Pell Mell was an
instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
combo
Combo may refer to: Technology
*Combo television unit, a television with either a VCR or a DVD player built into a single unit
* Combo drive, a type of optical drive that can read CDs and DVDs
*A guitar amplifier incorporating one or more loudsp ...
, formed in 1980 in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
.
History
The original members were Arni May, guitar, and Jon-Lars Sorenson, bass, from the Portland avant-garde group UHF; and from local
Reed College
Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...
Bill Owen on guitar, and Bob Beerman on drums. This iteration of the group performed and recorded the songs on their first EP release in 1981, ''Rhyming Guitars'', which gave the group exposure over the nation's college radio network. In 1982 the foursome hired a manager,
Bruce Pavitt
Bruce S. Pavitt (born March 7, 1959) is the Chicago-born co-founder of independent record label Sub Pop. He attended Evergreen State College where he hosted a show on Evergreen's KAOS radio station before founding Sub Pop.
History
After brief ...
in his pre-
Sub Pop career,
and did a summer tour of the US, visiting colleges and punk clubs on both coasts. Arni May left the group just as the tour was ready to hit the road, re-birthing Pell Mell as a power trio. This version of the band can be heard on the album ''Live Cassette'', recorded in a Portland club.
With the tour over and a desire to keep playing, the entire group moved to a single house near
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
, to continue writing and recording the next album, ''Bumper Crop''. Some of the unreleased songs from the ''Rhyming Guitars'' recording session, added to those from a later session with new member Greg Freeman, were released in 1985 on an album named ''For Years We Stood Clearly As One Thing''.
While in Berkeley, more personnel changes took place.
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 ...
joined as keyboardist, and after making the recordings for the second album, Jon-Lars returned to his career in engineering.
Over the seventeen years the band existed, it experienced a number of line-up changes and recorded for no less than five labels. The drummer, Bob Beerman remained the only constant member of Pell Mell, but its most permanent and final lineup included other notable musicians like keyboardist Steve Fisk, bassist Greg Freeman and guitarist David Spalding. Fisk is known for his extensive production work as well as his solo music career and work in
Pigeonhed
Pigeonhed is an American electronic band from Seattle that combines elements of funk, soul, trip hop, and lo-fi. The band is a collaboration of Shawn Smith and Steve Fisk, that released three albums during the period from 1993 to 1997. They ...
and the
Halo Benders.
Freeman — formerly a member of
the Call — was also a producer outside of Pell Mell. David Spalding was the guitar tech for the Call.
Pell Mell's song titled "Nothing Lies Still Long" from the ''
Interstate
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
'' album featured on HBO's ''
Six Feet Under'' as recap music. The song was used this way for the entire first and second season, and for most of the third season. The song was also used in the 2001 movie “Joyride” starring Paul Walker and Steve Zahn.
Discography
* ''Live Cassette'' (Indoor Records, 1982/ Starlight Furniture Company, 2001)
* ''For Years We Stood Clearly as One Thing'' (
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 ...
, 1985)
* ''The Bumper Crop'' (SST, 1987)
* ''Rhyming Guitars'' EP (Indoor Records, 1981/
SST, 1990)
* ''Flow'' (SST, 1991)
* ''
Interstate
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
'' (
DGC, 1995)
* ''Star City'' (
Matador Records
Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts.
History
Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apar ...
, 1997)
Singles and compilations
* "Catwalk" and "Red Rhythm" on ''Trap Sampler'' compilation LP (Trap Records, 1981)
* "The Country and the City" on ''The Lives of Lhasa'' compilation LP (Lhasa Productions, 1984)
* "Don The Beachcomber" on ''
Rock Stars Kill'' compilation CD (
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 ...
, 1994)
* "Bring on the China" (demo version) on ''Step, Step, Steppin' On Satan's Foot'' compilation CD (Tedium House Publications, 1994)
* "Nothing Lies Still That Long" on ''Buy-Product'' compilation sampler (DGC Records, 1995)
* "Swoon" on ''
Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy'' film soundtrack (Matador Records, 1996)
* "Conversation" on ''Nigh'' compilation CD (Castle Von Buhler, 1997)
* ''Cloverleaf'' split 7-inch, w/ Acme Rocket Quartet (Lather Records, 1998)
References
External links
Official Pell Mell website*
* https://soundcloud.com/mojackpod/158-pell-mell-the-bumper-crop-w-bob-beerman
{{Authority control
American instrumental musical groups
Musical groups from Portland, Oregon
Reed College alumni