Here's how Sebadoh began... -Eric Gaffney January, 2006
I'd been playing drums since '77 and some guitar at home since around 1980 and always starting bands for fun and recording, learning to play, writing lyrics, and home recording since 1981. I met Lou in '83 at local hardcore shows. We were both in bands. In my senior year at Northampton High, Dinosaur practiced at Spaces For Rent off 5 + 10 North
and I used to stop by frequently, was their first fan, and went to their early local shows. Lou bought my "Gracefully Aging Hippy Soloists with Fountains Turned Backwards" (collaboration with the late Charles Ondras) tape in 1986 and we then exchanged tapes, and I agreed to back him up for a few shows and recording. I then booked 3 shows for Sentridoh at Smith and Hampshire Colleges, Lou with ukelele, and me on various percussion in January, 1987. (we opened for Loneliest Christmas Tree) That summer, I brought the "Weed Forestin" tape to give away as a bonus with the 2nd Dinosaur LP at Main Street Records. We collaborated on "The Freed Man," the first (30 minute) tape the next summer, I made the tape cover, duped a bunch one by one, and sold it for $1 in a box with Dr. Seuss art at Main Street Records in Northampton. We sent a few around... Lou sent one to Sonic Youth. I mailed one to Thalia Zadek with a dried spider in a plastic bag. Gerard Cosloy reviewed it for Conflict, after which we singed to Homestead for 3 records in early 1989. We did a few split-singles, (Sonic Life, Magic Ribbons Box set) then "The Freed Man." LP and everything else. I invited Jason to live at my house a few months before "The Freed Man" was released. We met Jason sometime after he called us up on the phone during one of my college radio shows; I had just played a cassette of a local band "Dissident Voices," which turned out to be Jason's band. I said something over the air about the sound quality, so Jason called in and I spoke with him for the first time, then handed the phone to Lou while I cued up records.
A full year before we all got together at my space, I had been playing drums for a band and had a show at a Smith College dorm. I brought Lou along. Jason was playing his 1967 multi-colored Ludwig drumset barefoot, with "Dissident Voices." The singer of the band (death rhino/oat pearl/oat meal) I was drumming for was hiding in the basement because he wasn't allowed on campus. After Jason's set, I polled the girls in attendence and asked if they wanted to hear a band, (which was Lou, Jason, and myself) or the DJ? They voted for the DJ. That's the true story of how Sebadoh, the band, originally began. It took awhile to get us all together then I started the band in the practice space/garage at my house, Summer '89 and booked all of our first shows until 1990 when Lou moved to Boston. The first record featuring Jason was a live (Katina's) recording of one of my songs with Jason on drums, on the Vertical single. We recorded the Oven is My Friend 5-song single for Silt Breeze in the summer of 1990, some demos, and worked on songs for III.
"Gimme Indie Rock" was out first studio recording in January, 1991. We had performed only 10 times (Sheehan's, N'ton, hall show, Chicopee, Katina's, Hadley, Hampshire College, Middle East, Cambridge, The Moon, New Haven, Space at Chase, NY...) by the time we recorded III at Ft. Apache in March, 1991, fulfilling our Homestead contract for 3 records. We went on a four week tour after III was released, a week of it with Firehose; Mike Watt, George Hurley. A year after recording III we we had an offer to sign with Columbia Records, then went with Sub Pop, and released "Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock" (my title, of course) in the U.S. on green vinyl and CD, along with "Rockin' the Forest" (20/20) in the U.K., then "Sebadoh Vs. Helmet" (another title i came up with during a Bob Weston mixdown session in the summer of 1992) a few months later, the first record on Domino. We put out both those EP's on one record, vinyl and CD, on City Slang in Europe. We spent 1992 playing one off shows in Amsterdam, London, and Sacramento, (with Pavement) while accumulating tons of press in 1992, esp. Melody Maker, N.M.E.
We played the west coast for the first time, a tour from Southern California (San Diego, Whisky in L.A., Long Beach, Davis and Chico, and San Francisco, CA.) up to Vancouver, B.C., had our rental van stolen in Seattle, when Lou dropped the keys with the plate number outisde the venue, resulting in the loss of my best clothes including a very cool and colorful 70's shirt with an ecology + anti-pollution theme, along with a cassette tape Beck handed to me at our show in Long Beach a few days before. We spent the summer recording in Amherst/Hadley (near U-Mass football stadium) and in a Somerville basement with Bob Weston and Peter Prescott's drums (Mission of Burma) and recorded half a dozen more songs in Berlin for "Bubble & Scrape." We toured the U.K. (with The Wedding Present) and Europe with Sonic Youth and Pavement in Germany and a show in Prague. "Bubble & Scrape" (another of my fanciful titles) was released in April, 1993 and sold 10,000 copies in the first week. We played a record release show at The Paradise in Boston, followed by a U.S. tour (w. Polvo on a few shows) a European and U.K. tour (inc. Glastonbury) then played Lollapalooza 2nd stage w. Tsunami, Free Kitten, Thurston Moore from New Orleans to Los Angeles, where we played for the Whisky a second time. The last show I played (on drums) with Sebadoh was in Seattle with Peter Buck standing motionless in the back of the room.
