Uncle Pooch
Seattle, Washington, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
"With a dark instrumental sound, Uncle Pooch is a must listen. Truly great music! Listen, listen to this band!” - Rafa - Vents Magazine
The Sunset Tavern is having a night of all-local Prog Rock, with Uncle Pooch, Blame It On The Girl, and The Filthy None. Uncle Pooch is the black sheep of this show, having a much heavier metal sound than the other two bands, and specifically lists Ween and Mastodon as influences along with Naked City. They get some points for taking their name from a “Wild at Heart” character, and the kind of clever song title “Assault and Battery Acid.” - Nick Lazalere - seattleshowgal.com
What truly glorious, sandblasting heaviness! Seattle's instru-metal Uncle Pooch are beatifically hard - real dark of night, one toke over the line stuff, creepin' outta the shadows of your subconscious stuff - that they puncture with curious, oddly beveled noise and a strange, sinewy electronic wind instrument (courtesy of saxophonist Greg Sinibaldi, who delivers buckets of texture & tone), Middle Eastern left turns and numerous other elements that keep one guessing. The quartet is completed by Denali Williams (drums), Shane Smith (bass) and Tony Stevens (guitar), all of whom do double duty in funk juggernaut The Staxx Brothers. With a name playfully lifted from David Lynch and the blemished, untamed heart to match, Uncle Pooch delivers a tasty balance of prime stoner rock, jazz inflected metal, Downtown NYC shenanigans (parts sound like Zorn's Naked City if they smoked herb), and good old fashioned thrash. Their debut, Conduct Unbecoming, packs a wallop but you'll gladly dive back into the pit when they barrel into each pulsating soundscape.
- Dennis Cook - Jambase.com
Discography
Oneirophrenia (IBCT)
Untitled (IBCT)
Conduct Unbecoming (IBCT)
Photos
Bio
Like the ostracized Dr. Moreau and his LSD-obsessed assistant Dr. Montgomery, Uncle Pooch has given life to a new breed of music. The vivisection of grindcore, free-jazz and good old-fashioned thrash spawned what they’ve dubbed, “Instrumental-Metal-Jazz”. Heavy, sludgy grooves turn on a dime into quick-fingered riffs before slipping sideways into abstract improvisations.
The origin of the moniker “Uncle Pooch” can be traced to an obscure character in a David Lynch film. With that “Lynch” disposition, the founders of the Seattle based group, bassist Shane Smith and guitarist Tony Stevens, began composing and arranging the edgy, abrasive music. Drummer Denali Williams (Cracker Factory, Thomas Mapfumo) and experimental Electric Wind Instrumentalist (EWI) Greg Sinibaldi (Burnlist, Frieze of Life) joined the roster shortly thereafter.
Uncle Pooch released its debut album, Conduct Unbecoming, on The IBCT record label (www.theibct.com) in March, 2010. The full length recording includes appearances by guitarist RL Heyer (The True Spokes, Cracker Factory) and vocalist Kimo Muraki (Surrealized, Slow Bunny). It also features the Naked City-esque track Assault & Battery Acid, as well as the epic middle-eastern slammer Fallujah. Dennis Cook of Jambase.com wrote, “Their [Uncle Pooch] debut, Conduct Unbecoming, packs a wallop but you’ll gladly dive back into the pit when they barrel into each pulsating soundscape.”
Near the end of 2011, Greg Sinibaldi played his last show with Uncle Pooch and moved on to other musical endeavors. In keeping with their notorious weirdo mentality, Uncle Pooch summoned avant-guitarist Zach Stewart to fill out their abstract sound.
The eccentric quartet released its sophomore album, Oneirophrenia, in spring 2012 on The IBCT. It features a thirty-three minute track portraying the effects of a condition caused by sleep deprivation or too many psychoactive drugs. In addition to Oneirophrenia, Uncle Pooch and The IBCT simultaneously released an untitled live recording. The full length album consists of ferocious improvisations arranged into compositions.
www.theibct.com
www.unclepooch.com
Links
