Fastbacks are a

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington,

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band. Formed in 1979 by songwriter/guitarist Kurt Bloch (born August 28, 1960), and friends Lulu Gargiulo (guitar and vocals, born October 12, 1960) and Kim Warnick (bass and vocals, born April 7, 1959), they disbanded in 2001 but have reunited multiple times. Their sound mixes a generally

approach to vocals and sound textures with poppy tunes and strong musicianship. Although these three band members have remained fairly constant, they have gone through numerous drummers, including

Duff McKagan Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964) is an American musician. He was the bassist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses for twelve years, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. McKagan rejoined the b ...

, later of

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's web page on the Fastbacks says that estimates at the number of Fastbacks drummers "range from 12 to 20." For much of the band's heyday, Mike Musburger filled this role, but other Fastbacks drummers before him (or when he took occasional breaks) included Bloch himself, Richard Stuverud (perhaps best known from

War Babies War children are those born to a local parent and a parent belonging to a foreign military force (usually an occupying force, but also military personnel stationed at military bases on foreign soil). Having a child by a member of a belligerent ...

, Fifth Angel and his collaborations with

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

's Jeff Ament, including Three Fish, Tres Mts. and RNDM), Nate Johnson and Rusty Willoughby (both of whom also played in both Flop and Pure Joy), John Moen (of the Dharma Bums, later of Steven Malkmus's Jicks and

The Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. The band consists of Colin Meloy (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals ...

), Jason Finn (of the Presidents of the United States of America), Dan Peters of

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, on January 1, 1988, following the demise of Green River (band), Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner (guitari ...

, and Tad Hutchison of the Young Fresh Fellows. Several of these people also served at times as drummers in The Squirrels, a similarly long-lived band, and the Fastbacks' sometime label-mates on

PopLlama Records PopLlama Records is an independent record label founded by record producer Conrad Uno in Seattle, Washington, in 1984. After making several of his own demos in his basement studio, Uno would produce The Young Fresh Fellows' debut album ''The Fabu ...

, who bring a similar mix of strong musicianship and punk attitude to even poppier material. Contributing to the band's 2001 breakup was Kim Warnick's move to the band

Visqueen Visqueen is a brand of polyethylene plastic Plastic film, sheeting (typically low-density polyethylene) produced by British Polythene Industries Limited. It is the registered trade mark of British Polythene Limited in numerous countries throughou ...

in 2001 through 2004. In summer 2010 Kim Warnick started a new band with Mikey Davis ( Alien Crime Syndicate,

Tommy Stinson Thomas Eugene Stinson (born October 6, 1966) is an American rock musician. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the bass guitarist for The Replacements, one of the definitive American alternative rock groups. After their breakup in 1991, Stins ...

) called Cali Giraffes. The Fastbacks reunited for a one-off live performance 8 July 2011 at the West Seattle Summer Music Festival, featuring the core trio of Bloch, Warnick, and Garguilo, along with Mike Musburger on drums, their first official show together since their 2001 breakup. They later reunited in September 2018 for a benefit concert, in aid of fellow Seattle musician Andrew McKeag. Following a series of archival releases, the Fastbacks released the new single "A Quiet Night" in February, 2023.

Discography

Albums

* 1987: ''...And His Orchestra'' ( PopLlama) * 1990: '' Very, Very Powerful Motor'' (PopLlama) * 1991: ''Never Fails, Never Works'' (Blaster!) - UK compilation of EPs * 1992: ''The Question is No'' (

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

) - compilation * 1993: '' Zücker'' (Sub Pop) * 1994: '' Answer the Phone, Dummy'' (Sub Pop) * 1996: ''New Mansions in Sound'' (Sub Pop) * 1999: ''The Day that didn't Exist'' ( spinART) * 2024: ''For WHAT Reason!'' (No Threes)

Compilations

* 2016: ''Now is the Time'' (No Threes) compilation * 2018: ''If You Want To Slow Down, Step On The Gas'' (

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

) - compilation recorded between 1985 and 1990 * 2020: ''Zucker 2020'' (

) - expanded and remixed version of 1993 album

Singles

* 1981: "It's Your Birthday" / "You Can't Be Happy" (No Threes) * 1989: "Wrong Wrong Wrong" / "In America" - (Subway) - UK * 1989: "In The Winter" / "It Came To Me In A Dream" (Subway) - UK * 1990: "Lose" (Steve Priest Fan Club) - split with Gas Huffer * 1991: ''The Answer Is You'' ("My Letters"/"Whatever Happened to ?"/"Impatience"/"Above the Sunrise") (Sub Pop) 2-single set * 1992: "Run No More" / "Really" (Who Cares?) * 1992: "Now Is the Time" / "Sometimes" / "Was Late" (Ded Beet) * 1993: "They Don't Care" / "Out of the Charts" - (PopLlama) * 1993: "Gone to the Moon" - "Go All the Way" (Sub Pop) * 1994: "Wait It Out" / "The Jester" (Munster) * 1995: ''Rat Race / I Live In A Car / Telephone Numbers'' (Gearhead Records) - Split with The Meices * 1996: ''Just Say'' (Sub Pop) * 1996: ''All In Order'' / ''Answer The Phone, Dummy'' / ''Allison'' (Birdtime Bird Co.) * 1996: ''And After All'' / ''Marionette'' (Birdtime Bird Co.) * 2011: ''Come On Come On'' / ''I Can't Hide'' (Super Fan) * 2023: ''A Quiet Night'' / ''Outer Space'' (No Threes)

