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Harvey Danger was an American
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
band that was formed in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, in 1992 by journalism students at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
. The band rose to prominence in 1997 with the single "
Flagpole Sitta "Flagpole Sitta" is a song by American rock band Harvey Danger from their 1997 debut album, '' Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?''. It was released as the band's debut single in April 1998 and was met with critical and commercial success, peak ...
", which was later used as the theme tune to the British sitcom ''
Peep Show A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the c ...
''. After recording two albums, they went on hiatus for a few years and returned with their third and final release in 2005. On August 29, 2009, the band played its final show at the
Crocodile Cafe The Crocodile (formerly the Crocodile Cafe, and sometimes called The Croc) is a music club at 2505 1st Avenue at Wall Street in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Opened by Stephanie Dorgan as the "Crocodile Cafe" ...
in Seattle.


History


Early years (1992–1996)

Harvey Danger began in 1992 with
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
classmates Jeff Lin and Aaron Huffman deciding "it might be fun to start a band." Huffman and Lin, who were both student journalists on the staff of ''
The Daily of the University of Washington ''The Daily of the University of Washington'', usually referred to in Seattle simply as ''The Daily'', is the student newspaper of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is staffed entirely by University of Washington studen ...
'' student newspaper, took the name "Harvey Danger" from a phrase
graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
ed onto the wall of the newspaper's office. Lin and Huffman played house parties and bars as a duo under the Harvey Danger name until 1993, when they invited Evan Sult to be their drummer. Despite his complete lack of drumming experience, Sult agreed, bringing along his own similarly inexperienced classmate
Sean Nelson Sean Nelson (born June 12, 1973) is an American musician and journalist. He was the lead singer of the alternative rock group Harvey Danger and is the arts editor for '' The Stranger'' newspaper in Seattle, Washington. Music career Nelson i ...
. Nelson was also a colleague of Lin and Huffman at ''The Dailys arts and entertainment section ''The Glass Onion''. The foursome played their first show on April 21, 1994 at the now-defunct Lake Union Pub; Sult and Nelson, both under 21, were only permitted entry during the set. That summer, the band moved into Nelson's student house together and began holding band practices in the basement. The band had little money and their drum set for their first few shows consisted of nothing more than a laundry bucket, three hubcaps, and a jar of pickles. More shows at the Lake Union Pub and other low-rent Seattle clubs followed, leading to exposure in ''
The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington ...
''. As the band began playing more shows at increasingly reputable venues, their songwriting gained momentum. In 1994, the band produced a six-song demo tape, sold at shows for $3. When three-quarters of the group became unemployed in 1996, they decided to devote yet more attention to the band, moving to another house and renting a rehearsal space. Their shows continued to improve, and the band became regular weekend performers at the
Crocodile Cafe The Crocodile (formerly the Crocodile Cafe, and sometimes called The Croc) is a music club at 2505 1st Avenue at Wall Street in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Opened by Stephanie Dorgan as the "Crocodile Cafe" ...
. The band recorded a three-track demo tape with producer
John Goodmanson John Goodmanson (born 1968) is an American recording engineer and indie rock record producer. He is best known for producing multiple albums by Bikini Kill, Blonde Redhead, Death Cab for Cutie, Los Campesinos!, and Sleater-Kinney. Selected di ...
, which failed to draw attention from major labels, but found its way to Greg Glover, a London Records intern who ran his own small label, The Arena Rock Recording Company, Glover expressed interest in releasing a 7" single, and Harvey Danger provided him with an additional three songs—including "
Flagpole Sitta "Flagpole Sitta" is a song by American rock band Harvey Danger from their 1997 debut album, '' Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?''. It was released as the band's debut single in April 1998 and was met with critical and commercial success, peak ...
"—also recorded with Goodmanson. On the strength of these, Glover agreed to bankroll a full-length album. In 1996, shortly before the band's national success, Nelson was hired as a reporter for '' The Stranger'' newspaper in Seattle. Nelson opted to balance his journalism and music careers, and he continues to write and edit for the newspaper to the present day.


