Some Velvet Sidewalk was an experimental

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

rock band from

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

on the independent label

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent mu ...

History

Some Velvet Sidewalk was formed in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, in 1987 by Al Larsen (vocals/guitar) and Robert Christie (drums). Their first release was '' From Playground 'Til Now'', and was independently released on cassette in 1988. Somewhere around this time, Jenny Olay joined on second guitar and went on the band's first American jaunt with

the Go Team The Go Team was a 1980s band from Olympia, Washington, consisting of Tobi Vail and Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening. Career The Go Team was founded in 1985. As Vail described: The Go Team released several cassettes and 9 singles on the i ...

, Rich Jensen, Spook & The Zombies, and

Mecca Normal Mecca Normal is a two-piece indie rock band from Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, formed by Jean Smith and David Lester (artist, author, publisher), David Lester in 1984. Career In 1985 they formed their own record label Smarten ...

. In 1990, Larsen along with

Tobi Vail Tobi Celeste Vail (born July 20, 1969) is an American independent musician, music critic and feminist activist from Olympia, Washington. She was a central figure in the riot grrl scene—she coined the spelling of "grrl"—and she started the z ...

(drums) and Louise Olsen (bass) recorded the album, ''Shipwreck''. Vail had previously played in Go Team and would go on to form Bikini Kill later that same year. Olsen had previously played in the Australian band Matrimony and would go on to form Viva Knievel with Kathleen Hanna later in 1990. The release of this album was heavily delayed, but it was eventually released in 1995. Bill Karren (later of

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pio ...

) was an early associate of the band and contributed guitar on the live version of "Snow." on '' Appetite For Extinction.''

Mike Johnson James Michael Johnson (born January 30, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2023. A member ...

(later of

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, the band was forced to change their name because of legal issues. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter) ...

) played drums on "alright" on '' Appetite For Extinction.''

Donna Dresch Donna Dresch is an American punk rock musician, perhaps best known as founder, guitarist and bass guitarist of Team Dresch. Dresch has been actively involved in the queercore scene since the 1980s, as the creator of the fanzine ''Chainsaw'' and ...

(later of

Team Dresch Team Dresch is an American punk rock band originally formed in 1993 in Olympia, Washington. History In 1993, Donna Dresch formed Team Dresch with herself playing guitar and bass, Jody Bleyle on guitar and vocals, Kaia Wilson on guitar and voc ...

) appears on two songs on the ''Shipwreck'' album. Just before the 1990 release of their first full album, '' Appetite For Extinction'', Robert Christie left the band and was replaced by Don Blair and bass player Martin Bernier, whom Larsen had found in a free musician's wanted ad. A short tour of small Pacific NW towns quickly followed with

D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

band Scream, of which

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...

was a member and it was Some Velvet Sidewalk that accompanied Scream when

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...

first met Grohl at a small party at

Slim Moon Matthew "Slim" Moon (born October 15, 1967) is an American musician and the founder of the American independent music label Kill Rock Stars (KRS). He also started its sister label, 5 Rue Christine. Slim ran KRS from 1991 to 2006, during which ...

's home. This new line-up soon recorded with

Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr. (born September 29, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Megatron" after the ''Transforme ...

in Yo Yo Studios along with Pat Maley what would become known as the "Pumpkin Patch" single. They went back to the studio in 1991 with producer and musician

Steve Fisk Steve Fisk is an American, Washington-based audio engineer, record producer and musician. As a musician, he has been in bands such as the instrumental alternative/indie rock band Pell Mell and the electronic band Pigeonhed. He has long been a ...

to record ''

Avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

'', which released in 1992. They spent 1992 and 1993 touring and released a short EP called ''I Scream''. Following suit, the next album, ''

Whirlpool A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...

'', showed up in 1994. Ryan Baldoz of Olympia joined on second guitar around this time. SVS soon added keyboardist Paul Schuster to the lineup to record the 1997 album, ''Generate!''. The final true SVS release, the EP ''The Lowdown'', was released in late 1997. The band broke up following an American tour, and the members went their separate ways. In 1999, Larsen compiled and released a posthumous SVS album called ''Original Love Rock Masters''. This album is a compilation that contains live songs, garage demos, and various side projects.

Influence

Some Velvet Sidewalk songs have been covered by several artists.

