Tieton Drive

Ask the members of Tieton Drive for their influences, and you get a pretty eclectic response -- David Bowie, Creedence Clearwater Revival, She Wants Revenge, No Doubt, The B-52s, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Heart, the list goes on.
"That's why none of the songs sound the same," laughs Amanda Nesary, the Yakima band's keyboard player.
And it's true, there's no real common thread among Tieton Drive's music beyond some vague notion of synth-driven postpunk romanticism. It's a big, messy mix of '80s sounds, like someone put a bunch of Depeche Mode, Joy Division, The Cure and Modern English albums into a blender, set up a roomful of top-notch recording equipment and hit the puree button. The result, disjointed and schizophrenic as it can be at points, is a sound rooted in nostalgia that has found a broad audience throughout the Northwest.
Nesary, who joined and left the band as a bass player only to return on keys, is one of three women who have joined the current lineup of Tieton Drive since it was founded in 2007 by frontman Anthony Davis and guitarist Chris Flue. Drummer Lindsay Jacobson joined in early 2009, after Davis found her by accident while trying to check out someone else at a local jam session. And the current bassist, who just goes by Blue, joined earlier this year.
Since then, they've played shows in Portland, Seattle, Olympia, Monroe and elsewhere throughout the Northwest. Their show Saturday at the Yakima Sports Center will be a return to Yakima, one the band considers a highlight and an honor. They recruited Portland synth-pop band Pink Noise to join them on the bill.
"If you're a band in Yakima, this is the show: Halloween at the Sports Center," Davis says. "Biggest show in Yakima. And we got what we feel is one of the best bands we've ever played with to open for us."
Tieton Drive, which takes regular nonmusic-related field trips for the express purpose of bonding, isn't planning on stopping there, though. All of them have day jobs, yes, but they're also all wholly dedicated to the band.
"We have all prioritized this band, like really high in our life," Davis says. "It takes so much time to not just write a song and learn how to perform it, but to get a show and pack for a show."
Ah, yes, packing for a Tieton Drive show has really got to be something. It takes a lot of equipment to make the sound these guys make.
"We always get comments at our shows like, 'Are you guys done bringing in your stuff yet?'" Jacobson says.
But that's part of what gives the Tieton Drive live show its sense of energy.
"And they know we care about the music we're playing, because of the amount of money we've spent on our gear," Flue says with a chuckle.
Saturday's show won't be exactly like the normal Tieton Drive show, though, because it's Halloween. The band plans to play a few covers, such as "The Monster Mash" and "Ghostbusters," and will give away prizes donated from local businesses during the show.
"It's kind of one of those shows where we feel like, 'Let's play as long as we can and have a lot of fun," Davis says.
- ON Magazine

“That marvelously quirky piece of rock there was Undone by Tieton Drive. Who come from Yakima in Washington State, in the United States and I really really love that track. It’s just completely out of left field really. It’s very hard to describe and that’s a great sign of music as far as I’m concerned, so yeah really good stuff. Undone by Tieton Drive.”
Collin G - Liberated Syndication Ourobouros Podcast United Kingdom