Concert Review: Meat Puppets, Quasi, Bill Callahan

Review of the Meat Puppets 11/8/13, Quasi 11/14/13, and Bill Callahan, 11/15/13, all at SOhO, Santa Barbara.

Photos: Quasi

Photos of Quasi at SOhO, Santa Barbara 11/14/13. (L. Paul Mann photos, copyrighted and all rights reserved)

Interview: Sam Coomes (Quasi)

Sam Coomes sings, plays guitar, keyboards, and whatever else might be laying around for Portland-based indie rock veterans Quasi, who have been cranking out remarkable music, that has unjustly flown under the radar, for two decades. Back to their roots as a two-piece – Coomes with Janet Weiss on drums – they recently released an adventurous double album called Mole City which straddles the pop, indie, and avant rock universes.

While Quasi has been active, both principals have also made marks on other projects, Weiss as drummer for riot grrrl notables Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag, and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, and Coomes as a guest with Built to Spill and with the late, great Elliott Smith both in the alt rock band Heatmiser and in his solo career. Along the way, Quasi backed Smith on some of his tours.

This interview was done for a preview article for Quasi’s long overdue Santa Barbara debut at SOhO on 11/14/13. It was done by email, with answers received on 10/28/13.