Virgin Islands
Seattle, Washington, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
"Lastly, if you haven’t seen Virgin Islands yet you should remedy that ASAP. The local punk outfit was my favorite discovery of the fest and I’m ashamed I haven’t been in the front row for every single one of their shows. I’ll be remedying that from here on out. There’s been a distinct lack of brazen rock’n'roll in my life lately and Virgin Islands delivered in furious fashion. You can catch the band at The Sunset next weekend on June 26th as part of the Sunset 10 Year Anniversary Celebration" - SoundontheSound.com
“Composed of singer/guitarist Mike Jaworski (the Cops), drummer Aaron Ball, bassist Chuck Keller, and guitarist Chris Meyer, Virgin Islands make heads-down, meat-and-taters rock and roll that is as immune to music-genre mutations as black Wayfarer horn-rimmed spectacles. A certain sector of the Western world will always need bands like this—music that evokes the Clash, if they recorded for SST in 1986. With this kind of sound, passion, guts, memorable riffs, and vocal conviction are all important, and Virgin Islands possess all these qualities—plus the panache to make them not seem hoary. Their songs aim for a roughly artful combination of masculine tunefulness and stinging noise, and they hit the target more often than not.” - The Stranger
“It’s been said over and over that Virgin Islands are the evolution of ex-punkers, The Cops. Personally I like to think of them more as an evolution of Seattle rock. The band has incredible solidarity, the rhythm drives the songs forward at breakneck speed, the guitar screams alongside the vocals without trampling them and the whole thing comes together with the oneness of a fucking wrecking ball." - Seattle Subsonic Blog
Discography
The Age of Anxiety EP - released November 17th, 2009 on Mt. Fuji Records
Photos
Bio
Residing in Seattle, a city steeped with a rich history of rock n’ roll, Virgin Islands take many clues from different eras of Northwest rock history. From the 60’s era garage rock of The Sonics, to the driving punk of The Wipers and the defiant sounds of grunge era bands like Mudhoney. It’s clear Virgin Islands know their local history well. While the Northwest is their home turf, it’s safe to say the band also finds a kinship to early era Touch and Go releases, as well as the San Diego sounds coming from Froberg, Speedo and Co. in Hot Snakes and Drive Like Jehu. Virgin Islands project an intense and honest sound, arguably more angular, psychedelic and danceable than their predecessors.
Lead singer/guitar player Michael Jaworski (aka Mr. Drinx) spent 5 years prior to Virgin Islands fronting Seattle post punkers, The Cops. The Cops announced an indefinite hiatus in March of 2009 and shortly after, Mr. Drinks learned that his dear friend, and drummer, Aaron Ball was looking for another member to fill out his current project. Mr. Drinx and Ball had spent several years working together in a hip Seattle record store, and Ball had served as a touring drummer for the last two Cops’ tours. The new band also included Ball’s fellow Bellingham expatriates, Chuck Keller on bass, and Chris Meyer on guitar. All three had previously played together in a band called NEO while Ball and Meyer also did time with Bellingham noise makers, Enders of Ozone. The newly formed 4-piece started rehearsing in April of 2009, and by September of 2009, the newly dubbed Virgin Islands would play their first show, opening for The Drones.
The band has wasted little time since their inception with their debut recording, a 4 song EP called “The Age of Anxiety” recorded by Johnny Sangster at Avast! Studios. The record was released on November 17th, 2009 on 12” LP and digitally. Virgin Islands are currently working on their debut full-length record and have plans to release another 7″ single in the summer of 2010 with continued touring throughout the Northwest and West coast.
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