Slow Skate is comprised of Seattle residents (and newly married couple) Caitlin Sherman and Jason Goessl, with the help of Brian Oppel on drums and Geoff Harper on Bass. Layers of toy piano, vintage keyboards, upright bass, brushed junk drums and swooning guitar lines illustrate a sort of musical noir. Their performances have an intense dynamic range of whispers and growls with Caitlin's eclectic and earnest songs as a centerpiece.
Last summer, Slow Skate went to Studio Litho and finished their second full-length, 'Past the Whole Parade' which will be released in September 2009.
Filmed for the Ball of Wax Vol. 15 release party at the Sunset in Ballard. Jason & Caitlin were unable to attend and sent this in their stead.
Ball of Wax Vol. 15 is available at Sonic Boom in Ballard, or can be ordered at:
http://www.denimclature.com/ballofwax/
Visit the Shop at Our Website ~
www.slowskate.com
Past the Whole Parade - Full Length '09
Artwork by Joey Bates
1. Acting Like a Kid 2. Until You're Satisfied 3. Misprint
4. Horseshoe 5. Victory 6. Foxfire
7. Face Yet Unchanged 8. Comforting
9. Swallows 10. Run You Out of Town
USA Orders $12 BUY
St. Valentine 7" Pink Vinyl - Single '09
Side A. St. Valentine
Side B. Love Bites (Def Leppard Cover)
Artwork by Joey Bates
Marbled pink vinyl with recycled chipboard packaging
printed with vegetable based dye!
USA Orders $7 BUY
Trace the Lines - Full Length '08
1.Standing 2.Villain 3.Trace the Lines 4. Suit 5. Chainsaws
6. It Never Entered My Mind 7. Blue in the Face 8. As a Sinner
USA Orders $9 BUY
Slow Skate - Ballads '06
An album of some of our favorite ballads with Fat Kid Wednesdays
(JT Bates - drums, Adam Linz - bass, Mike Lewis - tenor & alto sax)
and Chris Thomson (tenor sax)
1. Duke Ellington's Sound of Love 2. Devil May Care 3. Eclipse
4. Get Out of Town 5. Strange Feeling 6. Lullaby of the Leaves
7. Lonely Woman 8. The Winter of My Discontent 9. Weird Nightmare
USA Orders $7 BUY
Some kind words~
"(Past the Whole Parade) is Slow Skate's second album, one that's full of surprises: one track will feature tinkly toy piano, and then the thing will switch gears completely and charge right into rock guitar and heavy, thudding percussion on the next. The binding thread is Caitlin Sherman's voice, which can be lilting and sweet or throaty and sensual, but is always mesmerizing." SARA BRICKNER, Seattle Weekly's Reverb September 2009
"It's rare that a band's name hints at its promise. (I bring six organs with me every damn place I go, and I've yet to get into a Six Organs of Admittance show without paying the door.) But in the case of local band Slow Skate, the title on the cover aptly describes the contents: their soft-spoken, darkly alluring indie pop is perfect for the last couples skate of the night, nervous and sweaty-palmed orbits illuminated by a mirrorball. It's a style of music you may not have heard for a while; think Portishead, The Innocence Mission or Mazzy Star with a thin stripe of shoegazer drama running through." GEOFF CARTER, The Spellout August 2009
"But it's Slow Skate's combination of tongue-in-cheek London lounge and just enough cowboy swagger that should give you pause. Relying on a combination of organic, dinky pianos and drums, as well as sleek-but-not-sterile electronica, the band's sparse compositions are set atop lazy, brushed drums and swooning surf guitar. A definite must see, especially before their full length album comes out in February and they are inevitably discovered by the masses." RAECHEL SIMS, Seattle Weekly November 2008
"Band of the Week" The Stranger, December 2008
"Slow Skate singer Caitlin Sherman is patient. She has the control and uneasy grace of Portishead's Beth Gibbons, but she makes that unease sound effortless with her exacting shrill. In "Villain" she's poised in a Sleepy Hollow and sings, "Use your tongue to brand my skin." Slow Skate's shadowed minor compositions are filtered with electronics, upright bass, and the resonant shuffle of brush-glitched drums. Room sounds in the recording spell out hardwood floors and low-wattage bulbs overhead. Slow Skate's full-length, Trace the Lines, came out in February on the Seattle/NY label Conduit Records. It's a gathered and bold offering, a slow fade for your lulling." TRENT MOORMAN, The Stranger April 2008
Slow Skate
March 14th, 2009 at 10:12 am (the good times)
On Thursday night, Half Light played with a Seattle band that we’ve been trying to play with for about a year; they are called Slow Skate. For me, this was one of those rare experiences when I was elated that I was out seeing like music, especially considering it was midnight on a Thursday. There is nothing wrong with Slow Skate. The first thing I was struck by was how great the drummer’s snare drum sounds. The drummer seemed jazz trained but never got too fancy, and was certainly able to bust out the rock when necessary. The drummer and stand-up bass player were communicating often, and it was fun to watch them. The deep, growly bass lines coming from the bass were a perfect push-pull to the perfectly tasty drums. If you clicked on the first link, and are listening to to Slow Skate right now, you are no doubt enchanted with the PJ Harvey meets Cat Power meets Eleni Mandell vocal stylings. Caitlin Sherman sits comfortably at the wurlitzer belting out her lovely vocals. In the live setting, I didn’t even miss the killer harmonies that are strewn all over Slow Skates recordings. I was certainly drawn into the magical tone coming from theguitar player’s hollowbody Gibson. Since the piano is laying down a lot of the structure that would normally come from guitar, the guitarist was free to engage in long, flowing, super-tasty lead time lines. We were also blessed with one amazing guitar solo.I only regret that I had to get out of the Comet before I had a chance to purchase Slow Skate’s pink vinyl 7″. Lucky for all of us, they have quite a few gigs coming up. I have a crush on you Slow Skate!