Sebadoh is an
American indie rock band, formed in 1986 in
Westfield,
Massachusetts by
Eric Gaffney and
Dinosaur Jr bass player
Lou Barlow. Along with such bands as
Pavement and
Guided by Voices, Sebadoh helped pioneer
lo-fi music, a style of
indie rock characterized by low-fidelity recording techniques, often on four-track machines. The band's early output, such as 1990's
Weed Forestin' and 1991's
Sebadoh III, was typical of this style.
History
Lou Barlow was the bass player for alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr in the late 1980s. While both Barlow and leader
J Mascis wrote songs, Mascis' material dominated the group's output because Barlow was intimidated by the guitarist's songwriting efforts. Barlow spent progressively more time recording his own songs at home. Barlow and Gaffney released the
Weed Forestin' cassette in 1987 on
Homestead Records under the name Sebadoh, which was a
nonsense word Barlow often muttered in his recordings. Both Barlow and Gaffney contributed songs to 1988's
The Freed Man cassette. Homestead Records head
Gerard Cosloy heard the cassette release of
The Freed Man and released it as a full-length album on Homestead in 1989. Soon after the cassette's release Barlow was kicked out of Dinosaur Jr. Over time Sebadoh's releases became a way for Barlow to address the issues of control that manifested as the tension in and his ejection from Dinosaur Jr; Barlow said "I got a lot of hatred out just by writing those songs."
Jason Loewenstein joined in summer 1989, the first release that he played on being the "Gimme Indie Rock" single in 1991. Only ten 'band' shows were performed throughout Western Massachusetts, Boston, and New York over the period 1989-1990 before the third album
Sebadoh III was released.
After touring with fIREHOSE in 1991, they signed to Sub Pop (Domino in the UK and City Slang in Germany) in 1992, and released the two EPs Rocking the Forest and Sebadoh vs. Helmet released just two months apart. These EPs had their track listings truncated and shuffled around and made into the American full-length release Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock. Their fourth album Bubble and Scrape was released in April 1993.
in New York, 2007]]
Following 1993's Bubble and Scrape Gaffney left the band. His replacement, Bob Fay, appeared on 1994's Bakesale and the follow-up Harmacy in 1996. Taking the place of Gaffney on drums was Bob D’Amico, who had played with Lowenstein in both Circle of Buzzards and Fiery Furnaces.
Discography
Studio and compilation albums
The Freed Man (1989)
Weed Forestin' (1990)
The Freed Weed (1990)
Sebadoh III (1991)
Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock (1992)
Bubble and Scrape (1993)
Bakesale (1994)
Harmacy (1996)
The Sebadoh (1999)
Bibliography
Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life. New York: Little, Brown, 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1
References
External links
Sebadoh website
Lou Barlow website
Jason Loewenstein website
Bakesale)">"Skull" music video (from Bakesale)
Review of Sebadoh @ Manchester Academy 3, April 2008.
Myspace Page
Sebadoh Interview
Jason Loewenstein interview February 1, 2011
Interview with Lou Barlow & Murph (Dinosaur Jr.) September 9, 2009
Category:Musical groups from Massachusetts
Category:American indie rock groups
Category:Westfield, Massachusetts
Category:Lo fi music groups
Category:Homestead Records artists
Category:Sub Pop artists
Category:Musical groups established in 1986
Category:1980s music groups
Category:1990s music groups
Category:2000s music groups
Category:2010s music groups