Quasi (phonetics 'kwa - zee') is an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band formed in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

in 1993 by former spouses Sam Coomes (

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production i ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

rocksichord Rocky Mount Instruments (RMI) was a subsidiary of the Allen Organ Company, based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, active from 1966 to 1982. The company was formed to produce portable musical instruments, and manufactured several electronic pianos ...

, various

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

) and Janet Weiss (vocals and

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Joanna Bolme Joanna Bolme (born April 1, 1968) is a multi-instrumentalist (primarily bass guitar) and recording engineer who works with several indie rock bands and artists, mainly in the Pacific Northwest. She has been the bass guitarist for Stephen Malkmus a ...

performed and recorded with the group as a

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

from 2007 to 2011.

History

In 1990, Sam Coomes, Janet Weiss, and Brad Pedinov formed the band Motorgoat. The band released two self-released cassettes and one 7" single before dissolving in 1993. Coomes and Weiss then began recording as a

duo Duo may refer to: Places *Duo, West Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in Greenbrier County, West Virginia *Duo, Tampere, a shopping centre in Hervanta, Tampere, Finland * DUO, a twin-tower development in Singapore Arts, enterta ...

in 1993 under the name Quasi. They played with various additional musicians in early live appearances, but eventually settled on playing live as a duo as well. They self-recorded and self-released a

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

and a CD in 1993. They recorded '' R&B Transmogrification'' in the Portland band

Pond's Pond's is an American brand of beauty and health care products, currently owned by Unilever. History Pond's Cream was invented in the United States as a patent medicine by pharmacist Theron T. Pond (1800–1852) of Utica, New York, in 1846. M ...

basement recording studio and released it on

Up Records Up Records was a Seattle based independent record label founded in 1994 by Chris Takino and Rich Jensen. Some of the label's best known artists were 764-Hero, Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, Quasi and Tad. Chris Takino died of leukemia in 2000 ...

in 1997. They released two more albums with Up: '' Featuring "Birds"'' in 1998 and '' Field Studies'' in 1999; both albums were recorded at Jackpot! Studios in

. In 1998 and 1999, they toured the United States, Europe, Australia, and Japan opening for and serving as the backup band for

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

(with whom Coomes had played in

Heatmiser Heatmiser was an American rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon in October 1991. Consisting of Elliott Smith (guitar and vocals), Neil Gust (guitar and vocals), Brandt Peterson (bass; later replaced by Sam Coomes, frontman of Quasi) and Tony Las ...

) as well as touring on their own in the U.S. and Europe. In 2001, they home-recorded '' The Sword of God'' and released it on Touch & Go. They released ''

Hot Shit! ''Hot Shit'' is the fifth studio album by indie rock band Quasi. It was released in 2003 on Touch and Go Records. Early copies as well as the European edition released by Domino Recording Company include a bonus CD entitled ''Live Shit''. Track li ...

'' in 2003 and '' When the Going Gets Dark'' in 2006, both on Touch & Go in the U.S. and Domino Recording Company in Europe. In 2009, the band signed with

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 known ...

to release their next record. Quasi 1

Although Coomes and Weiss remain busy with other bands, Quasi tours fairly regularly. In 2007, they toured the U.S. with Touch & Go labelmates

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Ted Leo and the Pharmacists (sometimes written Ted Leo/Pharmacists, Ted Leo + Pharmacists, or TL/Rx) are an American rock band formed in 1999 in Washington, D.C. They have released six full-length studio albums and have toured internationally. ...

. Just prior to that tour, Quasi announced that bassist Joanna Bolme, who had toured with Quasi in 2006 and plays with Weiss in

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks is an American rock band consisting of Stephen Malkmus, Mike Clark, Joanna Bolme, and Jake Morris. Malkmus was the main singer and songwriter behind the influential 1990s indie rock band Pavement. History The Ji ...

, was a permanent member of the band. Bolme performed on Quasi's 2010 full-length ''

American Gong ''American Gong'' is the eighth album by Portland based indie rock band Quasi. It was released on February 23, 2010, on Kill Rock Stars. It was released in Europe by Domino Records. A deluxe 2-CD version of the album exists, featuring a compi ...

