 26 and will tour most of the country.

All three members of the band have side projects. Barlow plays in the band The Folk Implosion, who landed their surprise hit, "The Natural One," at number 29 on the American pop charts in 1995, from the soundtrack for the film Kids.

Fields of Gaffney is Gaffney’s side project that he started in 1998. The Fiery Furnaces have had the pleasure of touring with Loewenstein since 2005. He also has a solo album called, "At Sixes and Sevens," which was released in 2002.

The Bent Moustache will open for Sebadoh Thursday night. The natives of Krommenie, Netherlands released their debut album, "Forst," on Transformed Dreams Records on March 26. Ajay Saggar and Pim Heyne formed the band in 2004 and immediately starting recording. Wilf Plum soon joined to round out the trio of musicians, as all three knew each other from prior work in the band Donkey. The Bent Moustache soon began touring parts of Europe, including Manchester, England and Scotland.

Their music draws comparisons to bands such as Deerhoof, The Fall, Captain Beefheart, and Can, mixed with shoe-gazers My Bloody Valentine.

Tickets for the concert are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and the show starts at 8:30 p.m.

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