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| April 2, 2008
The Riffbrokers wrap up recording and begin mixing this week on the yet untitled record. Its been nearly four years since the debt accruing ’Fix It If You Hate It’ LP was released. Since then the touring and recording tapered off, financial reality sunk in. In December of 2006, Unsmashable went into debt management. Gas prices shot up- the big van was sold. In 2007 touring consisted of Nick and Heather hitting two towns down the coast in minivan with acoustic guitars as part of a family reunion trip. Bellingham and Yakima have become the new frontiers. The new record was recorded in two halves, the first with Johnny Sangster in Sept. ’06-Apr. ’07, and the latter with Steve Anderson from Oct. ’07- present. Gone are the days of a quick turnaround seven thousand dollar album. Hopefully this new record will materialize in packaging by Unsmashable’s 5th birthday around July 10, 2008. Cant hardly wait. Sunday, January 20, 2008 Nick and Heather Riffbroker were married on Jan. 16, marking the tenth anniversary of the night they met in Boise Idaho. A reception in the Grotto of Belltown's Rendezvous bar saw an impromptu reunion of sorts of the Model Rockets. Johnny Sangster played bass as John, Scott, and Graham took the stage and got the crowd dancing to old Rockets favorites. Other performers to grace the stage were Rusty Willoughby, Chris Klepac, the I Love Myselfs, the Riffbrokers, Crown Aruba, Small Change featuring Scott Sutherland instead of Nick, playing early Beatle songs and a killer version of 'Hatcheted Heart'. The Young Sportsmen played with Johnny Sangster again sitting in on bass, reason being bassist Richard has just become a new father! Scott Sutherland turned 41 on Sunday Jan 20 The Riffbrokers are mostly finished with a new record, but mixing is awaiting funding. Saturday, April 21, 2007 Riffbrokers recording and news Nick here, Im going in Friday the 27th to finish dubbing some Riffbrokers songs with Johnny Sangdangangster. We should have rough mixes available to listen to on the myspace page. Its too expensive to mix it right now. We'll wait until we have some more songs recorded. And new songs we have, yup been workin' on a few in the lab. Big show comin up on May 4 with some of our fave locals at the Comet. Just got offered a show with a great Detroit band the High Strung on May 30, at the Sunset. You aint doin nothin that night cuz I a'ready checked. From Seattle Powerpop Blog March 11, 2007: MARS BAR-3/10 Following Kurt's set, The Riffbrokers took the stage. This was my first chance to see them with their new/old fourth member, Scott Sutherland (from The Doll Test and Llama). It was a great set with good energy (and excellent guitar tones). In the interview I did with them last week Heather said they're either a powerpop band with a twang problem or vice versa, and that really came through on this night. Excellent, catchy tunes, but with a bit of twang in the guitar and vocal delivery. SPP Interview with The Riffbrokers The Riffbrokers are on the SPB Powerpop Night bill that's happening at Mars Bar this Saturday (3/10). So, I thought I'd do a little interview with them to let you get to know them better. 1. How do you think others would describe The Riffbrokers, and is that the same or different than you'd like to think of yourselves? Powerpop with a twang issue. Or the other way around. We have always been a tough one to nail down. 2. Who are your favorite Seattle bands and why? Young Sportsmen- They rock and they are like our family. The Doll Test-See above The Small Change- See above, again Crown Aruba-Same as above [blogger's note: All of the above are part of Unsmashable Records] Llama, The Tripwires, Paul Lynde Fan Club, Sgt. Major-We wanna be them when we grow up. They are also like family and our guitar player Scott is in two of those bands. He's also the head Doll Tester. 3. What are your feelings about the state of pop music in the Northwest and Seattle in particular? In our view, we know and love some of the best pop rock outfits. Seattle is home to some of our favorite bands. We feel fortunte to have such talented friends! 4. If you could be the opening act for any band, any time period, who would that be and why? I'm speaking for four very opinionated souls, but I think that I can safely say that the four of us would have simultaneous heart attacks at the prospect of opening for Elvis Costello. The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield would also do some damage. There's a laundry list of other lesser known folks that we would trample over one another to support, but they would take far too long list. 5. What's the latest news from you guys and what's on the horizon? We are recording some tracks with Johnny Sangster at the end of March. We have an amazing show coming up in May. The Tripwires, Llama, Sgt. Major and us. This will be a show of pop rock force! 