Fresh Cherries from Yakima - ProfilesArchive

About Me

sometime during the summer of 2004, a scruffy bookworm drove home from his part-time job, passing by a man selling fruit from the back of a van. he noticed there was a sign that read "fresh cherries from yakima," swaying in the summer breeze. two weeks went by, and finally, after much deliberation, the bookworm decided to buy some cherries. as the scruffy bookworm pulled up to the back of the van, a nearly-translucent young man in a sailor suit turned around. in exchange for buying some produce, the sailor implored the bookworm to have a seat and listen to a story or two. the scruffy bookworm was so enthralled with the sailor's storytelling, the two would sit in the back of the van with the doors open every day for the duration of that particular summer. the ghost would tell his tales, and his scruffy friend would transcribe the stories and later turn them into folk songs. soon, the scruffy bookworm had enough songs written to start a band. he asked his sailor friend, who initially declined. after two straight weeks of fending off an invitation into the band, which actually bordered on annoyance, the sailor accepted his friend's offer, but there was a condition. more accurately: a challenge. in order for the sailor to join the band, which was to be named fresh cherries from yakima, the bookworm would have to play him for the name and his services in an old african board game called mancala. the competition was vigorous, but the winner, by one single bead, was the bookworm. thus, fresh cherries from yakima was born.if you'd like, you can stream the entirety of buttons for north caroline and the bourbon and bedsheets EP here and here , respectively. i also keep a hilariously long-winded music blog; you can find that here. go here or here if you'd like to purchase the album as an mp3 download. for any questions about booking, press, etc., inquire within for my e-mail address.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 12/28/2004
Band Website: freshcherriesfromyakima.com
Band Members: Douglas Martin: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, tambourine, viola, cardboard box, harmonica, toy piano, quiro, melodica, shakers, pots & pans, vocals, harmonies, and production. (and whoever Douglas can round up at any given moment.)
Influences: [miscellaneous influences:] stray words and phrases. rainy days. andy warhol. scrabble. career criminals and civil disobedience. desolate city streets.[musical influences:] the neptunes. tv on the radio. nirvana unplugged. the microphones. andre 3000. the velvet underground. sonic youth. jesus and mary chain.[lyrical influences:] charles bukowski. donald goines. oscar wilde. shawn carter. chuck palahniuk. ralph waldo ellison. chuck klosterman. christopher wallace.
Sounds Like: corroded, art-damaged folk-pop. "douglas martin takes two genres of music that couldn't be farther away from each other-- folk-pop and ambient noise-punk-- puts them in a blender, creating a sound that sidesteps the 'singer/songwriter' tag without completely abandoning it, making fresh cherries from yakima somewhat of an anomaly in his chosen genre." "douglas martin is a promising singer/songwriter with a sense of dark humor and knack for detail that recalls charles bukowski (one of his many influences) more than any musician that's influenced him." "just when you thought the singer/songwriter genre was a dead horse, every few years, another moody introvert comes along and kicks it back to life. enter douglas martin: stage left." "on the surface, buttons for north caroline, fresh cherries from yakima's debut, is a collection of songs about girls. later on, it becomes evident that these songs about girls-- overly confident visual artists, alt-porn models, serial killers, almost-drunk drivers, and amnesia victims-- are written with more verve, wit, charm and emotion than one kid in his early twenties should be allowed to possess." "fresh cherries from yakima, the bandonym of seattle-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer douglas martin, gleefully perverts most preconceived notions of the 'singer/songwriter,' with narrative fiction laced with dark humor (and occasional, if unexpected, moments of tenderness) and copious use of electronica, found sound, and effects pedals (and, presumably, hallucinogenic drugs)." "with airy ambiance and gurgling electronics providing a foil for the heartfelt, quasi-literary lyrics and singer/songwriterly disposition that accompany them, fresh cherries from yakima is deftly straddling the line between emo and eno." "buttons for north caroline is the antithesis of easy listening. it's concerned with exploring the weird fringes of sound. there's a good chance you might not like it. hell, i'm not even sure how much i like it."
Record Label: borrowdeer [we’re hella DIY].
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

20 questions to yakima from the same person: installment two.

1. we all know that nirvana, the neptunes, and tv on the radio were your biggest influences when you were first starting out, but are there any others that have shaped your sound?the decemberists were...
Posted by Fresh Cherries from Yakima on Sun, 25 May 2008 11:01:00 PST

douglas martins top 10: may 2008.

10. scrabble and sangria dates.under normal circumstances, playing scrabble one-on-one with somebody is a complete bore, but not when you're DRUNK with that person! i just thought about past "scrabble...
Posted by Fresh Cherries from Yakima on Thu, 22 May 2008 09:58:00 PST

douglas martin’s favorite "buttons for north caroline" lyrics.

it's pretty needless to say that lyrics are the most important component of a fresh cherries from yakima song. i mean, for goodness sake, buttons for north caroline is an album-length narrative! there...
Posted by Fresh Cherries from Yakima on Fri, 09 May 2008 10:18:00 PST

douglas martin’s top 10: april 2008.

10. cucumber melon body wash.yeah, it smells as fruity as it sounds, but it makes a person smell GREAT.9. zilla rocca.i don't want to be one of those dudes that always hypes his friends, but with all ...
Posted by Fresh Cherries from Yakima on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:04:00 PST

live review, but not really.

i'm covered in sweat. the spotlight is beamed upon me, along with somewhere between four and six different colors flashing on the fairly massive stage. there's a discarded jacket and shirt, both mine,...
Posted by Fresh Cherries from Yakima on Mon, 21 Apr 2008 06:08:00 PST

myspace exclusive: several random facts about douglas martin.

00. i don’t know how to ride a bike.01. i cried during the first season finale of the o.c.02. i sleep with the fan on and the CD player running.03. when i was a kid, i loved hootie and the blowf...
Posted by Fresh Cherries from Yakima on Sun, 06 Apr 2008 12:59:00 PST

20 questions to yakima from the same person: installment one.

well, i’ve talked about it before, and here it is. "20 questions to yakima from the same person" is yet another way for me to erect a line of communication between all of you and myself. the pre...
Posted by Fresh Cherries from Yakima on Sat, 05 Apr 2008 08:55:00 PST

douglas martins top 10: march 2008.

10. plaid knickers.it’s a way better look for spring than ironic cut-off shorts.9. "royal flush" by big boi f. andre 3000 and raekwon.it just so happens that "skew it on the bar-b" is one of my ...
Posted by Fresh Cherries from Yakima on Sat, 22 Mar 2008 03:09:00 PST

questions to yakima: myspace edition.

so, as most of you already know, every now and again, i like to rifle through the myspace messages/e-mails/occasional truffles of snail-mail, and post the most interesting questions, along with my ans...
Posted by Fresh Cherries from Yakima on Sat, 08 Mar 2008 05:59:00 PST

a beginner’s guide to moody art-folk.

seemingly for as long as fresh cherries from yakima has been around, there's been a thread of dialogue pointing me towards the tag of "moody art-folk." i don't think this or any other brands that have...
Posted by Fresh Cherries from Yakima on Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:03:00 PST