The Spits (USA)
Playing old-school punk rock with an up-to-date level of snottiness and mordant humor, the Spits have enjoyed a surprisingly long and healthy career bashing out stripped-down rock tunes with equal shares of attitude, aggressive eccentricity, and muscle. Spits founders Sean Wood (guitar and vocals) and Erin Wood (bass and vocals) are siblings who were born and raised in Allegan, Michigan and began making music in 1987 with a band called the Riot Midgets.
Deciding the Allegan scene was too sleepy for them, Sean and Erin headed to Seattle, Washington in 1990, and the first lineup of the Spits was formed a year later with drummer Wayne Draves. The band bounced around the Northwest scene for several years playing makeshift gigs before putting out its first single, „Tired and Lonely,“ in 1997. In 2000, Nickel & Dime Records released the band’s self-titled debut album, and the Spits hit the road, developing a reputation for their wild stage show, their relentless touring schedule, and their habit of dressing up for the audience, getting decked out in anything from monks robes to homemade mummy outfits to Ronald Reagan masks. The drummer’s chair in the Spits became something of a revolving door, though Draves was one of the few timekeepers to leave and eventually return to the group, and when the Spits expanded to a four-piece with the addition of a keyboard player (in part to allow them to explore their Devo influence), the place behind the synth also tended to change on a regular basis. However, that didn’t have much impact on the Wood brothers‘ ongoing campaign as a „band of the people.“ as they toured at a heady pace and released a steady stream of singles, occasionally putting out albums (most self-titled) through punk imprints like Dirtnap Records and Slovenly Records, as well as their own Thriftstore label. In 2011, the Spits struck a deal with noted garage punk label In the Red Records, which dropped their fifth self-titled release in the same year, and in 2014 the group made a great leap forward by attaching an actual title to one of their studio efforts: their second LP for In the Red was called Kill the Kool. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
The Briefs (USA)
What started with four idiot savants in a downtown Seattle basement has led to a remarkable two-decade career that has spawned some of the catchiest anti-hits this side of Y2K. Any self-respecting rocker will argue: “Hit After Hit,” (2000); “Off the Charts,” (2003); “Sex Objects,” (2004); and “Steal Yer Heart,” (2005); are more than essential punk classics—they’re commandments, damn it. Sweat-drenched singles like “Rotten Love,” and “Poor and Weird” may have even aided in reversing punk’s once terminal diagnosis.
But how have they survived this long, this loud? A dynamic, leave-everything-on-the-stage live show paired with relentless US and European touring has garnered the band a fierce following (although you can’t spot Briefs fan based on age, they are indeed known to harbor a certain swagger). 2008-2012 saw a much-needed cat nap for the band, but diehard pals will tell you this was no radio silence. Guitarist Daniel Travanti formed Sharp Objects and co-founded Modern Action Records; guitarist Steve E. Nix and bassist Kicks formed The Cute Lepers; drummer Chris Brief formed Suspect Parts. In the end, it all came back around to the beginning—to The Briefs.
(Hayley Crusher Cain)