6. What's something people don't know about The Riffbrokers? We go on ill-advised tours, we always take our vitamins and we quote the Simpsons ad nauseum. Labels: powerpop interview, The Riffbrokers Tuesday, November 28, 2006 Scott 5 and Dustin Van Silversparkle Scott Sutherland has been loitering around the Riffbroker rehearsal space the last couple of weeks. It appears he will join us onstage at our big Comet show on Dec. 28. You may know the Troy McClure of Seattle rock from such bands as Chemistry Set, Model Rockets, Doll Test, Llama, Paul Lynde Fan Club, et al. Scott has joined us onstage and in the studio before, but this marks the first time he'll play every song. Don't miss this opportunity to jeer, cheer, chug beer. Oh! And if you hadn't heard by now , original drummer Dustin Ludwig Siversparkle Miller will man the kit as well. Bravo. Tuesday, October 24, 2006 Yakima- Corvallis tour There are times after years of playing shows in shit towns and shit clubs where the romance fades and despair sets in. This weekend was not one of those times. This trip was one of ridiculously gorgeous fall scenery and weather coupled with absurd financial rewards and hospitality. Friday evening we arrived at the unlikely hip epicenter of central Washington, Yakima Sports Center. A marvelous neon monument of mid-20th century Americana swivels above the marquee sign out front. Booker Daniel Craig is the mild mannered prime mover hipster of this scene. He looks like he still lives in Bellingham, not one of the local backward baseball hat types. A scenario reminiscent of Six Feet Under found him back in Yakima following his dad's stroke to help run the family optician business. Daniel stumbled across a goldmine of vintage frames stashed away in storage. He and wife and kids live in a big rambler way out near a town called Gleed. This is where we stayed in style and comfort in the spacious basement. Next day he led us to Mercedes, a great Mexican food hole in the wall. We said our goodbyes there and headed toward the wine country. A few miles away in Zillah we found the Wineglass tasting room. Greg and Jason came away with a bottle each and we trekked on down 97 to the Columbia River. Postcard autumn scenery under clear blue sky with spectacular views of Adams, St. Helens, Hood. Corvallis seems like forever to reach. We made a good amount of scratch in Yakima so we are getting two doubles at the Econolodge, not far from the pub we're playing. The receptionist was AWOL on break so a poor woman juggling a screaming infant handled my check in. There's just enough time to catch the 9th inning of World Series game 1 and head over to the Pub. Feeling a bit fagged and bashed the droogs and I found the mesto and unloaded our dorogoy cal. We govoreeted over a few cancers outside (ok I will kibosh the nadsat now) with Viki the owner. Greg's brother KC and wife, in-laws happened to be in town and showed up. KC as you may recall is a friend of the Riffbrokers for putting us up in Chico. The Pub is quite small so we pointed all our amps inward on ourselves, which works fucking well. The crowd is eerily thin this night. It’s a Saturday in a college town in October. We hear that its dead all over town- everybody got their drink on the night before. This turns out to be a good show regardless, and I reward those in attendance with free CDs. Viki pays us a ridiculous amount of money and we scram back to the Econolodge. There is a dive bar attached to a Chinese restaurant in the same parking lot. We are there for three rounds of Hefe (the only decent beer on tap) for me and Toft, and gin and tonics for the rest. A drunk girl joins our table in an attempt at conversation, but goes to the penalty box for pulling on Greg's hair to see if its real. After closing- (no last call, just service right up to the five minute warning of pulling drinks.) we head to an all night taqueria a few blocks away. The food is marvelous and cheap. There is a rowdy crowd here. Outside a rabid Beaver fan screams at passersby various oaths of her allegiance. I overheard her tell three boys walking in that there was a Ducks fan somewhere in the restaurant talking "shit about the Beavers, and you should go in there and slit his fucking throat!" The next day we drove up 99 through more great wine country to Portland. I had never taken this awesome route through McMinnville and Newberg. In Portland we brunched at the fabulous J & M cafe on SE Ash near Grand. Its nothing like the Seattle Pioneer square dive- great food and atmosphere-highly recommend. So after the meal and math corrections we came home with a twenty-dollar bill each- and that's the meaning of success. .Oct. 19, 2006 