Quasi

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Quasi
Quasi on stage in Chicago
Background information
Origin	Portland, Oregon, United States
Genre(s)	Indie rock
Years active	1993–present
Label(s)	Touch & Go Up Domino (in Europe)
Associated acts	Sleater-Kinney Heatmiser
Website	www.theequasi.com
Members
Sam Coomes Janet Weiss Joanna Bolme
Former members
trash the puppy :)

For the prefix, see the Wiktionary entry quasi-.

Quasi is indie rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1993, consisting of the ex-husband and wife team of Sam Coomes (vocals, guitar, roxichord, various keyboards) and Janet Weiss vocals and drums. In 2007, bassist Joanna Bolme became an official member of the band; she had toured with Quasi in 2006.[1]

1 History
2 Discography
- 2.1 Albums
- 2.2 EPs and singles
3 External links

[edit] History

In 1990, Coomes, Weiss, and Brad Pedinov formed the band Motorgoat. The band released two self-released cassettes and one 7" single before dissolving in 1993. Quasi started recording as a duo in 1993. They played with various additional musicians in early live appearances, but eventually settled on playing live as a duo as well. They self-recorded and self-released a cassette and a CD in 1993. They recorded R&B Transmogrification in the Portland band Pond's basement recording studio and released it on Up Records in 1997. The released two more albums with Up: Featuring "Birds" in 1998 and Field Studies in 1999; both albums were recorded at Jackpot Studios in Portland, Oregon.

In 1998 and 1999 they toured the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Japan opening for and serving as the backup band for Elliott Smith (who Coomes had played with in Heatmiser) as well as touring on their own in the U.S. and Europe. In 2001 They home-recorded The Sword of God and released it on Touch & Go. They released Hot Shit! in 2003 and When the Going Gets Dark in 2006, both on Touch & Go in the U.S. and Domino Records in Europe.

Although Coomes and Weiss remain busy with other bands, Quasi tours fairly regularly. In 2007, they toured the U.S. with Touch & Go labelmates Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. Just prior to that tour, Quasi announced that bassist Joanne Bolme, who had toured with Quasi in 2006 and plays with Weiss in Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, was a permanent member of the band.

In addition to her work in the Jicks, Weiss has recently played with Bright Eyes and John Doe, while Coomes has been working with Pink Mountain and on his solo project, Blues Goblins. He has also played with Jandek, and has appeared on several Built to Spill albums. According to a recent post on their website, Coomes stated they are beginning to work on new material following the end of touring.

Quasi has been somewhat political since its inception, but their opposition to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq showed through in a straight-forward way with the release of Hot Shit! in 2003, particularly in the songs "White Devil's Dream" and "Master and Dog."