Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Smoosh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Smoosh | |
|---|---|
 The girls of Smoosh |
|
| Origin | Seattle, Washington |
| Country | USA |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Genres | Rock, Pop, indie rock |
| Labels | Barsuk Records, Pattern 25 |
| Members | Chloe Asya |
Smoosh is an American indie pop duo, consisting of two sisters, singer/keyboardist Asya (born February 2, 1992) and drummer Chloe (born March 5, 1994) At the time of their first album, She Like Electric, released on September 21, 2004, Asya (currently age 15) was 12 years old and Chloe (currently age 13) was 10. All of their songs are originals with both music and lyrics written by the girls themselves. They live in Seattle, Washington with their father Mike, a medical researcher, their mother Maria, a pediatrician of Swedish descent, their two younger sisters Maia (born 1997; she did the artwork for the covers of She Like Electric and free to stay) and Scout, and two pets. They do not give out their last name to interviewers.[1][2] They are, to some extent, proteges of Chloe's drum teacher, Jason McGerr, now the drummer of Death Cab for Cutie.[3]
Contents |
Smoosh got 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."[4] When McGerr learned that Asya had been playing the piano and writing songs since she was very young, he offered to help them both.
Neither of the girls read music.[5] Asya had had some formal piano training earlier but soon quit because it was "boring".[4]
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.[6][1][7] They have opened for many leading Pacific Northwest bands including Mates of State,[4] Pearl Jam,[3][4] Death Cab for Cutie,[4] Sleater-Kinney,[3][4] and the Presidents of the United States of America,[3][4] as well as for other acts such as Jimmy Eat World,[4] Cat Power[4] (who also covers their song, "Rad"),[3] Nada Surf, Sufjan Stevens and The Go! Team. In mid-2006 Smoosh was the opening act for the world tour of the Eels.
Smoosh's second album, titled free to stay, was released on 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,[citation needed] which for a long time was mailed free of charge to anyone who wanted it.[4] Smoosh's former label was Pattern 25.[4]
On July 12, 2006, they performed the song "Find A Way" on the Jimmy Kimmel Live, their first performance on late night TV.
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."[3][2]
- Tomato Mistakes (single)
- She Like Electric
- free to stay
- ^ 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.
- 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 (misspells Asya's name).
- Official site
- Smoosh's official 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
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 2000s music groups | All-women bands | Alternative musical groups | American child singers | Duos | Indie rock musicians | Family musical groups | Sibling duos | Washington musical groups | Bands with female lead singers