Small Change and Riffbrokers on the road...Oct. 20-21 The Riffbrokers and Small Change are heading out for the weekend in the Astro van to Yakima and Corvallis. We challenge Yakima and Corvallis to a duel. Yakima stands landlocked in the conservative desert east of the cascades. Corvallis lays low near the coast in the heart of Commie Country. Both towns hold mystery, which local crowd will rock the hardest? Which will drink with the most abandon? Which venue will pay us the most money???? The answers will follow next week. Be part of the scene if you happen to be near: Yakima Sports Center, downtown Yakima at 214 Yakima Ave, Friday Oct. 20....and/or downtown Corvallis at the Union Restaurant at 137 sw 2nd on Sat. Oct. 21. UNSMASHABLE SHOWCASE @ THE CROC 10-5 -06 The Reluctants have come out of hiding and are going to appear in their usual short notice way at the Crocodile Thurs. Oct 5. They have added the Small Change and Riffbrokers to the bill to make it an Unsmashable Event. Come see Small Change bassist Jason Toft man the Riffbroker drumkit if you missed it last time. The Reluctants live are a rare sight, as the band have wives and children, and don't spend too much time in the 'scene'. Yet every time I see them my jaw drops at their tight perfected pop songs and amazing three part harmonies. Dont miss this show! Entry for June 29, 2006 Buffalo Springfield Comp Out Now! Hey all-- well Not Lame has finally released the compilation tribute album "Five Way Street"- a collection of Buffalo Springfield songs by 21 bands including the Riffbrokers. Check it out here: http://www.notlame.com/V/A/Page_1/NLBUFFALOSPRINGFIELD.html tour diary Aug. oh six. mon. July thirty first; this is the last voyage of the starship Dodgey. we head into the evening, into our familiar southbound I five crazy crazy. Devon Rocketship is aboard this journey playing drums. He breaks open a lighter while opening a bottle. There is a spray, but no fireball. Heather has a confrontation with an alcoholic-energy drink enthusiast tues. Aug one Chico gets hot and stays hot, but has muy bien mexican food. We have all day and an Army Navy store. Chico is dead in the summer. We find a creek and dip. We park in front of the club Off Limits. It seems like forever and 9 games of cut throat, 3 Sierra Nevadas out of the tap until the Rubberneckers arrive. Theyve already been out a week and have spent their one night off tripping on acid in the desert. Night falls and its show time. We open to a smallish crowd. Its hot onstage and feels good to sweat. The Rubberneckers follow up and get some people dancing. Theyve broken the dance barrier the last few nights we hear. Finishing the night are the Shankers, local rockabilly garage trio that had some great covers like "Gansters" by the Specials. wed. Aug 2nd its actually wednesday now, about 2am. Greg Collinsworth (my Small Change pal) gave me his brother KC's number, and he comes and takes us to the Collinsworth parents' home. They are out of town and have offered their posh suburban digs to us and the Rubberneckers. Best of all is the pool, and the ampm sausage biscuits that come in the morning. Sunlight morning comes and its time to head on to Eugene. The Riffbrokers get to town and meet Rocco at a parking lot in the northern strip mall section of Eugene. Devon and Heather have a heartwarming childlike waterfight while we wait. I hate getting wet, and I feel a childlike nervous cowardice as their aquatic skirmish escalates. Rocco leads us back to his new home, where we prepare for the evening's show at Diablo's. We open again, The neckers play next and again break the dance barrier . Locals Sid and Fancy end the night with their bluegrass sass. Thurs. Aug. 3 today is about going to Fred Meyer and Guitar Center. Its also about hanging in Rocco's backyard with the acoustic guitar and teaching Clay some songs to join us with tonight in Corvallis. I plan on laying some tasty leads to their ' Busted Farm' which has a wide open swath of guitar real estate on three chords toward the end. Later in the day we drive the half hour to Corvallis and find the Union Pub. Tonight is comedy night, and the comics arent half bad. They arent all bad as the Muppet Show guys would say either. Tonight we connect with the third leg of the stool My Life in Black And White. These are good kids from Portland we've played with before, they play drinking songs like the Rubberneckers. Awkward moment when drunk guy in front asks Heather who the real bass player is. There isnt enough humiliation to serve people like this. Heather always rocks harder when she's pissed. this show pays well and the owner is cool. Fri. Aug. 4 this morning we are back in Eugene at the UO campus radio station KWVA. Craig Leve is a good friend of ours with a great friday morning show Snap