EPs

* 1982: ''Fastbacks Play Five of Their Favorites'' (No Threes) * 1983: ''Orangeman hath no home here'' (No Threes) * 1984: ''Everyday Is Saturday'' (No Threes) * 1989: "In The Summer/You Can't Be Happy/Everything I Don't Need/Queen of Eyes" (No Threes/SPFC) * 1993: ''Gone To The Moon'' (Sub Pop) * 1996: ''Alone In A Furniture Warehouse Scaring You Away Like A Hotel Mattress'' (Munster) - Spain * 1998: ''Win Lose or Both'' (PopLlama)

Contributed tracks to

* 1981: '' Seattle Syndrome Volume One'' (Engram) track 6, "Someone Else's Room" * 1986: ''Let's Sea'' (

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 ...

) track A-4, "Don't Eat That, It's Poison" * 1986: ''Monkey Business: Green Monkey Records 1986 Compilation'' (Green Monkey) track 8, "Time Passes" * 1988: '' Sub Pop 200'' (Sub Pop) track 10, "Swallow My Pride" ( Green River cover) * 1991: ''Another Damned Seattle Compilation'' ( Dashboard Hula Girl) track 18, "Hit or Miss" ( The Damned cover) * 1992: on '' International Pop Underground Convention'' (

) track 19, "Impatience" (live) * 1992: ''International Pop Underground Convention (

) track 19, "Impatience" * 1992: ''Hodge Podge & Barrage from Japan'' (1 + 2 Records) track 9, "Trouble Sleeping" * 1992: ''Estrus Gearbox'' (

Estrus The estrous cycle (, originally ) is a set of recurring physiological changes induced by reproductive hormones in females of mammalian subclass Theria. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous phas ...

) track 2, "Hot Rods To Heaven" * 1992: ''20 More Explosive Fantastic Rockin' Mega Smash Hit Explosions!'' (Pravda) track 2-6 "Rocket Man" * 1993: ''...And The Fun Just Never Ends'' (Lost And Found) track 8, "You Can't Be Happy"; track 8, "Love You More" - Germany * 1993: ''Say Hello To The Far East'' (

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the la ...

) track 1, "Go All The Way" * 1994: ''13 Soda Punx'' (Munster / Top Drawer) track 5, " I'm Cold" * 1994: ''"Whole Wide World" - The Subway Organisation Label 1986-1990'' (Midi Inc.) track 14, "In The Winter" * 1994: ''The World of The Zombies'' (PopLlama) track 6, "Hung Up On A Dream"; track 9, " Just Out Of Reach" * 1995: ''20 Supersonic Mega Explosive Hits'' (Runt) track 19, "Rocket Man" - Italy * 1995: ''Oh Canaduh! (A Collection of Canadian Punk Rock Covers)'' (Lance Rock) track 8, "Won't Have To Worry" * 1995: ''Screaming Life'' (Sub Pop) track 9, "What's It Like" - included with the book ''Screaming Life: A Chronicle of the Seattle Music Scene'' (HarperCollins) * 1996: ''Bite Back / Live at the Crocodile Cafe's'' (PopLlama) track 5, "Always Tomorrow" * 1996: ''Home Alive - The Art of Self Defense'' (

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

) track 1-3, "Time & Matter" * 1996: ''Hype! The Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (Sub Pop) track 1, "K Street" (Live); track 22, "Just Say" * 1996: ''Paydirt'' (Sub Pop) track 7, "I Can't Win"; track 17, "No Information" * 1997: ''Dictators Forever Forever Dictators Vol. II'' (Roto) track 16, "Exposed" - Spain * 2001: ''Give the People What We Want : The Songs Of The Kinks'' (Sub Pop / Burn Burn Burn / Right Now) track 12, "Waterloo Sunset" * 2004: ''Truth Corrosion and Sour Bisquits'' (Book Records) * 2013: ''What Have We Wrought? A Mike Atta Benefit Compilation'' (Burger / Gasatanka / Munster) track 1-6, "Fast Enough"

Live

* 1988: ''Bike • Toy • Clock • Gift'' - self-released as a tape in 1988, re-released on No Threes Records in 1989, CD released in 1994 on Lucky Records * 1991: ''In America'' (Smilin' Ear) (2×7") * 1996: ''Here They Are... Live At the Crocodile...'' (Lance Rock) - Canada * 2021: ''Mural Amphitheater, Seattle, WA August 25, 1986'' (

) - archival live recording

Video

* 2004: ''Hype! The Sound of a Musical Explosion'' DVD (Republic)

References

External links

on the ''Trouser Press'' site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fastbacks, The Musical groups from Seattle Pop punk groups from Washington (state) PopLlama Records artists Sub Pop artists SpinART Records artists 1979 establishments in Washington (state)