''Merrymakers'' and initial success (1997–1998)

'' Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?'' was released July 29, 1997, to local critical acclaim. The record performed well on college radio charts, and it sold steadily in Seattle and New York, among other cities. Influential L.A. radio station KROQ-FM picked the track up, and stations across the country shortly followed suit. When Greg Glover of The Arena Rock Recording Company was hired at
Slash Records Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative music, before its eventual ac ...
, a subsidiary of
London Recordings London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
, Harvey Danger were signed to the label. "Flagpole Sitta" made '' Billboard'' magazine's Top 40 and appeared in a number of films and television shows. Its video got heavy rotation on MTV and VH1. The song also became famous globally as one of the most memorable songs featured in the film '' American Pie'', despite not being on the official retail soundtrack. It also appeared in the movie ''
Disturbing Behavior ''Disturbing Behavior'' is a 1998 teen science fiction psychological horror film starring James Marsden, Katie Holmes, and Nick Stahl. The film was directed by David Nutter, who was a director and producer on ''The X-Files'', and the screenplay ...
'' and its trailer. More recently, the song was used as the opening theme to the British sitcom ''
Peep Show A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the c ...
'' for the second series and onwards. By late 1997, however, the band felt as though the record had lost its momentum and the group began to contemplate breaking up. Shortly before taking January 1998 off to contemplate their future, Nelson gave a copy of ''Merrymakers'' to
KNDD KNDD (107.7 FM, "107-7 The End") is a commercial radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs an alternative rock radio format. Its studios are located on Fifth Avenue in Downtown Seattle. The station broadcast ...
DJ Marco Collins. Within weeks, "Flagpole Sitta" had become KNDD's most-requested song. The band toured extensively from March through December 1998, playing headlining and support gigs with some of the most popular artists of the year and appearing at many radio festivals. The band had wanted to release the song "Carlotta Valdez" as the follow-up single to "Flagpole Sitta", but they were overruled by Slash Records, who released "Private Helicopter" as a single instead in the fall of 1998. The single received lukewarm reception and did not reach any ''Billboard'' music chart. In December 1998, Harvey Danger began writing songs for their follow-up album.


Delays and ''King James Version'' (1999–2001)

Harvey Danger began production of their second album in March 1999 at Albert Grossman's Bearsville Studios, near
Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...
, New York. Slash/London was unusually uninvolved in the recording process, a harbinger of what was to come. After three weeks of recording at Bearsville and several more weeks of recording and mixing in Seattle and Los Angeles, the band submitted the record, ''
King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
'', to their label, and waited. What the band refers to as "elaborate corporate reshuffling" began almost immediately after they finished their album: mergers and acquisitions among record labels left them and their record in limbo for over a year, not knowing to whom they were signed, nor when ''KJV'' would be released. Attempts to release the album on then-fledgling indie label
Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, in 1998 to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...
fell through due to legal complications, a tour with
The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete ...
fell through due to lack of label support, and, just when the band was about to give up, newly reorganized
London-Sire Records London-Sire Records was an American-based record label owned by Warner Music Group, created in August 1999 with the merging of Warner Music Group's struggling Sire Records Group and the US division of London Recordings, which WMG had acquired fr ...
released ''King James Version'' on September 12, 2000. Reviews were strong, but buzz was almost nonexistent: sales of the album were slow, and the single "Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo" performed poorly on radio and MTV. For the album's supporting tour,
Nevada Bachelors Nevada Bachelors were an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1997. The band's lineup consisted of Robb Benson (vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboard), Mike Squires (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Ben Brunn (bass, backing vocals). Du ...
guitarist Mike Squires was added as the group's live guitarist as well as The Western State Hurricanes founder John Roderick on keyboard. Roderick would later fill in on bass when Huffman fell ill, days before a performance on '' The Late Late Show'' with
Craig Kilborn Craig Lawrence Kilborn (born August 24, 1962) is an American comedian, sports and political commentator, actor, and television host. Kilborn began a career in sports broadcasting in the late 1980s, leading to an anchoring position at ESPN's '' Sp ...
.