Cut to November, 2006 first band practice in 14 years, III reissue released July, 2006 (Domino Records) Reunion Tour February 26 to April 17, 2007... 35 shows... 29 states...
Cut to June 2007... Eric plays six shows in New York City and Brooklyn in 19 days... solo acoustic... 1 with jason on drums... 3 with jeff halpin on drums... Lou is on the road with Dinosaur...Jason on tour with Fiery Furnaces...
February 2008... Europe/UK tour April-May 2008
» Tuesday 22nd Apr Roisin Dubh
Galway, Ireland
» Wednesday 23rd Apr Whelans
Dublin, Ireland
» Friday 25th Apr Classic Grand
Glasgow, Scotland
» Saturday 26th Apr Manchester Academy 3
Manchester, UK
» Sunday 27th Apr Concorde 2
Brighton
» Monday 28th Apr Trabendo
Paris, France
» Tuesday 29th Apr Handelsbeurs
Gent, Belgium
» Wednesday 30th Apr Vera
Groningen, Holland
» Thursday 1st May Pumpehuset
Copenhagen, Denmark
» Friday 2nd May Debaser Medis
Stockholm, Sweden
» Saturday 3rd May KB
Malmo, Sweden
» Sunday 4th May Festsaal Kreuzberg
Berlin, Germany
» Monday 5th May Babylon
Istanbul, Turkey
» Wednesday 7th May Koko
London, UK
The original full line up of Lou Barlow, Jason Loewenstein and Eric Gaffney perform their 1993 classic album - Bubble and Scrape. www.dontlookbackconcerts.com
» Friday 9th May
ATP vs Pitchfork Festival
Camber Sands Holiday Park, West Sussex, UK
1. a complete discography is available at http://www.sebadoh-and-suchlike.com/
2. sebadoh III, was out of print for years...originally issued by homestead records in september 1991, was re-issued (with a second disc of extra tracks, liner notes, etc) by domino records, July 10th (UK) and August 8th (U.S.) 2006.
eric's website; (MP3's, Shows, Interviews, Reviews, links, and how-to-order "uncharted waters" (old gold/handmade records) rel: october 3, 2006 and fields of gaffney's 'nature walk' and "cosmic chicken & egg" + solo debut: "brilliant concert Numbers")
http://www.angelfire.com/indie/ericgaffney.com/
eric on my space
ericgaffneysebadoh
jason's website; http://www.jakerock.com/
lou's site http://www.loobiecore.com/
Sebadoh reunion tourdates
Sebadoh February-April, 2007 Tour Dates
2/26 San Diego Casbah
2/27 Costa Mesa Detroit Bar
2/28 San Fran GAMH (Noisepop)
3/02 Portland Berbatis Pan
3/03 Vancouver Richards
3/04 Seattle Neumos
3/06 Eugene WOW Hall
3/08 Santa Cruz The Attic
3/09 Los Angeles Troubadour
3/10 Los Angeles Spaceland
3/15 Phoenix Clubhouse
3/16 Albuquerque Launchpad
3/17 Boulder Fox Theater CO
3/19 Minneapolis 400 Bar MN
3/20 Milwaukee Shank Hall WI
3/21 Chicago Metro IL
3/22 Detroit Magic Stick MI
3/23 Toronto Lees Palace
3/24 Montreal La Sala Rossa
3/29 Northampton Pearl St MA
3/30 Boston Paradise, MA
3/31 New York Webster Hall, NY
4/1 Maxwells, Hoboken, NJ
4/2 Philadelphia, PA
4/03 DC 9:30 Club
4/04 Carrboro Cats Cradle NC
4/06 Louisville Headliners KY
4/07 Nashville Exit In TN
4/08 Atlanta Variety Playhouse GA
4/09 Tallahassee Beta Bar FL
4/10 Orlando The Social FL
4/12 Baton Rouge, New Orleans LA
4/13 Houston Walters on Washington TX
4/14 Austin Emos TX
4/16 Tucson Club Congress AZ
Order the Sebadoh III and The Freed Man reissues from Domino Records! http://www.dominorecordco.com/
Get Sebadoh's "Bubble & Scrape" and "Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock" from Sub Pop here:
Order Bubble & Scrape from SUB*POP
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