| Smoosh | |
|---|---|
 The girls of Smoosh - Chloe and Asya (not pictured: Maia)
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Seattle, Washington |
| Genre(s) | Rock, Pop, indie rock |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Label(s) | Barsuk Records, Pattern 25 |
| Members | |
| Chloe (original member) Asya (original member) Maia (joined 2007) |
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Smoosh started as an American indie pop duo, consisting of two sisters, singer/keyboardist Asya (born February 2, 1992) and drummer Chloe (born March 5, 1994). Recently their younger sister Maia (born September 5, 1996) joined the band for their Summer 2007 tour.[1] At the time of their first album, She Like Electric, released on September 21, 2004, Asya (currently aged 16) was 12 years old and Chloe (currently aged 14) was 10. All of their songs are originals with both music and lyrics written by the girls themselves. Maia, then not in the band, provided the cover artwork for both that album and their next, Free to Stay. They live in Seattle, Washington with their father Mike, a medical researcher, their mother Maria, a paediatrician of Swedish descent, and their younger sisters Maia and Scout. They do not give out their last name to interviewers.[2][3] They are, to some extent, protégées of Chloe's drum teacher, Jason McGerr, now the drummer of Death Cab for Cutie.[4]
Contents |
Biography
Smoosh started in 2000, when the family was at a Seattle music store, The Trading Musician, standing in line to restring a violin. Asya and Chloe wandered into the drum section of the store, where Chloe met Jason McGerr; the family eventually left with a $600 drum kit for Chloe, McGerr's card from the Seattle Drum School, "and no violin."[5] When McGerr learned that Asya had been playing the piano and writing songs since she was very young, he offered to help them both. Asya does not read music[6]. Asya had had some formal piano training earlier but soon quit because it was "boring".[5] Critics have generally compared their sound to that of Tori Amos and PJ Harvey, and have been almost uniformly impressed with the quality of the material coming from such young writers and performers.[7][2][8] They have opened for many leading Pacific Northwest bands including Pearl Jam,[4][5] Death Cab for Cutie,[5] Sleater-Kinney,[4][5] and the Presidents of the United States of America,[4][5] as well as for other acts such as Mates of State,[5] Jimmy Eat World,[5] Cat Power[5] (who also covers their song, "Rad"),[4] Nada Surf, Sufjan Stevens and The Go! Team. In mid-2006 Smoosh was the opening act for the world tour of the Eels. In spring 2007, they performed a headlining tour on the East Coast with The Postmarks. They currently are writing and rehearsing songs for a forthcoming album, a few of which have been heard at their gigs. Smoosh's second album, titled Free to Stay, was released June 6, 2006 on Barsuk Records. Its third track of 12, "Free to Stay," was an early song that was on the girls' first CD, Tomato Mistakes, which for a long time was mailed free of charge to anyone who wanted it.[5] Smoosh's former label was Pattern 25.[5] On July 12, 2006, they performed the song "Find A Way" on the Jimmy Kimmel Live, their first performance on late night TV.[9] On August 5, 2007, Smoosh performed at Lollapalooza 2007 at Chicago's Grant Park. Their set included a cover of "This Modern Love" by Bloc Party. Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron was spotted in the audience taking in the show. Starting on September 11, 2007, Smoosh will be opening for Bloc Party on their North American tour.
The band's name
According to a 2005 interview, Asya and Chloe liked the way the name Smashmouth sounded, so they started calling themselves "Smush [rhymes with bush]. Then people started saying it Smoosh, with the ooo sound. So it became Smoooosh."[4][3]
Discography
- Tomato Mistakes (single)
- She Like Electric
- Free to Stay
Gallery
 Chloe and Asya, 2007 |
 Maia, 2007 |
 Chloe, 2007 |
 Asya, 2007 |
Notes
- ^ imaginary liz,Meet Smoosh's Bass Player!, Three Imaginary Girls, May 24th, 2007.
- ^ a b Lisa Heyamoto, Tweenage band Smoosh rocks Seattle scene, January 30, 2005. Accessed 12 April 2006.
- ^ a b Marc Hirsh, Novelty? Think again, The Boston Globe, June 14, 2006. Accessed 19 November 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f Almond, Steve: "Smoosh" (interview), The Believer June 2005. Accessed online 13 November 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Smoosh, Pattern 25 Records. Accessed 16 November 2006.
- ^ Alexander Lauence, An Interview with Indie Sensation, Smoosh, Free Williamsburg, February 18, 2005. Accessed 11 December 2006.
- ^ Douglas Wolk, Discovering the Dream, Seattle Weekly, September 29, 2004. Accessed 12 April 2006.
- ^ Anuj Desai, Pre-Teen Smoosh Are "Rad", Rolling Stone, December 28, 2004. Accessed 12 April 2006.
- ^ Performance on YouTube http://youtube.com/watch?v=pfdQoTdazq4
- McLean, Craig: "Too Much Too Young?", The Sunday Times, June 11, 2006
- Nelson, Sean: "This Is the Band". The Stranger, July 22, 2004. Band profile
External links
- Official site
- Smoosh fan site
- Smoosh's Myspace Page
- Smoosh page maintained by University of Washington librarian Tom Bolling, very extensive set of links to newspaper stories.
- Interview by Alexander Laurence
- Smoosh on Barsuk Records