Hiatus and reunion (2001–2004)

Harvey Danger played a "final" show in Portland on April 21, 2001, seven years to the day after their first show, and quietly disbanded for an undetermined period. During the hiatus Jeff Lin returned to school, Evan Sult relocated to Chicago and joined the band Bound Stems and Aaron Huffman formed the group Love Hotel. Sean Nelson recorded and toured with
The Long Winters The Long Winters are an American indie rock band based in Seattle, Washington. History Singer-songwriter John Roderick was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. He later returned to Seattle, where he formed the Bun Fa ...
, the group formed by former Harvey Danger live member John Roderick, and worked on solo material, sometimes with Lin and Huffman (actually recording several unreleased songs, among them covers of songs written by
Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...
for a future release entitled ''Nelson Sings Nilsson''). He wrote for the weekly alternative Seattle newspaper, '' The Stranger''; and became a partner in Barsuk Records and a DJ for Seattle's
KEXP-FM KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the non-p ...
. The idea of reforming Harvey Danger was raised several times, but rejected. In 2004, Nelson, Huffman, and Lin entered a studio together for the first time in three years to record two new song ideas, with
Nada Surf Nada Surf is a New York City-based American alternative rock band formed in the 1990s, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), Doug Gillard (guitar, backing vocals), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). History ...
's
Ira Elliot Nada Surf is a New York City-based American alternative rock band formed in the 1990s, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), Doug Gillard (guitar, backing vocals), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). History 1 ...
accompanying on drums. The session went so well that the trio agreed to begin writing music together—with "no strings attached." Sult, busy in Chicago, was unable to return, but sent his blessing for Harvey Danger's reincarnation. April 21, 2004, saw both the tenth anniversary of Harvey Danger and their first show since 2001, in Seattle. With Nada Surf opening and Elliot again filling in on drums, the show also previewed songs that would be part of the new album: "Moral Centralia," "Wine, Women, and Song," and "War Buddies." The band recruited Seattle-based drummer Michael Welke, formalized their return as a band, and performed with their new lineup at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle in the summer of 2004. The year ended with the self-release of a five-song EP, ''
Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas (Sometimes) ''Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas (Sometimes)'' is the second Extended play, EP by Harvey Danger. It was released in December 2004 on the band's own label, Phonographic Records. One of the songs is a Demo (music), demo from their next a ...
''.


''Little by Little...'' and breakup (2005–2009)

In February 2005, Harvey Danger entered Robert Lang Studios to record their third album. Joining them again was Goodmanson, accompanied by
Steve Fisk Steve Fisk is an American, Washington-based audio engineer, record producer and musician. As a musician, he has been in bands such as the instrumental alternative/indie rock band Pell Mell and the electronic band Pigeonhed. He has long been as ...
. The recording process ran smoothly, and '' Little by Little...'' was released on September 13, 2005, five years and one day after ''King James Version''. Citing "a long-held sense that the practice now being demonized by the music biz as 'illegal' file sharing can be a friend to the independent musician," Harvey Danger released their third album, ''Little by Little...'', as a free download via BitTorrent a week after its release, and directly from the band's website a week after that. Within two months of release, the album had been downloaded 100,000 times, while the first pressing of physical copies (packaged with a disc of bonus material) had nearly sold out. Reviews of the album were mixed. Pitchfork Media gave the album 6.9 (of a possible 10); AllMusic granted 3.5 (of a possible 5); PopMatters wrote: "If ''Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone'' is a rebellious kid kicking over trashcans in his neighborhood, then ''Little by Little'' seems to be that kid all grown up, taking out the trash, putting the lid on tightly, getting in his Jetta, and driving to work." Treble.com wrote: "Little by Little is one of the most pleasantly surprising albums of the year and one that truly displays the intricate and clever songwriting of a band in its prime." Threeimaginarygirls.com said: "Little By Little... deals with complex issues like politics, religion, and relationships on an intelligent level that's both challenging and accessible." The album's first single, "Cream and Bastards Rise," made Rolling Stone's "Hot List." It was also released as a downloadable song for the "Rock Band" video game series on October 7, 2008. On July 25, 2006, Olympia-based label
Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally know ...
re-released ''Little by Little...'' with a slightly altered track listing (songs on the bonus disc and main album swapped places). This release was much more widely available, and the band set out on its first national tour in five years in support of the album. On October 10, 2006,
Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, in 1998 to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...
released '' Little Round Mirrors'' as a maxi-single/ EP with four B-sides. On May 28, 2009, the band announced, "After 15 years, three albums, hundreds of shows, and far more twists and turns than we ever imagined possible, we've decided to put Harvey Danger to rest. The decision is totally mutual and utterly amicable." Harvey Danger played eight farewell shows in August, the last three of them in Seattle. The band closed with the last song it wrote, "The Show Must Not Go On". In 2011, Harvey Danger released ''The Dead Sea Scrolls'' B-side collection and final single "The Show Must Not Go On" for free on their website.