Crayon A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder (material), binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a ...

recorded a version of "Pumpkin Patch" and The

Pastels A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...

recorded and released a version of "Boardwalkin'". “Mousetrap” has been recorded by The Thirsty Giants (2023), Skin A Buck (Open Up and Bleed, 2020), Jeneric (2015) and the Greek noise-rock group Postblue (Phase, 2004). A version of the song “Snow.” was recorded and released by Australian group Half. Artists that have performed Some Velvet Sidewalk songs live include Spider and the Webs (“Dinosaur”) ,Oswald 5-0 (“Loch Ness”) and New Zealand group Threat.Meet.Protocol

Chat Pile Chat Pile is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band is composed of four members using the pseudonyms Raygun Busch (vocals), Luther Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap'n Ron (drums). Signed to The Flenser, their debut ...

singer Raygun Busch has cited Some Velvet Sidewalk as inspiration for his stage performance style. In a 2023 interview for Gut Feeling, Adam Miller of

Chromatics_(band) Chromatics were an American electronic music band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2001. The band's final line-up consisted of Ruth Radelet (vocals, guitar, synthesizer), Adam Miller (guitar, vocoder), Nat Walker (drums, synthesizer), and Johnny ...

stated “the first show I ever did was when I had this band called Pumpkin Patch, which was named after a Some Velvet Sidewalk song.” Some Velvet Sidewalk is mentioned in the poem “My 1993” by acclaimed poet and critic

Stephanie Burt Stephanie Burt (formerly published as Stephen Burt) is a literary critic and poet who is the Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English at Harvard University. ''The New York Times'' has called her "one of the most influential poetry cr ...

, which is included in the book We Are Mermaids (2022, Graywolf Press) In the published journals of Kurt Cobain (

Journals_(Cobain) ''Journals'' is a collection of writings and drawings by American musician Kurt Cobain, who was the lead singer and guitarist of Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Though the content is undated, it is arranged in approximately chronological order. It was ...

), the Nirvana singer/guitarist included Some Velvet Sidewalk in a list with the heading “bands I like.”

Later

Al Larsen continued his musical career with bands such as the Polar Bears, the Evil Tambourines and Melting Igloo. In 2005, he released a solo album titled ''The Hardline According to Danny & the Dinosaur'' on his own label, Property Is Theft. Larsen is now an assistant professor and Coordinator of Creative Media at Champlain College. Martin Bernier joined Seattle's the Heroic Trio, which featured Australian ex-pat and future

Welcome A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person. Overview In ...

bassist Jo Klaxton and drummer Lenni Rennals. They released one full-length album and one three-song EP on La Push Records. Following Bernier's exit from that band he joined Olympia's Bunnyfoot Charm. Don Blair went on to play drums in Totfinder along with ex-Sleep Capsule member Russ Klatt. He now plays in the experimental Waves. The original drummer and founding member, Robert Christie, was killed in a car accident February 2001 along with his wife, Denise and two sons, Ted and John.

Band members

*Al Larsen - Vocals & Guitar *Robert Christie - Drums (1987–1989) *Jenny Olay - Guitar & Vocals (1988-1990) *

- Drums (1990) *Don Blair - Drums (1990–1997) *Louise Olsen - Bass (1990) *Martin Bernier - Bass (1990–1997) *Ryan Baldoz - 2nd Guitar (1994–1995) *Paul Schuster - Keyboard (1996–1997)

Discography

Albums

* '' From Playground 'Til Now'' (1988) * '' Appetite For Extinction'' (1990) * ''

'' (1992) * ''

'' (1994) * ''Shipwreck'' (1995) * ''Generate!'' (1997) * ''Original Love Rock Masters'' (1999)

EPs

* '' I Scream'' (EP) (1993) * ''The Lowdown'' (EP) (1997)

Singles

* ''I Know'' (single) (1988) * ''Land and Earthbound'' (single) (1989) * ''Pumpkin Patch'' (single) (1991) * ''Eyes Like Yours'' (single) (1992) * ''Free from It'' (single) (1994) * ''Valley of the Clock (single) (1997)

Compilation appearances

* ''Throw: The Yoyo Studio Compilation'' (1991) * ''

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in February 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but it was orig ...

'' (1991) * ''

International Pop Underground Convention The International Pop Underground Convention (or IPU) was a 1991 punk and alternative rock music festival in Olympia, Washington. The six-day convention centered on a series of performances at the Capitol Theater. Throughout August 20–25, 1 ...

'' (1992) * ''

International Hip Swing ''International Hip Swing'' is a compilation CD released by the label K Records in 1993. It is centered on the alternative rock, indie pop and twee pop genres. ''International Hip Swing'' gathered together a selection of recordings previously rel ...

'' (1993)

References

External links

Official website''Property is Theft'' SiteMySpace Page
{{Authority control K Records artists Musical groups from Olympia, Washington Musical groups from Eugene, Oregon Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 1987 establishments in Oregon