Creeping Time
Seattle, Washington, United States | SELF
Music
Press
"Concertgoers were treated to some foot stomping and good, old-fashioned bluegrass mixed in with a selection of more modern tunes at Ballard's Conor Byrne Pub...The concert drew such a crowd, the pub reached capacity and eager customers were lining up outside to get in almost all night." - Ballard News Tribune
"Creeping Time is a Seattle band featuring stand-up bass, drums, guitar and fiddle full of the screaming meamies. They write songs about the blue collar blues, hiking the Elwah river, time machines, and chicks from San Francisco. This band sounds like a hell of a lot of fun. Little bit country, little bit rock-n-roll, little bit devil's-spit-flyin' crazy hoedown..." - The Vigilance
Tom Petersen (Review of Cheap American Lager)
Just makin’ sure nobody in Austin or Athens or St Paul starts thinkin’ that they’s the center of Alt Country, Creeping Time runs it up the flagpole out here at one of the original corners of the No Depression sound. Dang straight. Cheap American Lager is one loud record: acoustic instruments played hard, pumped along by the proverbial gorilla-at-the-drum-kit. After the initial shock, though, the quality of the songs comes through. Bassist Ken Nottingham gets most of the songwriting credits, and he has a excellent sense of structure and plenty of imaginative material to share, including a whack at local history, “ Lyman Cutler.” (Look him up, transplants.) Guitarist Michael Spaly mates some modern themes to good old honkin’ country much more successfully than a lot of big name writers these days, too. Bloodshot Records ought to hear these guys, and so should you. - Victory Review
folkmusic.about.com's "Best Folk Artists You've Never Heard Of" list, Kim Ruehl
"...the band has no real front man. All its members know when to shine and when to back off, resulting in a perfectly balanced, tightly driven organic machine of music." - About.com
Discography
2006 – Cheap American Lager
2003 – Live at Conor Byrne
2001 – How to Fly
1999 – Down that Muddy Road
New album scheduled for release in Fall of 2011.
Photos
Bio
Creeping Time, planted in 1997 when Ken Nottingham (lead singer, lyricist, and upright bass) met former guitarist and songwriter, Adam Boesel at an open mic on Seattle’s Capitol Hill. They had an instant connection through their passion for songwriting and enjoyed playing each others’ songs. Adam brought Dave Forrester (drums, background vocals) on board and Creeping Time was born.
Creeping Time recorded their first LP “Down That Muddy Road” in 1999 at the Chicken Eye Studio with Ken’s long time friend Ivan Lee at the controls. It was a simple album that captured the pure songwriting and simple chord structures that is the soul and roots of this original band.
Their second album, “How to Fly” released in 2001 and featured a number of different guest musicians that had been sitting in with the band at the time. With electric guitar, piano, Hammond B3 and accordion - the result was a more produced sounding album and still remained true to their good time, foot stomping feel.
Soon after the release of “How to Fly” Ken met Kjell Anderson (fiddle) at an open mic where Ken was host. Kjell sat in with the band for a couple songs at their next show and it was clear to all that his fiddle was what they were in search of in a soloist and Kjell fit right in with the guys.
2003 was a good year for Creeping Time which included the release of “Live” a full tilt, high energy, hoe down frenzy featuring Kjell’s blazing fiddle style, as well as their first west coast tour; through Oregon, California, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. The highlight of the year was the addition of Michael Splay (guitar, mandolin, vocals) - at 6 feet 6 inches, he is the tallest child prodigy you will ever meet and Dave’s best-ever find on Craig’s List. In late 2004, Adam left Creeping Time to start his solo career.
The current line-up, whose music spans the gap between your grandfather’s bluegrass and modern rocket science, continues to entertain audiences of all ages throughout the Pacific Northwest. It’s like Bill Monroe, Doc Watson and Vassar Clements jamming with Phish, Steve Earle and the Ramones. The poetry of the lyrics is matched only by the passion and fire with which they play.
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