Tarkio was an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band from

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five ...

which included

Colin Meloy Colin Patrick Henry Meloy (born October 5, 1974) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and author best known as the frontman of the Portland, Oregon, indie folk rock band the Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acousti ...

prior to his forming

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 ...

. Tarkio broke up in 1999, but found new popularity in a retrospective released by

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 ...

in 2006.Emery, Matt (2006)
The 'Omnibus' has left the station
, ''

The Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'', also known as "''The Daily''", is the independent student newspaper of the University of Michigan published in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established on September 29, 1890, the newspaper is financially and editorially independe ...

'', 8 February 2006

History

Tarkio formed in

in 1996. Meloy, from

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...

, had studied English at

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

for two years, then returned and enrolled in the creative writing program at the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

in Missoula.Schweber, Nate
"The Making of Meloy"
''The Montanan'', Winter, 2009. Retrieved 2011-04-08. He recruited

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

player Gibson Hartwell, bassist Louis Stein, and drummer Brian Collins following a meeting at an open mic night at a local coffeehouse.Deusner, Stephen M. (2006)
Tarkio ''Omnibus''
,

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

, 26 January 2006 The band took its name from

Tarkio, Montana Tarkio is an unincorporated community in Montana, United States, located in Mineral County. Tarkio falls in Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time. Tarkio's elevation is above sea level, and is approximately outside of ...

, a small town in the western part of the state.

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, ...

bassist

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician best known as the bassist of rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Ament wrote or co-wrote many of Pearl Jam's hits, ...

helped out with some rehearsal space and the band built a following at bar-clubs in Missoula, Great Falls,

Butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

, and

Whitefish, Montana Whitefish (Montana Salish, Salish: epɫx̣ʷy̓u, "has whitefish") is a city in Flathead County, Montana, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, there were 7,751 people in the city. History Archaeological records indicate th ...

. In 1997, the band self-released a number of

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...

. Limited to 500 copies, this self-titled EP was followed by an album, ''I Guess I Was Hoping For Something More'', released on Barcelona Records. This album included musician Kevin Suggs on

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

. In 1999, the band self-released ''Sea Songs for Landlocked Sailors''. Limited to 200 copies, the EP included a song that would later be re-recorded by the Decemberists, "My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist." Meloy finished school in 1998. As the Decemberists began to achieve more fame, fan demand for the hard-to-find Tarkio material grew, paving the way for Kill Rock Stars to release ''Omnibus''. The two-disc compilation featured detailed liner notes and stories from members of the band, including Meloy, as well as all of the available recorded material by the band, including a live radio performance from 1998.Kelly, Jennifer (2006)
Tarkio ''Omnibus''
, ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'', 15 February 2006 The band's sound has been variously compared to

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a rock band formed in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott (Scottish musician), Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Britain and Ireland, with Scott re ...

Uncle Tupelo Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend ...

, and

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

.Monger, James Christopher " ''Omnibus'' Review, ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'', Macrovision CorporationShapiro, Shain (2006)
TARKIO: ''OMNIBUS''
, ''Jambase'', 22 January 2006Sisario, Ben (2006)

, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 25 January 2006 Meloy said of the early days:

“We arkiohad aspirations of being able to base ourselves as a band out of Missoula, Montana, like
Low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...
is from
Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...
and
Modest Mouse Modest Mouse is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members were lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock (musician), Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and ba ...
is from Issaquah
ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...
but I think we pretty quickly discovered that the reason why those bands succeeded was that they were within an hour’s drive from a major metropolitan area.”

Band members

*Colin Meloy - vocals, guitar *Gibson Hartwell - guitar, banjo, vocals *Louis Stern - bass, vocals *Brian Collins - drums, percussion *Kevin Suggs (pedal steel)"Meloy before December"
''Each Note Secure'' website, c. 2005. Retrieved 2011-04-08.

Discography

Albums

* '' I Guess I Was Hoping For Something More'' (CD) - Barcelona Records - 1998 * '' Omnibus'' (CD) -

- 2006

EPs

* ''Falleness'' (Cassette) - Self-released - 1997 * ''Sea Songs For Landlocked Sailors'' (CD) - Self-released - 1999

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarkio American alternative country groups Musical groups from Montana Musical groups established in 1996