OT
HO BUMBERS
2033 6th Avenue (206) 441-9729 jazzalley.com
JAZZ ALLEY IS A SUPPER CLUB
Gettin’ Spooked With DEEP CREEP “Income inequality, basement spiders, and bad sushi” really creep them out. By Alexa Peters
SEATTLE
116 PIKE STREET SEATTLE, WA 98101 206-204-2233
SEPT. 12
GRANDMOTHERS OF INVENTION WED, SEPT 2
TH
WEATHERSIDE WHISKEY BAND
9PM
The only Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention alumni who have been consistently performing the music of the maestro since 2003.
TERENCE BLANCHARD FEATURING THE E-COLLECTIVE THURS, SEPT 3 - SUN, SEPT 6
Multi-Grammy Winning top-tier jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, arranger, and film score composer
ANA POPOVIC TUES, SEPT 8 - WED, SEPT 9
5x Blues Music Awards nominee blends smoking electric funk slide guitar, jazzy instrumentals and tight blues groove with soulful feminine vocals
TOWER OF POWER THURS, SEPT 10 - SUN, SEPT 13 LIZZ WRIGHT TUES, SEPT 15 - WED, SEPT 16
Earthy and stunningly rich alto songstress touring in support of her new release Freedom and Surrender
SEPT. 18TH
MICHAEL GRIMM
2 ENGAGEMENTS 6PM & 9PM
all ages | free parking | full schedule at jazzalley.com
tractor TIMES
DOORS 30-60 MIN. BEFORE. OPEN
LISTED ARE
SHOW TIMES.
WEDS,
SEPTEMBER 2
nD
SEATTLE WEEKLY PRESENTS
SPECTERS
THE GOOD WIVES, KINGSWOOD ESTATES THURS,
8PM - $8
SEPTEMBER 3 RD
LOCAL INDIE FOLK
PLANES ON PAPER SEATTLE WEEKLY • SEPTEM BER 2 — 8, 2015
MARSHALL MCLEAN BAND, MATTY GERVAIS
16
FRI,
SEPT 20
TH ARTACHE MARKET: MAKERS & MUSIC SHOWCASE FT. SONG SPARROW RESEARCH
SEPT 25TH MISTERMASTER IANA / WANDERING KING
SEPTEMBER 4
8PM -$8 TH
LOCAL BLUES ROCK
THE JACKRABBIT STARTS SUNDER HEED, THE BLUE TRACKS, BIG SPLASH CHAMPIONS SAT,
9PM -$8
SEPTEMBER 5 TH
KEXP & HONK FEST RECOMMEND
REBIRTH BRASS BAND
2 SHOWS - 8PM & 10PM $25/$30 OR $40 FOR BOTH! SUN,
SEPTEMBER 13 TH PORTLAND SLOW POP
LOCH LOMOND Shows 21+ in the Cavern
TICKETS at HRC & TicketWeb.com HAPPY HOUR Sun. - Fri. 3pm-7pm
/HRCSEA HARDROCK.COM/CAFES/SEATTLE
EDNA VAZQUEZ, WHITNEY BALLEN 8PM -$10
Up & Coming
9/9 COUNTRY LIPS 9/10 THE REVIVALISTS 9/12 RED ELVISES 9/14 MAC MCCAUGHAN 9/15 NATURAL CHILD 9/16 YOUNG EMPIRES 5213 BALLARD AVE. NW 789-3599
www.tractortavern.com
COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
Celebrating five decades of funky soul with a brass backbone!
C
atching a DEEP CREEP show is like stumbling across the best Halloween party you didn’t know about. Everyone’s gone all-in on their costumes, the dance floor is full of weirdos shivering and shaking, and no matter how much you drink, your red Solo cup stays full to the brim. The band’s been around only about a year, but its show at Capitol Hill Block Party filled the Cha Cha Lounge and then some. Clearly, DEEP CREEP is the ghost everyone’s hunting for. “We haven’t done many shows because we want it to be special when we do,” says guitarist Brian Yeager. Deep Creep’s story began when Yeager and bassist Derek Fudesco met while working at Easy Street Records in Queen Anne. Soon drummer Jeff Alvarez started jamming with them. When vocalist Andrea Zollo hopped on board, the “skies seemed to part,” according to Alvarez. Zollo adds the perfect amount of spunk to the group, spooking the crowd with her cat eyes, dark fringe, and growling vocals. “[Being in DEEP CREEP] is a lot like that [1985] movie Just One of the Guys starring Joyce Hyser,” says Zollo. “It’s awesome.” She’s the leather-clad powerhouse at center stage, but she isn’t the sole focus, the band says. It’s clear this group has put their individual egos aside for the benefit of a holistic sound. “We do what’s best for the song, and we’re really very critical. Getting this record done took a year,” Yeager says. This meticulousness paid off. The band’s selftitled album, released last week, gets under your skin. DEEP CREEP is gritty garage, twangy surf, and even post-punk at times, but it’s consistently driving, danceable, and wonderfully weird.
The band cites influences like DEVO and Talking Heads, contextualizing their love of energetic guitar and bass interplay beneath spoken vocals, as on the track, “Bees in the Basement.” Still, Yeager says they don’t strive to fit a category. “[Putting us in a genre] is one of those nasty things [that requires] you ask what does ‘punk’ mean to you? Is it D.O.A. or Black Flag or the Buzzcocks?” Yeager says. “We just want to make good music.” For Deep Creep, good music is as much about the song as about the intention behind it. “Derek and I decided when we started the band that we wanted to put good stuff into the world . . . I spent all my teenage years playing serious music about dark shit, but as I got older I realized how much I loved making people smile and dance,” says Yeager. So the band writes love songs. They usually start the process with Fudesco and Yeager sending recorded ideas back and forth on their smart phones. “We tell each other, ‘No gloves on this one— if it’s bad, it’s bad,’ ” Yeager says. “For us it starts with the music, not the feelings.” Feelings come in when Zollo and Fudesco, who are romantic partners, add lyrics. “Some of my favorite stuff we do is songs they’ve collaborated on . . . Their solo stuff is great, but what they do together is always, like, ‘Yes,’ ” Yeager says. The track “Move a Little” is a perfect example of the killer love songs they write together. Zollo sings “And in the kitchen, where we’re kissin’/Hot mouth, cold sweating/You’re not staying long and I don’t dance right/Great song, can we move a little?” while the band pulsates underneath. It’s a little quirky, a little sexy, and totally DEEP CREEP. Though romantics, DEEP CREEP is also into all things shiver-inducing. Their socialmedia accounts alone are a walk through a haunted house: fangs, spiders, and jack-o’-lanterns surround show announcements and member bios. But according to Alvarez, it’s things like “income inequality, basement spiders, and bad sushi” that really creep them out. Still, all that creepy can’t cover up how likable they are. As Alvarez says, “The best thing about DEEP CREEP is [this] record we’re really proud of and [the] love between the four of us.” E 4:30 p.m. Sat., Sept. 5, #NeverTamed Stage.
music@seattleweekly.com