Jeff and Keeg - "The Gold Tape" [1999]

A longtime favorite for the kids of the late 90s Everett scene, Jeff and Keeg was the short-lived duo of Keegan Douglas and Jeff Scott, formed after Keeg's band Luner Lander broke up. I believe this was their only release, a 4-song tape, spray-painted gold (I hear there were some silver ones, too). Straightforward guitar-based pop songs about girls, with Brian Wilson-inspired falsetto vocals and the occasional Phil Spector drum beat. I went to the Old Fire House one night with a friend, and Keeg, who I didn't know but who knew my friend, was walking around with a grocery bag of the the new tape, handing them out. I saw he and Jeff play a few times, the set consisting of these four songs played by just the two of them, Keeg on guitar and Jeff on bass, both with matching blue Fenders, holding them in shifting coordinated positions with the song, as if the garage was American Bandstand in 1964. A cassette in a boombox filled out the band with keyboard and drums.

A short while later, Jeff and Keeg recruited a couple other guys, and were Jeff and Keeg and John and Jim, then simply The New Avenues. See here for my post on them, which features a redone version of the tape's classic closer, "No November", a song which I've heard multiple girls swear is about them. Whatever the truth may be, it's a great little pop song, and I'm very happy to share this tape with you. Enjoy.

Download the 4-song tape with artwork scans here.

The New Avenues

The New Avenues were a pop band out of Everett, led by the falsetto-voiced and charismatic Keegan Douglas. After the demise of Luner Lander, Keeg continued to explore his Beach Boys obsession, writing guitar pop, accompanied by a bassist and as I recall, a cassette of the drum parts, as one half of Jeff and Keeg (more on that later). Eventually, they recruited Jim Paschall (Display, The Past) and a second guitarist, John, and went by Jeff and Keeg and John and Jim, before settling on The New Avenues. I believe this 5-song EP came out in 2002, and after listening to it innumerable times, it still always puts a smile on my face. If anyone has copies of later New Avenues material, or the subsequent band Talladega (in which Danny replaced Jim on drums), please let me know.

The New Avenues EP - 192kbps mp3s with scans here