Mystery Ship
Seattle, Washington, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
“Mystery Ship is a band that preserved the original rock ‘n’ roll style, with vocals somewhat resembling The Beatles. This four-piece group embraces the ’60s and ’70s and the influences of bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin are very prominent in their sound.” - Puget Playlist
“Mystery Ship sounds like the aftermath of Led Zeppelin, Widespread Panic, and Velvet Revolver staging a sloppy three-way on a beer-soaked dive-bar floor. They make music to viscerally rock out to. If you have other objectives, this might not be the band for you.” - Seattle Weekly
?”Enter Seattle’s Mystery Ship, a buncha dudes blasting out unpretentious good times rock. What immediately leaps out at you when the needle drops is the watertight song construction: the guitars are perfectly in tandem, the vocals phrased just right, and the rhythm section is solid (Travis’ drumwork demonstrating just how important tight drumming is to a band’s overall sound).” - Drug Punk
“The biggest, baddest, sweetest rock band to come outta Seattle since that whole flannel ‘n’ long hair thing was big.” - Portland Show Guide
?”Mystery Ship is what happens when a rock band realizes how awesome 60's and 70's rock was and recreates it in modern day. They recently released their self-titled album (which is available at various local stores including Easy Street, Sonic, etc) and it has been getting glowing reviews all over the internet. While the band doesn’t necessarily sound like any other band out there they do have hints of Mount Carmel, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin.” - SSGMusic
?”Michael, Josh, Alex and Travis put on a great show playing all original rock and roll with a 60's and 70's influence. I recognized the basis of their approach, I was there in the 60's to see Jimi, Jimmy, Ritchie and Alice. I bought in from the first lick, but they didn’t just mock the classic bands, they added a unique twist…
…They didn’t play any covers but I heard snippets, lines, chords and chorus’ that took me back. Each musician added their own special talent.” - Live Seattle Music in the Clubs Blog
“There was a time when music was listened to with your windows down while you cruised in your car with pride, arm hanging out the window and speakers ready to blow. This was done because the music you listened to made you feel cool. For those around you it made them feel cool. For those who saw you cruising, they wanted to be as cool as you…
…For the Seattle based Mystery Ship, they’ve got their speakers chirping and they’re driving the coolest car. The release of their self-titled EP gives them permanent cruising rights…Mystery Ship encompasses the style, structure, and finesse laid out by the masters of rock before them. The four track EP is bursting with slick guitar licks, jamming bass riffs, distorted vocals and heavy drums to which you can easily roll down the window and jam…
…I don’t think we could ask for more. If Mystery Ship has the ability to lay out four tracks like these this early on, take notice, they are going far.” - Nanobot Rock Reviews
Discography
Self-Titled EP (Fall 2011)
Second EP (Early 2013)
Photos
Bio
Mystery Ship is a rock and roll band. While that may sound simplistic, the band draws primarily on influences from the 1960s and 1970s, when rock and roll was an open book, still figuring out exactly what it was to become. With a firm grounding in their inspirations and influences, and minds open to putting together sometimes seemingly-unrelated elements, they have developed a sound that is fresh yet familiar, and always energetic. Described by SSG Music as “what happens when a rock band realizes how awesome 60's and 70's rock was and recreates it in modern day… the band doesn’t necessarily sound like any other band out there they do have hints of Mount Carmel, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin.” Mystery Ship’s origins lay in four musicians who ended up in Seattle from completely separate parts of the US. Lead guitarist and vocalist Michael Wohl, from Chicago, found himself in Seattle at the end of a summer of tour vans and road trips and decided simply not to return. Drummer Travis Curry's desire was to leave his Hawaii home for the mainland, where bands could hit the road at all, rather than air or sea. Rhythm guitar player Josh Kupferschmid, tired of the desert of Phoenix, caught a one-way ride up to the Northwest and never looked back. Bass player and vocalist Alex Hagenah left Chicago to come to Seattle for college, but in a musically vibrant city, quickly found himself playing. Finding each other, they turned up the guitars and have been rocking since.
In early 2011, the band caught the ear of veteran producer and engineer Dave Hillis (Pearl Jam, Afghan Whigs, Mark Lanegan, Alice in Chains) and together they began planning and recording. Mystery Ship's debut EP is the first record that was recorded by Hillis at his new Starlodge Studios in Seattle. Self-released in November, 2011 and recently re-released by Seattle-based label Knick Knack Records, the EP has earned top-notch reviews. Nanobot Rock Reviews asserted that “the four track EP is bursting with slick guitar licks, jamming bass riffs, distorted vocals and heavy drums to which you can easily roll down the window and jam… I don’t think we could ask for more. If Mystery Ship has the ability to lay out four tracks like these this early on, take notice, they are going far.” The 12" vinyl package includes a digital download card and features artwork by Chicago artist Kerig Pope, circa 1965, whose artwork and design of that period was used by jazz artists such as Art Blakey, Chet Baker, and Dizzy Gillespie in addition to his work for many years as art director for Playboy Magazine.
Following the success of the first EP, Mystery Ship returned to the studio in October of this year. Working with Seattle music-production legend Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden, High On Fire, 3 Inches of Blood), Mystery Ship recorded their high-octane second EP, set for release on Knick Knack Records in early 2013. Utilizing the momentum harnessed from hours and hours in the studio, Mystery Ship hit the road, pumping out a successful nine-date tour of the West Coast.
With a second EP on the horizon and the tour under their belt, Mystery Ship is becoming a force to be reckoned with, not just in the Seattle area, but on the national stage. With every record, performance, song, lick or note, Mystery Ship is dedicated to affirming its reputation as “the biggest, baddest, sweetest rock band to come outta Seattle since that whole flannel ‘n’ long hair thing was big” (Portland Show Guide). Clear in the band’s output and mindset is a realization of what makes rock music the most popular genre for this, and every generation; from loud guitars and swirling vocals, to thumping bass and pounding drums, from blistering solos, to cryptic lyrics, and all things rock and roll.
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