Fastbacks

Clockwise from top left: Kurt Bloch, Lulu Gargiulo, band, Kim Warnick

The Fastbacks were a pioneering Seattle band. Formed in 1979 by songwriter/guitarist Kurt Bloch (born August 28 1960), and friends Lulu Gargiulo (guitar and vocals, born October 12 1960) and Kim Warnick (bass and vocals, born April 7, 1959), they disbanded in 2001. Their sound mixed a generally punk approach to vocals and sound textures with poppy tunes and strong musicianship.

Although these three band members remained constant, they went through numerous drummers, including Duff McKagan, later of Guns N' Roses. MTV's web page on the Fastbacks says that estimates at the number of Fastbacks drummers "range from 12 to 20." [link] For most of the band's last decade, Mike Musberger filled this role, but other Fastbacks drummers before him (or when he took occasional breaks) included Bloch himself, Richard Stuverud (perhaps best known from Three Fish, side project of Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament), Nate Johnson and Rusty Willoughby (both of whom also played in both Flop and Pure Joy), John Moen (of the Dharma Bums, later of Steven Malkmus' Jicks and the Decemberists), Jason Finn (of the Presidents of the United States of America), Dan Peters of Mudhoney, and Tad Hutchison of the Young Fresh Fellows. Several of these people also served at times as drummers in The Squirrels, a similarly long-lived band, and the Fastbacks' sometime label-mates on Pop Llama Records, who bring a similar mix of strong musicianship and punk attitude to even poppier material.

Contributing to the band's breakup was Warnick's move to the band Visqueen. She has subsequently announced her retirement from performing.

Kurt Bloch, who also ran the label No Threes records, has since gone on to form Sgt. Major, with bassist Jim Sangster, drummer Rusty Willoughby, and vocalist Carmella. They have released a record entitled "Rich Creamery Butter" on Bloch's Book Records.

Discography

"It's Your Birthday"/"You Can't Be Happy" (single), No Threes, 1981
"Someone Else's Room" on the Seattle Syndrome compilation, 1981
Fastbacks Play Five Of Their Favorites (5-track, 12" EP), No Threes, 1982
Everyday Is Saturday, No Threes, 1984
Fastbacks....And His Orchestra (album), Pop Llama, 1987, also released on UK Subway, 1987
"In The Winter"/"It Came To Me In A Dream" (single), UK Subway, 1989
"Wrong Wrong Wrong"/"In America" (single), UK Subway, 1989
"Lose" [Fastbacks]/"King of Hubcaps [Gas Huffer] (single), SPFC 1990
Very, Very Powerful Motor (album), Pop Llama, 1990
"In The Summer/You Can't Be Happy/Everything I Don't Need/Queen of Eyes" (EP), No Threes/SPFC, 1990
Bike-Toy-Clock-Gift, first released as a tape on Bus Stop, 1990; (album), Lucky, 1994
The Answer Is You ["My Letters"/"Whatever Happened to ?"/"Impatience"/"Above the Sunrise"]' (2-single set), Sub Pop, 1991
Live in America (2-single set), Smilin' Ear, 1991
In America, Live in Seattle 1988 (album), Lost and Found (Germany), 1991
Never Fails, Never Works (album), Blaster (UK), 1991
"Run No More/"Really" (single), Who Cares, 1992
"Now Is the Time"/"Sometimes"/"Was Late" (single), Ded Beet, 1992 [recorded 1983-1985]
The Question is No (album), Sub Pop, 1992
"They Don't Care"/"Out of the Charts" (single), PopLlama, 1993
"Gone to the Moon"/"Go All the Way" (single), Sub Pop (Germany), 1993
Gone to the Moon (EP), Sub Pop (Germany), 1993
Zücker (album), Sub Pop, 1993
Gone to the moon (album), Sub Pop, 1993
"Wait It Out"/"The Jester" (single), Munster (Spain), 1994
Answer the Phone Dummy (album), Sub Pop, 1994
New Mansions in sound (album), Sub Pop, 1996
Alone in a Furniture Warehouse Scaring You Away Like a Hotel Mattress (album), Munster (Spain), 1996
Here They Are... Live At the Crocodile... (album), Lance Rock (Canada), 1996
Win Lose or Both (EP), Pop Llama, 1998
Day That Didn't Exist, spinArt, 1999
Truth Corrosion and Sour Bisquits, Book, 2004

External links

[1991 interview], Noise For Heroes #20
[on the Trouser Press site]
[Former fastbacks.com pages, mirrored at Sub Pop]
[Sgt. Major]

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