Sound of Bagheera
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Sound of Bagheera

Band Alternative Folk

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"Artist Spotlight: Sound of Bagheera"

In a typical student apartment, you might expect one wall of the living room to be taken up with a table or desk, or maybe a threadbare, overstuffed couch. But in this particular pad, the biggest wall is dominated by a well-worn upright piano. Where there might be stacks of DVDs inside the TV console, instead there are mountains of guitar pedals. Percussion instruments are scattered around the floor and shelves instead of books or beer cans.

The apartment on 22nd Avenue NE, shared by UW students Kevin Williams and Seth Rasmussen, acts as the part-home, part-jam space and part-recording studio of folk quartet Bagheera. These two have lived together and been playing music since 2007 — Williams on guitar and Rasmussen on vocals — but were just recently introduced to pianist Robert Lamirande and percussionist John Feather.

As soon as the four were introduced, things moved fast. The first show was thrown together in just six days during July’s brutal heat wave, and its success was a testament to the infant band’s ability to quickly piece together both music and a newfound group dynamic. After their debut at the Sunset Tavern’s “Sunday Bloody Sunset,” they also played at the Richard Hugo house and for the grand opening of Tacoma’s Norpoint Music School.

Though their Seattle touring was temporarily interrupted by the kickoff of fall quarter, the band has resumed both booking and drawing on the local scene for inspiration.

“We’re big supporters of folk music indigenous to Seattle,” said Williams. “There are some really great groups in this area, and I like to think we’re one of them. It’s a really happening place and whatever people can do to support local music is really special.”

Aside from the city itself, the UW has served as both inspiration and a massive networking opportunity for the band: recent graduate Maggie Louden developed album art, film student Seth Wessel-Estes directed its first music video (for “Snow”) and other fellow students developed the Web site, soundofbagheera.com.

With few instruments unavailable to the group through UW’s School of Music — in which Williams is studying Music Education — and a broad, multi-instrumental range of talent among its members, defining Bagheera’s music as “eclectic” is a massive understatement. Though much of the music revolves around lead vocals, piano, banjo, guitar and various percussion, the quartet also incorporates four-part harmonies, saxophone, flute, bass guitar and harmonica into their core sound.

“We have a song for everybody,” Rasmussen joked. “Our music goes through a lot of genres, but there’s a cohesiveness to them as a unified sound. One of my favorite responses from an audience member after a show was ‘Who the hell do you guys listen to?’ I get taken back when I hear that — it means we’re doing something that people are baffled by.”

Bagheera is nearing the completion of their first demo, a four-or-five track compilation that they plan to shop to record labels, music festivals and venue bookers. Keeping with the DIY-ethic, much of their recording has been done in that same apartment; vocals in the bathroom, brass in the kitchen, piano in the UW Music Building. By December, they plan to release their debut 10-to-12-track full-length album, which will be professionally pressed onto CDs and available for online download.

“I’m passionate that music is how I’m going to make a living, and it would be great if this is how that happened,” Williams said. “None of us want real jobs, I can say that for sure. It’s one of those things where it’s been great from the first time we did it, and it’s at a good place now. Everything from here on out is gravy.” - The Daily


Discography

LP - Eclectic Collection
Demo - Sound of Bagheera Demo

Photos

Bio

Sound of Bagheera formed in the summer of 2009. Kevin Williams and Seth Rasmussen had been writing and performing folk music for two years before meeting pianist Robert Lamirande. The three began playing together, and what emerged was a twisted child of folk and dark jazz (Robert's particular brand). From there, the band picked up guitarist John Feather and Bassist Mark Sassi, and they delved into the realms of gangster rap, indie-rock... and cookie-dough inspired content. Sound of Bagheera plays regular shows in Seattle, and while it’s unsure exactly what they're going to play and how it's going to play it (the band changes up their instruments and style each show), their committed fan-base knows it's sure to be one hell of a good time.