Crackle Pop. Im a little fatigued and not very good at the radio chat. We do a few acoustic numbers and hit the road for Portland. Getting to Portland early means catching a few routines at Mary's Club. We spend a little time after hanging in the van sharing some whiskey and Heathers songs performed with acoustic guitar. We head to the Tonic and shoot some more cut-throat. Later the Tonic fills with the My Life faithful and they proceed to electrify. We spend the night at Devon's friend's house. Sat. Aug 5 The Goble Tavern is crooked looking from the outside. Its quite out of plumb on the inside too. There are plenty of load bearing posters on the walls holding things together. Sam Lightning April 23, 2006 Introducing Jim Parsons- new drummer, we dont want to jinx it so more to come later. March 30 Wish there was more to tell, but we keep trudging on. A good drummer is waiting around the corner. We've got our good friends to fill in when we need it. Tour plans and upcoming shows. Sunday April 9th at the Funhouse with Portland pop luminaries, The Neat. See you at the show. Feb. 23, 2006 Rick Cranford will be moving on soon SAT.JAN. 28, '06- TOWNE LOUNGE---A NIGHT OF POWERFUL POP! Hailing from Portland, the Quags are quite simply a good old fashioned 4 piece rock band. Mining influences like the Kinks, Buzzcocks, Big Star, Small Faces, Curtis Mayfield, and The Jam, the Quags turn out the type of smart, fun, hooky and rocking tunes that back in the day were trotted out to the masses under the moniker “powerpop”. The Quags are equally at home in front of a crowd of young indie popsters or old school rockers. Young Sportsmen (Seattle)are lovers of real music-the Kinks, the Who, New Pornographers, the Jam, the Futureheads, XTC-whose hearts are full of pop and volume. Their shows will remind you that you walked through a rainy city at night for a reason, that it's ok to enjoy yourstour diary Aug. oh six. mon. July thirty first; this is the last voyage of the starship Dodgey. we head into the evening, into our familiar southbound I five crazy crazy. Devon Rocketship is aboard this journey playing drums. He breaks open a lighter while opening a bottle. There is a spray, but no fireball. Heather has a confrontation with an alcoholic-energy drink enthusiast tues. Aug one Chico gets hot and stays hot, but has muy bien mexican food. We have all day and an Army Navy store. Chico is dead in the summer. We find a creek and dip. We park in front of the club Off Limits. It seems like forever and 9 games of cut throat, 3 Sierra Nevadas out of the tap until the Rubberneckers arrive. Theyve already been out a week and have spent their one night off tripping on acid in the desert. Night falls and its show time. We open to a smallish crowd. Its hot onstage and feels good to sweat. The Rubberneckers follow up and get some people dancing. Theyve broken the dance barrier the last few nights we hear. Finishing the night are the Shankers, local rockabilly garage trio that had some great covers like "Gansters" by the Specials. wed. Aug 2nd its actually wednesday now, about 2am. Greg Collinsworth (my Small Change pal) gave me his brother KC's number, and he comes and takes us to the Collinsworth parents' home. They are out of town and have offered their posh suburban digs to us and the Rubberneckers. Best of all is the pool, and the ampm sausage biscuits that come in the morning. Sunlight morning comes and its time to head on to Eugene. The Riffbrokers get to town and meet Rocco at a parking lot in the northern strip mall section of Eugene. Devon and Heather have a heartwarming childlike waterfight while we wait. I hate getting wet, and I feel a childlike nervous cowardice as their aquatic skirmish escalates. Rocco leads us back to his new home, where we prepare for the evening's show at Diablo's.elf in public, to shake your ass a bit, to get drunk and hum. Young Sportsmen want it to stick, and will continue to throw it a little harder until it does. The Seattle-based Riffbrokers are a twang tinged power pop combo that appeal to the consort that read No Depression but still love The Jam.Think Jayhawks meet Social Distortion, or early Wilco fronted by young Elvis Costello, Roots-rock /powerpop informed by the British Invasion and the Midwest sound. Dec. 9-2005--- We had a great time at the Crocodile on Weds. Limited to 30 minutes we got seven songs out before Jim cut us off. Not bad though, I was real happy with the new P-90 in my red Les Paul. Jim also thanked us for our Overwhelming Colorfast cover (Roy Orbison) - a rare accolade from the grisled yet entirely friendly veteran of rock sound engineering. Anyway- this Saturday we trek north to Stanwood with mates the Small Change and Hex County. After that it's a bit of a Christmas break- Heather and I will travel to Missoula