Early history
Singer-songwriter John Roderick was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in
Anchorage,
Alaska. He later returned to Seattle, formed the
Bun Family Players [1] and the
Western State Hurricanes. Following the collapse of the latter, he acted as touring keyboardist for
Harvey Danger.
In 2001,
Harvey Danger singer/songwriter
Sean Nelson suggested that he and Roderick record an album -- half of the songs penned by John, and the other half by Sean.
Death Cab for Cutie band member
Chris Walla had recently opened up the
Hall of Justice studio in Seattle and agreed to help them record.
John recruited
Joe Bass of
Sky Cries Mary and
Brian Young of
Fountains of Wayne to flesh out several of the songs, and gradually the album evolved to feature only John's songs. After several months,
The Worst You Can Do Is Harm
was finished.
John traveled to New York, where he played solo shows and quickly began to pen new songs,several of which would eventually be included on The Long Winters' second album,
When I Pretend to Fall
.
While there, he was contacted by
Barsuk Records—the label that would release
The Worst You Can Do Is Harm
—who made it clear they wanted John to tour to promote the release. He traveled back to Seattle and was joined by
Chris Caniglia, former Western State Hurricanes drummer
Michael Shilling and
Eric Corson on bass. Thus, The Long Winters were born.
Official formation
Sean Nelson of Harvey Danger offered to sing harmony vocals on a number of songs at the band's first live gig. He ended up casually performing with the band for their first few shows before committing to full-time enrollment.
The original trio responsible for
The Worst You Can Do Is Harm
—Roderick, Nelson, and Walla—is often considered the original incarnation of the band. Roderick and Nelson, along with recruits Corson and Shilling (the drummer in Roderick's previous band, the Western State Hurricanes) are the core players behind
When I Pretend to Fall
, with Nelson having replaced Caniglia as the band's keyboardist.
When I Pretend to Fall
was released and Roderick, Nelson, Corson and Shilling embarked on an ambitious series of tours throughout 2003 in support of the album. The band toured North America with Barsuk Records labelmates
Nada Surf and Death Cab for Cutie, and later spent November touring Europe. Shilling eventually quit in December 2003, burned out by the hectic touring and lifestyle of the band. With the best wishes of The Long Winters, Nelson left in March 2004 to rekindle his former band Harvey Danger.
Early 2004 and onward
At the time of Nelson's departure, The Long Winters had recently begun rehearsing with Shilling's replacement for the band's 2004 tours, former Death Cab for Cutie percussionist
Michael Schorr. Confronted with a double blow to the band's line-up, Roderick took opportunity to reinvent the band again. An east coast tour with
The Pernice Brothers, a more fleshed out European tour, and a nationwide tour supporting
the Decemberists that would take the band through the spring and well into the summer. Thus, the leaner three-piece version of The Long Winters was born, featuring John Roderick, Eric Corson, and Michael Schorr.
This extensive spring/summer 2004 tour took its toll on Schorr, who left the band shortly after its completion. Roderick continued to do small promotional events and shows throughout the latter half of 2004 and 2005, often previewing a handful of new Long Winters songs.
The next incarnation of The Long Winters featured Roderick on vocals, guitars, and keyboard, Corson on bass and back-up vocals, and
Nabil Ayers (co-founder of Seattle's Easy Street Records
[2]) on drums. The band did a tour supporting
Keane in October 2005 in support of an
EP released October 11, 2005, titled
Ultimatum
. Roderick did a solo mini tour through Europe in May 2006 to promote the third full-length LP,
Putting the Days to Bed
, which was released July 25, 2006. In the fall of 2006 the band—now with guitarist/keyboard player
Jonathan Rothman replacing
Mike Squires—toured the USA, after which they joined the band Keane once again for a European tour. Listed among the hardest touring bands in music, The Long Winters began 2007 with yet another European tour, followed by a month of shows in the USA and Canada.
In July 2008 the band went back into the studio to work on their fourth (yet untitled) album.
TV Appearances
Discography
- The Worst You Can Do Is Harm
– February 19, 2002 (Barsuk Records)
- When I Pretend to Fall
– May 6, 2003 (Barsuk Records)
- Scared Straight (CD-S)
– 2003 (Munich Records Singles Club)
- Ultimatum EP
– October 11, 2005 (Barsuk Records)
- Putting the Days to Bed
– July 25, 2006 (Barsuk Records)
References
- Seattle Weekly: Roderick Talks About Bun Family Players In His Weekly Column
- Hannah Levin, "Nabil Ayers", ''Seattle Metropolitan'', December 2008, p. 62.