The Joggers

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The Joggers

Background information
Origin	Portland, Oregon, USA
Genre(s)	Indie Rock Alternative Rock
Years active	2001 – current
Label(s)	Startime International TLA Records
Members
Darrell Bourque Jake Morris Ben Whitesides Dan Wilson
Former members
Murphy Kasiewicz

The Joggers are a four-piece band hailing from Portland, Oregon. They play intricate, complex songs with elements of math rock which still retain a catchy pop sensibility. Lead singer and songwriter Ben Whitesides provides unique vocal phrasings, mixing a laid-back attitude with Mark E. Smith's pedestrian shouty delivery. The guitar style of Whitesides and the second guitarist rejects the traditional rhythm & lead style for lines which often snake around each other and have elements of call and response. Murphy Kasiewicz played second guitar on Solid Guild, but left the band before the recording of With A Cape And A Cane and was replaced by Dan Wilson (from Alaska) after that album, touring the US in support of it. Bassist Darrell Bourque, a longtime puckhead keeps an active bass line (often with effective pauses) which help propel songs over Jake Morris's calculated drums. Jake has also played drums on tour with French Kicks. All members sing parts at various times, with unique and sometimes antique harmonies, and sometimes play various instruments.

The original members are mostly former New Englanders, and after meeting in Portland formed a band in 2000 under the name Stateside and released one now impossible-to-find self-titled EP. After a name-conflict with another Stateside they changed their name, supposedly because they liked the two g's, but is more likely derived from a playing style referred to as "scale jogging". In 2002 they released the eight-song self-titled EP The Joggers (also called "The Birds" because of its cover) on TLA Records. From that EP, the song "Devil Wears Earplugs" appeared on Supercuts, the compilation from Startime International, who signed the band. Three other songs from the Joggers debut EP appeared on their proper debut album, 2003's critically acclaimedSolid Guild. 2005 saw the release of "With A Cape And A Cane", another complex-yet-fun album which brought even more critical if not commercial success.

Ben and Darrell also make up the Cajun Gems, who have one self-released album available only from the Joggers site. It has the playfulness of the Joggers, but with more of a folk sound. Dan has been recently playing with the Cajun Gems as well.