Fitz of Depression was an American punk rock band from

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

, formed in 1987. The band released three albums before splitting up in 1997. There were brief reunion tours in 2000 and 2002. The band continued to play, particularly in the

Northwestern United States The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. ...

, with occasional west coast tours until the untimely death of founding member and singer/guitarist Mike Dees.

History

Formed in Olympia in 1988, the band's original lineup consisted of Mike Dees (Mikey Dees vocals, guitar), Jim Koontz (bass guitar), and Craig Becker (drums).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 739Staple, Arthur (1994)
Punk Without Pretensions
, ''

The Record (Bergen County, New Jersey) ''The Record'' (also called ''The North Jersey Record'', ''The Bergen Record'', ''The Sunday Record'' (Sunday edition) and formerly ''The Bergen Evening Record'') is a newspaper in New Jersey, United States. Serving Bergen, Essex, Hudson and ...

'', 11 November 1994, retrieved 2012-06-29 They began playing local venues in the

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

area. This lineup recorded an eight track EP, released on the Mumble Something label. Koontz left the band, to be replaced by Ryan von Bargen. The band's next release was "The Awakening", a single on the Meat label released in January 1991. A benefit concert was held in April 1991 to help Dees pay fines for traffic violations and avoid jail, with the band joined on stage by

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the ...

and

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

and the concert filmed for the documentary film ''

Hype! ''Hype!'' ( 1996) is a documentary directed by Doug Pray about the popularity of grunge rock in the early to mid-1990s United States. It incorporates interviews and rare concert footage to trace the development of the grunge scene from its early ...

''.True, Everett (2006) ''Nirvana: The True Story'', Omnibus Press, Von Bargen was replaced by Justin Warren. A self-titled debut album, which had been recorded in 1991, was the band's last release on Meat, subsequently signing with

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent music ...

, for whom they debuted with the July 1994 album ''Let's Give It a Twist'' (released in the UK the following year on

Fire Records Fire Records was an American independent record label, set up in 1959 by Bobby Robinson. Amongst others, it released records by Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Buster Brown and Arthur Crudup. At one point it was thought Fire had issued the la ...

). Warren (who later joined Quitters, Inc.) had himself been replaced by Brian Sparhawk in 1993.Hage, Erik
Fitz of Depression Biography
,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, retrieved 2012-06-29 In April 1995, while touring the UK, the band recorded a session for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

show, at the Maida Vale BBC studios in London.23/04/1995 - Fitz Of Depression
, ''Keeping It Peel'',

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

History

Musical style

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

References

External links