Post-breakup (2014–2016)

Since the band's breakup, Nelson has continued to write and edit for '' The Stranger'' alternative weekly newspaper, which he had done for most of the duration of the band's career. As of 2016, he is the publication's arts editor and music critic. Huffman also worked for the newspaper as an art director. ''Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?'' was released on vinyl for the first time on July 29, 2014, by the independent label No Sleep Records. The packaging for the ''Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?'' re-issue LP will feature new artwork, designed by Huffman, Sult and Nelson, using the iconic house from the original cover art now updated to reflect the passage of time, now surrounded by freeways and skyscrapers. Founding guitarist Jeff J. Lin co-founded the IT company Captricity in 2011 with Kuang Chen. Founding bassist Aaron Huffman died of respiratory failure due to cystic fibrosis on March 6, 2016, at age 43. His death was reported in ''The Stranger'' by Nelson.


Band members

Final lineup * Jeff J. Lin – guitar, piano, keyboards, violin (1992–2009) * Aaron Huffman – bass guitar, guitar (1992–2009) *
Sean Nelson Sean Nelson (born June 12, 1973) is an American musician and journalist. He was the lead singer of the alternative rock group Harvey Danger and is the arts editor for '' The Stranger'' newspaper in Seattle, Washington. Music career Nelson i ...
– lead vocals, keyboards (1993–2009) * Michael Welke – drums, percussion (2004–2009) * Rob Knop – keyboards (2005–2009) Past members Evan Sult – drums, percussion (1993–2001) Touring members * Mike Squires – guitar (2000–2001) * John Roderick – keyboards, bass (2000–2001)


Timeline


Discography


Demo tapes

* ''Harvey Danger'' (1994) (Cover: photo of saucepan in kitchen sink full of dry ice. One-sided
J-card A J-card is the paper card inserted in the plastic storage case of most audio cassette releases, as well as being latterly wrapped around the outside of many Blu-ray and DVD steelbooks and similar special editions. The J-card usually contains an i ...
, printed on color laser printer.) Self-released. * ''Harvey Danger'' (1996) (Cover: twin red arrows pointing upward. Red and black printed on off-white paper.) Self-released.


Studio albums


Compilation albums

* ''Dead Sea Scrolls'' (2009) Phonographic


Extended plays

* ''Harvey Danger'' (2000) London/Sire ( Circuit City exclusive) * ''
Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas (Sometimes) ''Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas (Sometimes)'' is the second Extended play, EP by Harvey Danger. It was released in December 2004 on the band's own label, Phonographic Records. One of the songs is a Demo (music), demo from their next a ...
'' (2004) Phonographic * ''Cream and Bastards Rise'' (2005) Kill Rock Stars * '' Little Round Mirrors'' (2006) Barsuk


Singles


Compilations and soundtracks

* ''Fuel: A Compilation'' (1997) Arena Rock Recording Company – "Carjack Fever" * ''
Now That's What I Call Music! ''Now That's What I Call Music!'' (often shortened to ''Now!'') is a series of various artists compilation albums released in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Sony Music and Universal Music (Universal/Sony Music) which began in 1983. Spinoff ...
'' (1998) PolyGram/
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...
– "Flagpole Sitta" * '' 200 Cigarettes Music from the Motion Picture'' (1999) PolyGram – "Save It for Later" * '' Soul Survivors Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (2001) Gold Circle Records – "Authenticity" * ''Otis' Opuses'' (2006) Kill Rock Stars – "Cream and Bastards Rise"


Music Videos

* "Flagpole Sitta" (1997) * "Private Helicopter" (1998) * "Save It for Later" (1999) * "Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo" (2000)


References


External links


Harvey Danger's official site

Rock and Roll McDonald's
Jeff J. Lin's blog, with background information and analysis on the free release of ''Little By Little...''.
Harvey Danger collection
at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
's live music archive * Harvey Danger on Allmusic
Review of ''Where have all the merrymakers gone?''


* {{Authority control 1992 establishments in Washington (state) 2001 disestablishments in Washington (state) 2004 establishments in Washington (state) 2009 disestablishments in Washington (state) Alternative rock groups from Washington (state) Arena Rock Recording Company artists Indie rock musical groups from Washington (state) Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups disestablished in 2001 Musical groups reestablished in 2004 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 Musical groups from Seattle Musical quintets Barsuk Records artists No Sleep Records artists Kill Rock Stars artists Slash Records artists