Anacortes-based band Spoonshine is proud to announce the release of a new EP, "Beloved Shadow."
Produced by Adam Kasper (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana) and two years in the making, the 6-song EP will be followed up with a full-length album in 2012.
It began in 2008, when Kasper crashed a neighbor’s party in the San Juan Islands, drawn to the swingin’ grooves and melodies coming from the house band. Eventually he invited Spoonshine into the studio, hired George Schwindt from Flogging Molly to play punky drums, and spurred the evolution of a band – from a down-home acoustic outfit to a versatile, complex rock band that traverses all sorts of genres, from bluegrass to grunge rock and all the Americana in-betweens.
Songwriting duo William Cook and Jacob Navarro have been performing in bands together since the late ‘90’s. Born and raised in Skagit County, Cook and Navarro frequently write songs about the oceans, rivers, valleys and farmlands surrounding their home. In “Darling Girl,” a miner laments about the death of his lover and the child she left behind - “Where have you gone, my darling girl/ It was for you that I was born/ They say they have seen you waiting for me out in the dead rows of corn.” They are the true embodiment of Anacortes arts scene, bringing a little bit of Skagit County with them wherever they go.
Born out of the indie-rock haven of their youth and young adulthood, Spoonshine has kept company over the years with bands like Beat Happening and Gravel. The EP also includes “Shadow,” written by indie icon Karl Blau, a longtime friend and collaborator.
Spoonshine makes a splash every time they perform. They cultivate an incredible amount of energy and speed, with expert harmonies, powerful rhythms and virtuosic guitar and mandolin. A live show is a genuine dance-your-ass-off event, and at their hometown shows fans have been known to dance out in the streets surrounding the venue because there is no room left inside.
In the last year alone, Spoonshine has been featured on KEXP’s Shake the Shack, opened for bands like the Hackensaw Boys, Jackie Green, and the Clumsy Lovers – and then there was Navarro’s cameo in Eddie Vedder’s hit song “Better Days” for the movie “Eat, Pray, Love.”