This probably ought to go under Blag, but we’re gonna go with Brain Rot for now.
I miss the hell out of Seattle. Seven or eight years ago, I was living there, working on Bandoppler’s short-lived print run which we’ve been publishing content from since we started back up in April. Shows at the amazing 2nd Ave. Pizza, Jim Goad reading from Shit Magnet, trying to keep up with Chris Estey as he ran through 20 years of punk history in an hour.
Home life was pretty incredible. Every person in the house was a creative force. Writers, musicians, heavy drinkers. Two of the guys I lived with, Adam MacKinnon and Jay Waymire, had a band that never quite made it called Ambitious Career Woman. Every bit of Froberg/Reiss’ open chord riffing, every severe angle of Slint’s hooks and unbelievably fluid, jazz-based drumming made up their sound. It was one of those bands where I was excited to tell friends about them. Hell, I still am; they were legitimately great. We’ve included two songs off of their album To Avoid a Lawsuit (2003) below. I’m going to see if I can get my hands on the full-length again and make it available somehow.
Ambitious Career Woman – A Cure for Dead People
Ambitious Career Woman – A Cure for Dead People
Ambitious Career Woman – My Secret Weapon
Ambitious Career Woman – My Secret Weapon
Eight years later, MacKinnon pops back onto my radar, shortly before Fine Print comes back and he’s got a new band, Western Medicine. It’s interesting seeing how eight years have matured and changed his sound and guitar style. Where Ambitious Career Woman was all speed, aggressive chords and energy, Western Medicine moves at a deliberate but hardly sedate pace. Atmosphere and mood is everywhere, from the loosely strummed chords to the impeccable, subtly effective drums. “Clumsy” in particular has a determined menace to it that just works. The video for it is below. Word is a bunch of stuff has been recorded. I can’t wait to hear it.