'' and continued to tour with them through the first half of 2011. In June 2011, Quasi posted an update on their official Facebook page, announcing that they would be returning to their original two-piece lineup for "the foreseeable future" and thanking Bolme for her time with the band. In addition to her work in the Jicks, Weiss was the primary drummer for the group

Sleater-Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member J ...

, and has recently played with Bright Eyes,

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are often ...

and Wild Flag, while Coomes has been working with Pink Mountain and on his solo project, Blues Goblins. He has also played with

Jandek Jandek is the musical alias of Houston, Texas based lo-fi folk singer Sterling Smith. Since 1978, Jandek has independently released over 45 albums without granting interviews or providing any biographical information, releasing on a self-made lab ...

, and has appeared on several Built to Spill albums. The group reactivated in 2020 with a one-off release via Bandcamp. In 2022, Quasi announced it had signed to

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

and was working on a new album.

Discography

Albums

* ''Quasi'' (cassette) (1993, self-released) * '' R&B Transmogrification'' (1997, Up) * '' Featuring "Birds"'' (1998, Up / Domino) * '' Field Studies'' (1999, Up / Domino) * '' The Sword of God'' (2001, Touch & Go / Domino) * ''

'' (2003, Touch & Go / Domino) * '' When the Going Gets Dark'' (2006, Touch & Go / Domino) * ''

'' (2010,

/ Domino) * '' Mole City'' (2013, Kill Rock Stars / Domino)

EPs and singles

* Split 7" with Bugskull (1994) * ''Kill Rock Stars Singles Club'' 7" (1998,

) * "The Poisoned Well" b/w "California" (1998) * Split 7" with Mars Accelerator and Space Pants (2000) * "The Sword of God" (2001) * ''Tour 7"'' (2001) * ''Hot Shit Tour'' CD (2003) * ''Interprets'' (2013, Kill Rock Stars / Domino) – covers EP released both as a standalone EP and with pre-orders of Kill Rock Stars' limited edition colored 2-LP version of ''Mole City''; includes covers of

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

's "Don't Stop Me Now",

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

's "War Pigs",

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

's "Let's Get It On", and

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,

Compilations

* '' Early Recordings'' (1996, Key Op; 2001, Touch & Go) * ''Crash Course for the Ravers: A Tribute to the Songs of David Bowie'' (1996, Undercover Records) – song: "Sound and Vision" * ''Colonel Jeffrey Pumpernickel: A Concept Album'' (2001, Off Records) – song: "Which Side Are You On, Colonel?" * '' Fields and Streams'' (2002, Kill Rock Stars) – song: "Queen Majesty" * ''Live Shit'' (2003, Touch & Go / Domino) – included with some versions of ''Hot Shit!'' * ''PDX Pop Now! 2004'' (2004, PDX Pop Now!) – song: "23 & 24" * '' Quasi Self Boot 93-96'' (2006, self-released) – tour-only release * ''Score! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers!'' (2009,

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...

) – song: "Beautiful Things" (

The 3Ds The 3Ds were a New Zealand noise pop band based from Dunedin, together from 1988 to 1997. They recorded three albums and several EPs, the best known of which is ''The Venus Trail'' (1993). They achieved commercial and critical success worldwid ...

cover) * ''So Far So Good: A Quasi Anthology'' (2010, Kill Rock Stars) – released as part of the deluxe 2-CD edition of ''American Gong'' * ''Comfort & Joy: A Holiday Compilation Benefiting Homeless Youth'' (2013, Analog Ghost Recordings) – song: "Christmas on Credit" * ''Battle Hymns'' (2017, self-released) – song: "Ballad of Donald Duck & Elmer Fudd"

References

External links

Official Quasi home page
*
Recordings of Quasi in concert, hosted on the Archive.org Live Music Archive
{{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from Oregon Musical groups from Portland, Oregon Touch and Go Records artists Rock music duos American musical trios Musical groups established in 1993 Family musical groups 1993 establishments in Oregon