Some Velvet Sidewalk was an experimental

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

rock band from

Olympia, WA 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 ...

on the independent label

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 ...

History

Some Velvet Sidewalk was formed in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

in 1987 by Al Larsen (vocals/guitar) and Robert Christie (drums). Their first release was '' From Playground 'Til Now'', and was independently released on cassette in 1988. Somewhere around this time, Jenny Olay joined on second guitar and went on the band's first American jaunt with

the Go Team The Go Team was a 1980s band from Olympia, Washington, consisting of Tobi Vail and Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening. Career The Go Team was founded in 1985. As Vail described: The Go Team released several cassettes and 9 singles on the ...

, Rich Jensen, Spook & The Zombies, and

Mecca Normal Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valle ...

. In 1990, Larsen along with

Tobi Vail Tobi Celeste Vail (born July 20, 1969) is an American independent musician, music critic and feminist activist from Olympia, Washington. She was a central figure in the riot grrl scene—she coined the spelling of "grrl"—and she started the zi ...

(drums) and Louise Olsen (bass) recorded the album, ''Shipwreck''. (The release of this album was heavily delayed, but it was eventually released in 1995.) Just before the 1990 release of their first full album, '' Appetite For Extinction'', Robert Christie left the band and was replaced by Don Blair and bass player Martin Bernier, whom Larsen had found in a free musician's wanted ad. A short tour of small Pacific NW towns quickly followed with D.C. band Scream, of which

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

was a member and it was Some Velvet Sidewalk that accompanied Scream when

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

first met Grohl at a small party at

Slim Moon Matthew "Slim" Moon (born October 15, 1967) is an American musician and the founder of the American independent music label Kill Rock Stars (KRS). He also started its sister label, 5 Rue Christine. Slim ran KRS from 1991 to 2006, during which ...

's home. This new line-up soon recorded with

Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr., (born September 29, 1985) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he twice ...

in Yo Yo Studios along with Pat Maley what would become known as the "Pumpkin Patch" single. They went back to the studio in 1991 with producer and musician

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 ...

to record ''

Avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

'', which released in 1992. They spent 1992 and 1993 touring and released a short EP called ''I Scream''. Following suit, the next album, ''

Whirlpool A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...

'', showed up in 1994. Ryan Baldoz of Olympia joined on second guitar around this time. SVS soon added keyboardist Paul Schuster to the lineup to record the 1997 album, ''Generate!''. The final true SVS release, the EP ''The Lowdown'', was released in late 1997. The band broke up following an American tour, and the members went their separate ways. In 1999, Larsen compiled and released a posthumous SVS album called ''Original Love Rock Masters''. This album is a compilation that contains live songs, garage demos, and various side projects.

Crayon A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of wax an ...

and the

Pastels A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

have recorded and released cover versions of Some Velvet Sidewalk songs. Al Larsen continued his musical career with bands such as the Polar Bears, the Evil Tambourines and Melting Igloo. In 2005, he released a solo album titled ''The Hardline According to Danny & the Dinosaur'' on his own label, Property Is Theft. Larsen is now an assistant professor and Coordinator of Creative Media at Champlain College. Martin Bernier joined Seattle's the Heroic Trio, which featured Australian ex-pat and future Welcome bassist Jo Klaxton and drummer Lenni Rennals. They released one full-length album and one three-songsong EP on La Push Records. Following Bernier's exit from that band he joined Olympia's Bunnyfoot Charm. Don Blair went on to play drums in Totfinder along with ex-Sleep Capsule member Russ Klatt. He now plays in the experimental Waves. The original drummer and founding member, Robert Christie, was killed in a car accident February 2001 along with his wife, Denise and two sons, Ted and John.

Band members

*Al Larsen - Vocals & Guitar *Robert Christie - Drums (1987–1989) *Jenny Olay - Guitar & Vocals (1988-1990) *

- Drums (1990) *Don Blair - Drums (1990–1997) *Louise Olsen - Bass (1990) *Martin Bernier - Bass (1990–1997) *Ryan Baldoz - 2nd Guitar (1994–1995) *Paul Schuster - Keyboard (1996–1997)

Discography

Albums

* '' From Playground 'Til Now'' (1988) * '' Appetite For Extinction'' (1990) * ''

'' (1992) * ''

'' (1994) * ''Shipwreck'' (1995) * ''Generate!'' (1997) * ''Original Love Rock Masters'' (1999)

EPs

* '' I Scream'' (EP) (1993) * ''The Lowdown'' (EP) (1997)

Singles

* ''I Know'' (single) (1988) * ''Land and Earthbound'' (single) (1989) * ''Pumpkin Patch'' (single) (1991) * ''Eyes Like Yours'' (single) (1992) * ''Free from It'' (single) (1994) * ''Valley of the Clock (single) (1997)

Compilation appearances

* ''Throw: The Yoyo Studio Compilation'' (1991) * ''

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 ...

'' (1991) * ''

International Pop Underground Convention The International Pop Underground Convention (or IPU) was a 1991 punk and alternative rock music festival in Olympia, Washington. The six-day convention centered on a series of performances at the Capitol Theater. Throughout August 20–25, ...

'' (1992) * ''

International Hip Swing ''International Hip Swing'' is a compilation CD released by the label K Records in 1993. It is centered on the alternative rock, indie pop and twee pop genres. ''International Hip Swing'' gathered together a selection of recordings previously rel ...

'' (1993)

References

External links

Official website''Property is Theft'' SiteMySpace Page
{{Authority control K Records artists Musical groups from Olympia, Washington Musical groups from Eugene, Oregon Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 1987 establishments in Oregon