to see grandmamama- then home to puppy-sit for Rick who will be back east with wife Kristen. January 7th will be a big rock happening at the Comet with our good mates I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House- along with fellow Portlanders Kleveland. Jan. 19- I will do a solo acoustic set opening for Mike D (ICLASOBITH) and Jared Clifton (Radio Nationals) also performing solo. Jan. 27-28 The big wintour "I-5 Southbound Crazy Crazy" tour with Young Sportsmen. A whirlwind of appearances in Salem and Portland. We will set the chilly Willamette Valley afire with our pop maelstrom. Apple cheeked and wholesome Oregon bonnies will swoon at the raucous unkempt youngsters onstage. Seattlites are encouraged to pack their belongings and herd south for these special events. It was 25 years ago this morning my mom woke me up with the news that John Lennon was murdered the night before. I had begun my obsession with the Beatles two years previous and now at age 9, I was actually more surprised that a Beatle was still alive, maybe not contextualizing history so early in the morning. That day I felt a muted sense of sadness, it wasn’t until years later when I saw ‘Imagine’ in high school and the sequence of grief and the event related in film did I weep. I remember telling a classmate in my fourth grade class that day, “Today my favorite Beatle died.” To which she replied, “What, did somebody step on him?” then giggling. During that Christmas vacation I remember relishing the coverage of the event and retrospectives that were so ubiquitous in every magazine. At least this tragedy made a plethora of stories and photos available of my hero. I remember the cover of Newsweek I read on the Greyhound trip to my dad’s house. A very cool black and white taken in 1967 which is an almost anachronistic shot because his hair was ’65 length and he wasn’t wearing his granny glasses- he had since shaved the Sgt Pepper mustache. It’s so easy to date most photos because their appearance shifted so markedly like the body styles of cars from year to year. That photo had tricked me for many years until I put it in context of the shoot, in which George and Ringo still have ‘staches. Probably that Magical Mystery Period- pre India. At Dad’s house I listened to my step-mom’s copy of Beatles ’65 and discovered for the first time I’m A Loser, No Reply, and Baby’s In Black. These tracks were absent the worn out Red and Blue anthology double albums my mom had. I remember how strange it was to hear John’s voice dip so low in Loser. I so envied my step-mom who was 14 when Beatlemania hit America. She gave me a signed 8x10 glossy of that ’63 photo of them around the chair in their Pierre Cardin suits, Paul leaning on the pile with a cig dangling from his fist. I’m sure those signatures were copied off by some employees of the publicity machine at the time- at least I hope to think so, because that photo is long lost now. Not gone is my never ending obsession with John and the Beatles. I’m currently revisiting all my inspiration while reading Bob Spitz’s new bio. In it I learned John’s maternal grandmother’s maiden name was Millward! It never ends, the titillation, now of thinking perhaps we are distant cousins. Ah, simple pleasures. Thanks John, for not giving up after the first Hamburg fiasco, or the Decca rejection, or Mimi’s objections. Thanks for being terrified at the thought of having a day job and knowing in your heart you were to be in “the greatest fucking band in the world.” -nick. Riffbrokers To Play Crododile, Impressed With Selves 28 Nov. 2005 SEATTLE,WA- Seattle powerpop unit The Riffbrokers were recently offered an opening slot at the legendary Crocodile Cafe, one of Seattles tonier nightspots. Booking agent Peter Greenburg offered the combo the slot in order to fill a last minute vacancy for the Southland bill Wed. Dec. 7. Soon after the billing was confirmed, members of the Riffbrokers were overheard telling aquaintances, " So did you hear? We're playing the CROCODILE!" Colleague and labelmate Jason Toft from the Small Change was quoted as saying, "I dont see what the big deal is, we've all played the Croc before. Besides its a wednesday night, who cares?" Nick Millward, frontman, believes different. "This is our one big chance. If this one show doesn't launch our career into super stardom, I just dont know if we could seriously do this anymore. If all our fans show up, all of our relatives, coworkers, and casual aquaintances- and a few key major label A&R guys, entertainment lawyers, and big publishers with lucrative licensing options are there, then all our work will have been worthwhile. If this doesnt happen I'll be looking for the nearest shower curtain rod wth my strongest guitar cable handy." |
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