The Long Winters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the rock band. For other meanings, see The Long Winter (disambiguation).
The Long Winters are an American indie rock band.
Contents |
[edit] Early History
Singer-songwriter John Roderick (b. September 13, 1968) was born in Seattle, Washington, and later moved to Anchorage, Alaska while in elementary school. He later returned to Seattle and formed several bands, including Bun Family Players and the Western State Hurricanes.
In 2001 Harvey Danger singer/songwriter Sean Nelson suggested that he and Roderick record an album -- half of the songs penned by John, and the other half by Sean. Death Cab For Cutie band member Chris Walla had recently opened up the Hall of Justice studio in Seattle, and agreed to help them record.
John recruited Joe Bass of Sky Cries Mary and Brian Young of Fountains of Wayne to flush out several of the songs, and gradually the album evolved to feature only John's songs. After several months, The Worst You Can Do Is Harm was finished.
John traveled to New York, where he played solo shows and quickly began to pen new songs -- several of which would eventually be included on the Long Winters' sophomore album, When I Pretend To Fall.
While there he was contacted by Barsuk Records -- the label that would release The Worst You Can Do Is Harm – who made it clear they wanted John to tour to promote the release. He traveled back to Seattle, and was joined by Chris Caniglia, former Western States Hurricanes drummer, Michael Shilling and Eric Corson on bass. Thus, The Long Winters were born.
[edit] The Band is Formally Formed
At the band's first live gig, Sean Nelson offered to perform harmony vocals on a number of songs. He ended up casually performing with the band for their first few shows before committing to full-time enrollment.
The original trio responsible for The Worst You Can Do Is Harm (John Roderick, Sean Nelson, and Chris Walla) is often considered the original formation of the band. John and Sean, along with recruits Eric Corson and Michael Shilling are the core players behind When I Pretend To Fall, with Sean having replaced Chris Canola as the band's keyboardist. When I Pretend To Fall was released and John, Sean, Eric and Michael embarked on an ambitious series of tours throughout 2003 in support of the album. The band toured North America with Barsuk Records labelmates Nada Surf and Death Cab For Cutie, and later spent November touring Europe. Michael Shilling eventually resigned in December of 2003, burned out by the hectic touring and lifestyle of the band.
With the best wishes to the Long Winters, Sean left in March 2004 to rekindle his former band.
[edit] Early 2004 and Onward
At the time of Sean's departure, The Long Winters had recently begun rehearsing with Michael Shilling's replacement for the band's 2004 tours, former Death Cab For Cutie percussionist Michael Schorr. Confronted with a double blow to the band's line-up, John took opportunity to reinvent the band again -- especially with an east coast tour with The Pernice Brothers, a more fleshed out European tour, and a nationwide tour supporting The Decemberists that would take the band through the spring and well into the summer. Thus, the leaner three-piece version of The Long Winters was born, featuring John Roderick, Eric Corson, and Michael Schorr.
This extensive spring/summer 2004 tour took its toll on drummer Michael Schorr, who left the band shortly after its completion. John continued to do small promotional events and shows throughout the latter half of 2004 and 2005, often previewing a handful of new Long Winters songs.
The Long Winters toured with Keane in September 2005 in support of the acclaimed Long Winters' EP released on October 11th, 2005 entitled Ultimatum. For this incarnation of The Long Winters drummer Nabil Ayers and guitarist/keyboardist Mike Squires joined John Roderick and Eric Corson.
In May 2006 John Roderick did a solo mini tour through Europe with Centro-matic to promote awareness for the forthcoming Long Winters album. This third LP, Putting The Days To Bed was released on July 25th, 2006. American and European concerts will follow from September 2006 onwards in support of this album, with Jonathan Rothman as new guitarist/keyboardist.
DorsiaFilms is currently in production on a documentary film about the band, titled Through With Love. Shooting should be done before August, the film screened in September of this year.
In October 2006 for the second time, John Roderick acted as the support act for Keane's Under the Iron Sea Tour. For the UK dates he played a short acoustic set, before being joined by the remainder of the band for the European dates.
[edit] The Long Winters Discography
| Year | Title | Cover Art | Label |
| 2002 | The Worst You Can Do is Harm |  |
Barsuk Records |
| 2003 | When I Pretend to Fall |  |
Barsuk Records |
| 2003 | Scared Straight (single) |  |
Munich Records Singles Club |
| 2005 | Ultimatum (EP) |  |
Barsuk Records |
| 2006 | Putting the Days to Bed |  |
Barsuk Records |
[edit] Current Members
| Name | Duties |
| John Roderick | Guitar, Vocals |
| Eric Corson | Bass |
| Nabil Ayers | Percussion |
| Jonathan Rothman | Keyboards |
[edit] Former members
| Name | Duties |
| Sean Nelson | Keyboards, Vocals |
| Michael Shilling | Percussion |
| Michael Schorr | Percussion |
| Chris Caniglia | Keyboards, Vocals |
| Darren Loucas | Keyboards, Guitar, misc. |
| Mike Squires | Guitars, Keyboards |
[edit] Contributors
| Name | Contribution | Album |
| Jon Auer | Guitar | WIPTF |
| Joe Bass | Percussion | TWYCDIH |
| Kurt Bloch | Guitar, Vocals | PTDTB |
| Peter Buck | Mandolin | WIPTF |
| Dave Carter | Trumpet | WIPTF / PTDTB |
| Katrina Cordi | Violin | WIPTF |
| Kerry Downing Johnson | Viola | WIPTF |
| Jennifer Faulkner | Vocals | WIPTF |
| Jason Finn | Percussion | TWYCDIH |
| Craig Flory | Tenor Sax | WIPTF / PTDTB |
| Chris Funk | Pedal Steel, Hammer Dulcimer, Banjo, Glockenspiel | PTDTB |
| Ben Gibbard | Percussion | TWYCDIH |
| Nathan Harrison | Tambourine | WIPTF |
| Kevin Horning | Writing | WIPTF |
| Robbie Lodermeier | Percussion | TWYCDIH |
| Tucker Martine | Production | UEP |
| Scott McCaughey | Boomerang Haromonica | WIPTF |
| Steve Moore | Trombone | PTDTB |
| Floyd Rietsma | Drum Programming | PTDTB |
| Sean Ripple | Vibrophone | WIPTF |
| Bart Roderick | Organ | WIPTF / PTDTB |
| Jim Roth | Pedal Steel | TWYCDIH |
| Steve Scalfati | Alto Sax | WIPTF |
| Mike Simpson | French Horn | WIPTF |
| Joe Skyward | Bass | TWYCDIH |
| Sarah Standard | Viola | WIPTF |
| Ken Stringfellow | Ghost Piano, Vocals, Production | WIPTF |
| Megan Thompson | Vocals | WIPTF |
| Chris Walla | Organs, Bass, Mellodio Horn, Guitars, Vocals, Drum Machine | TWYCDIH / WIPTF / PTDTB |
| Christa Wells | Vocals | WIPTF |
| Blake Wescott | Tambourine | WIPTF |
| Stephanie Wicker | Vocals | TWYCDIH / WIPTF |
| Gloria Wu | Vocals | WIPTF |
| Brian Young | Percussion | TWYCDIH |
[edit] External links
- Official Long Winters Site
- The Long Winters at Barsuk Records
- The Long Winters on MySpace
- The Long Winters Library & Archive fansite
- The Long Winters collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
- The Long Winters Music - tabsite
