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The way I see it, everything I've posted here has been leading up to this moment. This is my second favorite album of all time (first is Pet Sounds), and over the 9 years since its release, I've come to accept that one of the main reasons I've been put on this earth is to be a Display evangelist. Now, I realize that hyping something makes it more difficult for a new listener to enjoy it, so if all my fawning is sounding like a too good to be true situation, then stop reading and just download the album.
Display were an arty dance-punk (or is it dancey art-punk?) trio out of Everett, formed by bassist Jim Paschall and guitarist Jeremy Cooper of The Past, and Danny Moore on drums. They wrote short, taut songs in Sonic Youth-inspired alternate tunings, anchored by Danny's fast and crisp beats. In contrast to the largely instrumental, slow moodiness of The Past, Display was more poppy and accessible, with Jim and Jeremy trading lead vocal duties, but no less artful and forward-thinking. Display was unlike anything else in town at the time.
Despite frequent positive write-ups in the local music press, a commanding set at the Capitol Hill Block Party, and many shows with other forward thinking bands like Shoplifting and The Gossip, Display never reached the heights they should have. The sad story of why you may not already know this band is that they refused label offers to release their music, opting to self-record and self-release, but doing it all themselves delayed the process, and by the time they finally got it out (packaged beautifully in a thick hinged mirror case they designed and assembled), sudden health problems forced the band to break up within about a week of the album's release. It was only available on consignment in a few shops, at one show, or direct from the band. Only a few dozen copies were made, as far as I know.
Download their sole album, 2003's Display, here.
Download their demo, a couple full shows, and recordings of some songs in their early stages, including a couple that were never released, here.
I've also just uploaded 11 old videos to Youtube, in this playlist:
Be advised that the video resolution isn't great, but I originally got them in this resolution and don't have the originals.
For more videos, check out scumstachewizard's Youtube channel.
Wow, thanks so much for putting up all this old E'town music for download!!
ReplyDeleteI lost most these recordings at some point. I am still proud that I got my start as the Carleen replacement in the short-lived Luner Lander revival of... 2001-ish? (I have video of it somewhere...) Later, I was in the band of Seattle's Lacey Brown, joined Shane Tutmarc in a few Dolour shows, and even wound up on Fleet Foxes' debut album. The PNW was a totally decent place to get started as a musician. Thanks for this blog and the trip down memory lane.
Who is in charge here, anyway, anyone I may know?
~ Gwen
(I'm struggling to decide what of my recent music to share with you, in the event you care at all to see where this former Everett musician wound up... feel free to visit: http://www.gtthomas.com/index/recordingartist.html and if you don't like what you hear at first, scroll down to the soundcloud sets maybe? There is a ton of variety in what I do these days...)