indie rock
Indie rock is a 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 music they produc ...
band formed 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 ...
in 1993 by former spouses
Sam Coomes
Samuel J. Coomes (born April 23, 1964) is an American musician, and one-half of the Portland-area indie band Quasi, along with his ex-wife, drummer Janet Weiss. Coomes was also a member of the mid-1980s underground pop band The Donner Party and ...
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 strin ...
,
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 ...
Janet Weiss
Janet Lee Weiss (born September 24, 1965) is an American rock drummer, best known as a former member of Sleater-Kinney and a current member of Quasi. She was the drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, leaving after the album '' Mirror Traffic ...
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 ...
performed and recorded with the group as a bassist 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 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 th ...
R&B Transmogrification
''R&B Transmogrification'' is an album by the American indie band Quasi. It was released on March 25, 1997, on Up Records.
Critical reception
''Record Collector'' wrote that the album is "clever from the get-go; between their heavily distorted r ...
'' 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 200 ...
in 1997. They released two more albums with Up: ''
Featuring "Birds"
''Featuring "Birds"'' is the third studio album by American indie rock band Quasi. It was released in 1998 by record label Up in the US and Domino in the UK.
Recording
''Featuring "Birds"'' was recorded during December 1997 at Jackpot Studio ...
'' in 1998 and '' Field Studies'' in 1999; both albums were recorded at Jackpot! Studios 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 ...
.
In 1998 and 1999, they toured the United States, Europe, Australia, and Japan opening for and serving as the backup band for Elliott Smith (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 La ...
) 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!'' in 2003 and '' When the Going Gets Dark'' in 2006, both on Touch & Go in the U.S. and
Domino Recording Company
Domino Recording Company or simply Domino is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Dom ...
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 know ...
to release their next record.
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, was a permanent member of the band. Bolme performed on Quasi's 2010 full-length '' American Gong'' 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 ...
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
Wild Flag was an American four-piece indie rock/post-punk supergroup based in Portland, Oregon and Washington, D.C. The group consisted of Carrie Brownstein (vocals, guitar), Mary Timony (vocals, guitar), Rebecca Cole ( keyboards, backing vocal ...
, 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 and was working on a new album.
Discography
Albums
* ''Quasi'' (cassette) (1993, self-released)
* ''
R&B Transmogrification
''R&B Transmogrification'' is an album by the American indie band Quasi. It was released on March 25, 1997, on Up Records.
Critical reception
''Record Collector'' wrote that the album is "clever from the get-go; between their heavily distorted r ...
Featuring "Birds"
''Featuring "Birds"'' is the third studio album by American indie rock band Quasi. It was released in 1998 by record label Up in the US and Domino in the UK.
Recording
''Featuring "Birds"'' was recorded during December 1997 at Jackpot Studio ...
'' (1998, Up /
Domino
Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also c ...
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 ...
Bugskull
Bugskull is an American musical group originally from Portland, Oregon, United States, that performed and recorded during the 1990s and early 2000s. According to a local newspaper, the Portland Mercury Review, discussing a one-off comeback conce ...
(1994)
* ''Kill Rock Stars Singles Club'' 7" (1998,
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 ...
)
* "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'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 music, new wave,
* '' 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"