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At the Spine

About Me

ORDER NOW!!! Vita: The New Album from At the Spine
Or buy "Vita" on Itunes
BUY: AT THE SPINE: Sonic Resistance
Or buy "Sonic Resistance" on Itunes
BUY: AT THE SPINE: First Day of Spring
or buy "FDOS" on Itunes
BUY: AT THE SPINE: The Curriculum is Never Neutral
Or buy "Curriculum" on Itunes
ORDER NOW!!! Sounds from the Seattle Underground CD
PRESS & PROPAGANDA
“At the Spine's great album barely hints at their live power: The band exults madly all over the room with a performance to banish all jadedness. This band is so strong and fresh that watching them, I can't help but imagine…” (The Stranger, Seattle, WA)
"propulsive drums and epic guitar. If Zorro was in a band it could sound like this." (Americana UK, London, UK).
“This is honestly one of the best records, front to back that I’ve heard all year.” (Punk Planet Magazine, Chicago, IL)
"the sound of perfectly serrated pop" (Portland Mercury, Portland, OR)
"blissfully impervious to whatever fad his indie-rock peers are currently into. Even after a few listens (the album) keeps on revealing quirky new hooks, new layers." (Time Out NY, NYC, NY).
"They've been called it all: the next Pixies, just like early Fugazi, early Guided by Voices, early Neil Young. ...after checking out their album, I can say that these guys stand on their own feet. Comparisons aren't really necessary..." (Inlander Weekly, Spokane, WA).
"name dropping doesn’t really do this music justice. If you like those bands, you’ll like this, but At the Spine is really its own unique blend of rock ‘n’ roll." (Punk Planet, Chicago, IL).
“At the Spine’s explosive melodies and withering guitar work build into expansive solos, particularly on ‘Iron Lake.’ Now two full-time members strengthen the band’s sound, making the band’s third album the most impressive to date.” (Sound Magazine).
BIO
At the Spine loves to rock. We believe in the power of music. We try to be good folks, to play good music, and put on energetic and sincere live shows. We try to do what we can to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable planet.
We write about what we have experienced and seen in the world. Sometimes it is about politics, sometimes it is about relationships and love. Sometimes we are raging against something, like war, or imperialism, and sometimes we are celebrating something in solidarity with the masses of the world. Sometimes we cry tears of sorrow and sometimes tears of joy.
We have played hundreds of shows across the U.S. and E.U. since 2002 and released four critically acclaimed albums.
2003 The Curriculum is Never Neutral
2005 First Day of Spring
2006 Sonic Resistance
2008 Vita
Music has inspired us, moved us, and kept us alive though the good and the bad times, so we are doing our best to return the favor to all those that have come before us, and all those that will come after us. Your support is greatly appreciated.
..

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 24/02/2005
Band Website: www.atthespine.org
Band Members:
Mike Spine (guitar & throat), Garland Hooker (low and theory) Doug Starcevich (bass & guitar), Zac Stowell (drums), Aaron Starkey (guitar), Richie Parish (guitar), Chris Croft (drums) Nora Ferranti (boards with keys & dancer)... (previously also: Aaron Semer, Adam Drew, Matt Dente, and Morgan Patton).
Influences: ..
We could lie here and say a bunch of hipster nonsense, but we won't. We have been influenced by rock, punk rock, folk/folk rock, old school metal, hip-hop, along with some blues, jazz, flamenco, etc. Read below for more details.

Influences range from Fugazi, Treepeople, Built to Spill, Dead Kennedys, The Minutemen and early Neil Young, to Public Enemy, the Coup, Run DMC, Iron Maiden (up to Somewhere in Time album), Black Sabbath, early Judas Priest, The Melvins, Manu Chao's "Clandestino", early Bob Dylan, early Heart, Herb Ellis and Joe Pass (7 come 11), Carlos Montoya, about 10 songs by The Clash, Uncle Tupelo, D.R.I., S.O.D., Suicidal Tendencies, Agent Orange (Living in Darkness), 7 Seconds (Walk Together, Rock Together), Minor Threat, early Cure, a drag racing and Spiderman record from the 1970's, Jimi Hendrix & his bands, Sly and the Family Stone ("I want to take you higher!"), a bunch of inescapable FM "Classic Rock", 45's & 33 1/3's on VINYL, mixed tapes from junior high, KCMU's Brain Pain show, Colin Spring, Aaron Goodrich, Aaron Semer, dudes playing drum buckets on the streets and subways, and thousands of other bands, songs, etc.

