over christmas a few years ago i went home singing these lyrics about being stoned on a desert to my sister, Leah - who is 35 now and has a bit of history with bands in the Northwest. she fronted DOW JONES in the 90s - which besides chamber music and my step dad's YANNI records was the only music i had heard at the time. i remember a show they played under the burnside bridge when i was about 8 - there were lesbians everywhere - they fawned over my sister - there was also a lanky naked man dancing eruptive behind the band. i was totally sold.
anyway.
she started singing along with me in the living room. i was like, "ohh man, built to spill," and she was like, "yeah, they're the greatest - they always have been." and i was like, "always...” - i thought they were some sort of modest mouse friend project or something. she just about struck me down to the ground telling me stories about the 90s - of meth and heroin and how sparkle guitar developed from Dough Martsche’s genius and how he was humble enough to share the aesthetic.
so.
after that, Built to Spill became my favorite band pretty much. i’ve fell in love on long drives across the desert and pulled all nighters while listening to BTS – and last week I got the radical opportunity to travel with their supporting band, Finn Riggins to document a slice of their last national tour.
it’s wild when things line up sometimes.
