"Awesome"
"Awesome" (the quotation marks are part of the name) are a Seattle-based septet with roots in cabaret and theater, self-described as "Part band, part art collective."[1] While they reject the "rock band" label, Lane Czaplinski, artistic director of On the Boards remarks, "If they are not rock musicians, "there is rock payoff."[2] Czaplinski has compared them to Polyphonic Spree and Scissor Sisters.
"Awesome" began as a cabaret act thrown together by seven experienced fringe theater actors. Although they continued to perform often in theatrical venues, their identity as a band and cabaret act has eclipsed their status as actors.[3] Around October 2003, several future members of "Awesome" played together in a They Might Be Giants tribute to raise money for Seattle's Open Circle Theater.[4] Their very first performance under the name "Awesome" (with just Ackermann, Mosher, Nixon, and Osebold) was in Seattle at Annex Theater's monthly cabaret "Spin the Bottle" On February 6, 2004,[2] and their first full-septet performance as "Awesome" was in the Jewelbox theater at Belltown bar the Rendezvous on June 30, 2004.[4] Their first major production was Delaware (first a multi-media stage production and later an album).[3] Gigs as a band have included performing on bills with Harvey Danger,[4][5] A. C. Newman,[4] U.S.E.,[4] The Presidents of the United States of America,[5] and The Long Winters.[5]
Band member David Nixon is a philosophy professor at the University of Washington, Bothell.[5]
Band member Rob Pro (accordion, clarinet) is a composer and sound designer for theater productions.
Many of the group's theatrical pieces are non-narrative or have only minimal, non-linear narratives. For example, noSIGNAL (2006) was described by Seattle Times reviewer Brangien Davis as "addressing, among other topics, technical difficulties, recurring dreams, cell death, regeneration and bees."[6]
Discography
- Delaware, Bandor Records, 2005
- Beehive Sessions, Bandor Records, 2007
- "Awesome", digital album, "Awesome", 2011
- Four For Foer, digital album, "Awesome", 2011
- Pat Benefactor, digital album, "Awesome", 2011
- Adrift, digital album, "Awesome", 2011
- Can't Capture Faerp (Seriously), digital album, "Awesome", 2011
- "Smoking weed", 2001
References
- ↑ Bio, "Awesome" official site. Accessed online August 31, 2008.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Suzanne Beal, You Can Call Them 'Awesome', Seattle Weekly, May 3, 2006. Accessed online July 11, 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kirk Heynen, Awesome - Delaware review, Three Imaginary Girls, December 21, 2005. Accessed online August 31, 2008.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Christopher Frizzelle, No Traffic Signal, No Problem, The Stranger, May 2, 2006. Accessed online August 31, 2008.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Christian Nelson, INTERMISSION INQUISITION: "Awesome" player David Nixon, The Daily (University of Washington), April 5, 2007. Accessed online August 31, 2008.
- ↑ Brangien Davis, Multi-genre "noSIGNAL" creates a buzz, Seattle Times, May 5, 2006. Accessed online August 31, 2008.
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