1992-2001 PORTLAND BANDS/PERFORMERS/VENUES LIKE: The Help, Team Dresch, Gern Blanston, Sharkskill, Cherry Ice Cream Smile/All Girl Summer Fun Band, Heatmiser, Hazel, Elliott Smith, Holgator, 30.06, Fernando, 31 Knots, Scribble, shows at "The Power House", The X-Ray Cafe/O'Hell, La Luna, EJ's, La Serenita Taqueria, etc., Leroy Vinegar/Mel Brown/Thara Memory/Dan Faehnle Quartet 1994-1998 at Jazz de Opus, and the raw guitar skills of Dan Balmer.

We have also been inspired and influenced by things like the labor movement, SNCC, CORE, The Black Panthers, Emma Goldman, Green Peace, Earth First!, Sojourner Truth, Geronimo, Crazy Horse, AIM, Chavez & the UFW, The Zapatistas, WTO resistance in Seattle in 1999, and many other such movements for social, economic, and environmental justice. And of course thousands our invaluable life experiences.

We do not fear any genre or style of music; only what we perceive as phony, heartless, and inauthentic music.
Sounds Like: A mixture of all of the above, but not really like any of those?I dunno, listen and think for yourself... ..
Record Label: Global Seepej Records
Type of Label: Major

My Blog

Neil Young tribute night success!

Thanks to all the bands and fans, Nadamucho, the Sunset, The Seattle Weekly & The Stranger for the ink, & KEXP for the on air plugs. A beautiful sold out Thursday night in Ballard... "It's better to b...
Posted by on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 00:48:00 GMT

End of Tour & Neil Young Tribute Night Jan 22nd @ Sunset Tavern SEA

Bring in the 2009 with an ATS show in Hayward, CA tonight or Portland, OR at Kelly's Olympian in Portland Sat the 3rd. We are also happy to be headlining a NEIL YOUNG tribute night Jan 22nd at Su...
Posted by on Thu, 01 Jan 2009 10:24:00 GMT

Tour Dec 19 - January 4, KEXP, UK Release, School Closures, News, etc.

Greetings Race Fans, First, vote for us on KEXP's top 90.3 albums of 2008: http://kexp.org/top2008/top903vote.aspx   Next, At the Spine, (the band that predicted the financial collapse of 2008...
Posted by on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:07:00 GMT

"When it all comes crumbling down..."

Don't mean to say I told you so, but, I told you so...Killer job wall street scum and corporate whore politicians.Good week to have "Crumble" in the playlist... Will let you download it for free this ...
Posted by on Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:13:00 GMT

w/ The Blakes in Yakima, Seattle Weekly Fest Sat 10/4, CD RELEASE Sunset OCT 10 & New Review!

We are heading to Yakima to play with The Blakes, a band that opened for us a few years ago, on Sept 6th at Yakima Sports Center. Should be fun.We are playing Seattle Weekly Reverb Festival in Ballard...
Posted by on Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:45:00 GMT

New discs, Tour, Best of Seattle Weekly, CMJ top 200

New CD is out and has been charting on CMJ top 200, moving up almost 30 spots last week and we are headed out on a 2 week tour that will take us from Seattle to Chicago, down to St. Louis and Salt Lak...
Posted by on Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:23:00 GMT

BUSY BUSY, Lots of good stuff!!!!!

Things are cranking up.Got some new shows posted & will post more soon as this site quits tripping on us.4 piece still tearing things up.New album "VITA" is off at the plant.Look for a summer release ...
Posted by on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:23:00 GMT

News, FREE Show, New Video, Mini-Tour, etc.

We have arisen from the basements of Seattle and Portland with a finished version of our stellar new soon-to-be multi-platinum album. While we are still waiting on the artwork to be finished and ...
Posted by on Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:44:00 GMT

NEW CD "SONIC RESISTANCE" OUT NOW! BUY!!!

Official Release Day: Album #3, "Sonic Resistance".. by mike --> Amigas & Amigos: At the Spine have officially released our 3rd LP titled Sonic Resistance today, May 1, 2007 (International Worker...
Posted by on Tue, 15 May 2007 22:48:00 GMT

At the Spine: Battle in Seattle film w/ Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Ray Liotta, etc.

At the Spine: Battle in Seattle film w/ Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Ray Liotta, etc.   At the Spine has been working on getting some of our material into the Stuart Townsend film ...
Posted by on Wed, 20 Dec 2006 21:02:00 GMT