Unwed Sailor

Unwed Sailor
Johnathon Ford of Unwed Sailor
Background information
Origin	Seattle, Washington United States
Genres	Instrumental rock, Ambient, Post-rock
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Burnt Toast Vinyl Gentlemen Records
Website	www.unwedsailor.net
Members	Johnathon Ford, Nathan Price, Philip Phillips, Bryce Chambers

Unwed Sailor is a mostly instrumental band formed in 1998 by Johnathon Ford. Unwed Sailor's recordings range from instrumental rock to ambient drones. The band's touring and recording line-ups have largely been in rotation over the years(see below), with the core member being the band's founder, Johnathon Ford (bass). Unwed Sailor has consistently toured throughout the United States and Europe since its inception in 1998. The band is booked in the U.S. by Nicodemus Agency, and in Europe by Toutpartout. The band's most recent album "Little Wars" was released on Burnt Toast Vinyl on 18 March 2008.

Following the release of the 2011 "Tour EP" the band became inactive, and no news updates or shows have been announced.

Johnathon Ford has also played with Roadside Monument, Pedro The Lion, Warlord, Scientific, Seldom, Damien Jurado, Rosie Thomas, Ester Drang, Early Day Miners, Decahedron, Ryan Lindsey, BRONCHO, and Native Lights.

Collaborators

The following artists have played with Unwed Sailor at some point:

• Pedro the Lion's David Bazan played drums on the Firecracker EP, and played drums for spot shows in 1998 and 1999.
• Casey Wescott of The Vogue, Seldom and Fleet Foxes played guitar on Firecracker.
• Melissa Palladino, who has performed with Damien Jurado, Jen Wood and Danielson Famile played violin on the Firecracker.
• Ryan Winstead of Pony Soldier played Guitar & Omnichord at various shows in 1999-2000, and worked with Johnathon developing songs that would end up on "The Faithful Anchor".
• Nic Tse of The Lovesong, Mersey Paradise and Mika Bomb was a core member of the band from early 1999 to mid-2003. He co-wrote/performed on "The Faithful Anchor", " The Magic Hedge", "Stateless", "The Marionette and The Music Box", and "Little Wars". He also recorded the guitar parts for Shadows from "The White Ox". Since 2003 he has been an off and on touring/studio member of the band. His most recent contribution was playing guitar on five of the nine tracks on Little Wars.
• Dan Burton of Early Day Miners and Ativin recorded the 2001 release, The Faithful Anchor, "The Magic Hedge" 7" and the 2006 releases, Circles, and The White Ox. He also plays various instruments on each of these records.
• Matt Johnson of Blenderhead and Roadside Monument played drums on the 2001 release, The Faithful Anchor.
• Matthew Depper and Matthew Putman, both of Eso-Charis, Lovedrug, Snailhuntr, Living Sacrifice, and Bear Colony toured extensively in the early 2000s recorded and played on The Marionette and the Music Box and played various instruments on "Little Wars". Both have played live with the band off and on from early 2000s to present. Matthew Putman has also done remixes of various Unwed Sailor songs.
• Nathan Richardson of The Casket Lottery, The Appleseed Cast and Coalesce worked with Unwed Sailor as a touring drummer in the early 2000s.
• Christian Wargo of Scientific, Crystal Skulls and Fleet Foxes played guitar on various tours in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
• Stephen Tucker of Two Spines and Bear Colony played guitar on "Little Wars." He wrote the song "Lonely Bulls" that will appear on this release.
• Andy Haldeman was a touring member of Unwed Sailor, and recorded on "Little Wars".
• Patrick Ryan of Straight Lines and Bear Colony played drums on the summer and fall tours of 2007 and also played percussion on "Little Wars."
• Brooks Tipton of Colour Revolt has been the keyboardist for Unwed Sailor for the past 5 years. As well as touring he has also recorded on the album "Little Wars."
• Zach Reeves is a member of Two Spines and played the Fredericia, Denmark Forma Nova Festival performance in 2005 and the United States "Keyboard Tour."
• Jonny Humble played the Fredericia, Denmark Forma Nova Festival performance in 2005 and the United States "Keyboard Tour.".
• Kyle Smith of Bear Colony played drums on the Fredericia, Denmark Forma Nova Festival performance in 2005, the August Tour 2005, and the United States "Keyboard Tour."
• Phillip Blackwell of Questions in Dialect appears on "The White Ox", and the "Circles" ep, and remixed "Lonely Bulls" for the "Little Wars" double vinyl release.

• Matthew Magee of Wooden Finger and formerly of Questions in Dialect played guitar as a touring member in 2004.
• Chad Copelin, owner of Black Watch Studios engineered Little Wars. He has also engineered Bishop Allen and Ryan Lindsey's "White Paper Beds".
• Bryce Chambers of Ester Drang has played guitar on past tours, appeared on the Unwed Sailor retrospective, History, and is a current recording/touring member of Unwed Sailor.
• Aaron Ford of Always The Runner and ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead played with Unwed Sailor as a touring drummer in 2004 and played on Little Wars.
• Richard Kentopp was a touring guitarist in 2008.
• Nathan Price is the current recording/touring drummer in Unwed Sailor.
• Joey Yates of Parlour played drums on the 2005 Fall tour.
• Benny Clark of Parlour played guitar on the 2005 Fall tour.
• Jamey See Tai of The Photographic played guitar on the 2005 Fall tour.
• Dan Lucas of Jairus played guitar on the fall 2007 U.S. tour, and winter 2008 European tour.
• Josh Tillman of Fleet Foxes played drums on the June/July 2006 tour.
• Aaron Hamby of Callupsie played guitar on the fall 2006 U.S. and European Tour, and the winter 2007 tours. He also plays guitar on the Unwed Sailor restrospective album, "History". Aaron toured with Unwed Sailor on tours throughout 2009.
• Phillip Philips of Dead Sea Choir is the current guitar player in Unwed Sailor as of the beginning of 2010. He will be a contributing member to the writing process for Unwed Sailor's new album release in 2010.
• John Momberg of Koufax and The Dactyls played drums on the fall 2006 U.S. and Europen Tour.
• Joe Brumley of Early Day Miners plays guitar on "The Faithful Anchor", "The Magic Hedge", and "Stateless" recordings.
• Matt Griffin of Early Day Miners plays drums on "The White Ox" and the "Circles" EP.
• James Mcallister of Ester Drang and Sufjan Stevens plays various instruments on 'The Marionette and The Music Box", and "Little Wars". He has also played a second drum kit at spot Unwed Sailor shows.
• Jeff Shoop of Ester Drang and Rosie Thomas plays on "Little Wars".
• On tour with Owl City and Mat Kearney during the summer of 2011. http://thewarfieldtheatre.com/eventdetail.php?id=31074

Discography

• Firecracker (1999)
• The Faithful Anchor (2001)
• Circle of Birds ep (2001)
• Stateless (2002)
• The Magic Hedge 7" (2002)
• The Marionette and the Music Box (2003)
• Circles (2006)
• The White Ox (2006)
• Little Wars (2008)
• Tour EP (2011)

The band has also been featured on a split 7" with Toboggan, and soundtracks for short films Stateless (2002) and For Jonathan (2004).

External links

• Unwed Sailor Myspace Page
• Official Site
• Onion AV Club review of "The Marionette And The Music Box"
• Soundcrank Podcast Hosted by Unwed Sailor
• Interview at Nashville Review