Sweetlou
Seattle, Washington, United States | SELF
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Seattle-based band Sweetlou is all about the song; the simpler the song, the better.
Last year's Good Morning Wherever You Are is a little bit twang, a little pop and a little Seattle rain. One reviewer called the sound of Good Morning, "Josh Rouse with seasonal affective disorder."
The band tries to marry its love of Americana acts such as Steve Earle and Wilco with the flavors of the Beatles, Crowded House and the Replacements.
Sweetlou was formed in 2001 by singer/songwriter Bryan Cohen and bassist Paul Christofferson. They were later joined by drummer Matt Carr and keyboardist Andrew Nelson.
Recorded live (or as live as possible) with plenty of acoustic guitar, Good Morning Wherever You Are lyrically probes the relationships' dark sides and fleeting youth with a moody Americana feel and basic instrumentation (bass, drums, piano, organ and acoustic guitar).
The band has been playing shows throughout Seattle and has been featured on local radio stations KEXP and The Mountain.
- NPR's Open Mic
Formed in 2001, Seattle band SweetLou released "American Singles" about two years later. The collection of sunny pop-rock songs -- among them "She's Got a Way" and "Radio Heaven" -- found airplay on KMTT-FM. By contrast, the group's new album, "Good Morning ... Wherever You Are," is somber and overcast, like the first drizzly week of fall. A dark melancholy pervades much of the CD, despite such upbeat songs as "Doubter" and "Tonight." Recorded mostly live, with acoustic guitar at the forefront, "Good Morning" is a beautifully crafted album about shattered relationships and changing times - Seattle PI: Gene Stout
Discography
1998 -Gone Awry: Bryan Cohen and the AM Disasters (Same band band members as Sweetlou)
2002 American Singles - Sweetlou
2003 Remixed American Singles - Sweetlou
2006 Good Morning Wherever You Are - Sweetlou
Radio tracks: #1 Consequence of Motion, #2 Doubter and #8 Next Summer
2009 Year of the Rock
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Bio
SweetLou Bio The Year of the Rock
SweetLou is a Seattle based Americana band formed in 2001 by singer-songwriter Bryan Cohen and bassist Paul Christofferson, and later joined by drummer Matt Carr and keyboardist Andrew Nelson. Recently SweetLou added Dave Patterson (Christy McWilsons solo band) on lead guitar to flesh out the bands live sound.
After their 2003 pop record American Singles and the introspective 2006 record Good Morning Wherever You Are, SweetLou was itching to plug in, play live and rock. Singer Bryan Cohen wrote a bunch of club ready songs that celebrated rock n roll; the band recruited Terry Davison to play Pedal Steel on as many songs as he could; Bassist Paul Christofferson reteamed with Dave Dysart to lead the recording and production at London Bridge Studios; and SweetLous new record, The Year of the Rock, was born.
For SweetLou, rock n roll is obsession. Guitars, drums, amps, best gigs ever, shit gigs, vans, heroes, has-beens, almosts, drunks, fuck ups, dreamers, failures, haters, doubters, lovers, players, the grunge, the pop, a lust for twang, Wilco, Keith Richards, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Steve Earle, The Replacements, Tom Petty (pre-Free Falling), the Pedal Steel, Dicks Drive-In These are all part of the rock n roll universe that The Year of the Rock celebrates.
The Year of the Rock is a return to full-tilt roots rock, and features up-tempo rock rave ups such as Whiskey World, Test Patterns, St. Paul and Sleeping Around; slow twang cookers like Gravitys Pull; and a few off-beat pop tunes like Ugly Business and AA Snowflakes. Each of these tunes in some way uses rock n roll in its story arc: sometimes a mention or sometimes an entire story line. The Year of the Rock is almost a concept album about rock n roll, but not nearly as awesome as Bat out of Hell.
Embodying the never-quit work ethic, SweetLou has released and promoted all of its records independently. To date SweetLous songs have been played on KUOW-FM, KEXP-FM, KMTT The Mountain in Seattle, and on KINK in Portland. In 2006 the bands song Doubter was featured on NPRs Open Mic. SweetLou has played at the Crocodile, The Tractor, The Sunset, The High Dive and Nuemos, as well as numerous outdoor festival gigs.
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