Beat Happening was an American indie pop band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis, and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members. Beat Happening were early leaders in the American indie pop and lo-fi movements, noted for their use of primitive recording techniques, disregard for the technical aspects of musicianship, and songs with subject matters of a carefree or coy nature.
Calvin Johnson is an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, music producer, and disc jockey. Known for his uniquely deep and droning singing voice, Johnson was a founding member of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, Dub Narcotic Sound System, The Go Team and The Halo Benders.
K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent music" since the 1980s.
The Microphones are an American indie folk, indie rock, and experimental project from Olympia, Washington. The project was founded in 1996 and ended in 2003, with a short reunion following in 2007 and revivals in 2019 and 2020. Across every iteration of the Microphones, it has been fronted by Phil Elverum. Elverum is the principal songwriter and producer behind the band's albums, but he has also collaborated with other local musicians on his other recordings and tours. Many of Elverum's recordings from the project's initial period were released by the label K Records.
Indie pop is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and subsequently generated a thriving fanzine, label, and club and gig circuit. Compared to its counterpart, indie rock, the genre is more melodic, less abrasive, and relatively angst-free. In later years, the definition of indie pop has bifurcated to also mean bands from unrelated DIY scenes/movements with pop leanings. Subgenres include chamber pop and twee pop.
Philip Whitman Elverum is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and visual artist, best known for his musical projects The Microphones and Mount Eerie. Based in Anacortes, Washington, in the mid-2000s he began to spell his surname Elvrum as "Elverum".
Beat Happening is the debut album by Beat Happening, released in 1985 through K Records. It was produced by Greg Sage, singer and guitarist for post-punk band Wipers.
Jamboree is the second album by American indie rock band Beat Happening, released in 1988 through K Records and Rough Trade Records. All songs were produced by Steve Fisk with assistance from Screaming Trees members Mark Lanegan and Gary Lee Conner, except "Cat Walk," produced by Patrick Maley, and "The This Many Boyfriends Club," recorded live by Rich Jensen.
Anacortes School District No. 103 is a public school district in Skagit County, Washington and serves the city of Anacortes.
Crashing Through is a box set with 7 discs containing every studio album, oddities, and rare tracks by the indie rock band, Beat Happening. It was released through K Records on May 7, 2002 but is now out of print.
Polyvinyl Record Co. is an American independent record label headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. The label also has satellite offices in New York, Austin, and the Bay Area. Polyvinyl has put out over 400 releases to date.
Don't Wake Me Up is the debut studio album by American musical project the Microphones. It was released by K Records on August 24, 1999, and reissued on vinyl via P.W. Elverum & Sun on April 16, 2013. The album was recorded between April 25, 1998 and March 1, 1999, in studios in Olympia and Anacortes, Washington.
D+ is an indie rock band based in Anacortes, Washington. Formed in 1996 by singer/guitarist Bret Lunsford and singers/multi-instrumentalists Karl Blau and Phil Elverum, the band is perhaps best known for Lunsford's droll vocals and witty wordplay, and a minimalist, ramshackle sound.
Beat Happening/Screaming Trees is an EP and a one-off collaboration between Beat Happening and Screaming Trees. The 12-inch EP was originally released on Homestead Records in 1988, and it was later reissued as part of Beat Happening's box set Crashing Through in 2002. The journal of Kurt Cobain contains a draft of a letter sent to Mark Lanegan, in which he described "Polly Pereguinn" as his favorite pop song of the 1980s.
The Shield Around the K: The Story of K Records is a 2000 documentary produced and directed by Heather Rose Dominic about the independent record label, K Records. The film profiles the birth and growth of the punk rock DIY label based in Olympia, Washington.
Heather Lewis is an American multi-instrumentalist and founding member of Beat Happening. Prior to her work with Beat Happening, Lewis was a member of the Supreme Cool Beings, who are notable for having the first ever release on K Records, 1982's Survival of the Coolest. She appeared as a guest vocalist on several songs from Land of the Loops, as well as the Wedding Present's album Watusi.
Steven Patrick Morrissey, known mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer, songwriter and author. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then, he has pursued a successful solo career. Morrissey's music is characterised by his baritone voice and distinctive lyrics with recurring themes of emotional isolation, sexual longing, self-deprecating and dark humour, and anti-establishment stances.
The Gift Machine is an American band, led by the husband and wife team of Dave Matthies and Andrea Matthies. Originally based in the Pacific Northwest, Dave Matthies has collaborated with many different people and the band has gone through several line up changes over the years. From 1998-2006 he lived in Anacortes, Washington, and ran a recording studio at the now defunct venue, the Department of Safety. He also worked with Bret Lunsford of the low-fi pop band Beat Happening, running KNW-YR-OWN records and putting on the annual What the Heck Fest. Matthies has worked live and in the studio with the Microphones/Mount Eerie, Little Wings, the Begulls, Karl Blau, D+, LAKE, the Graves, Laura Veirs, Thanksgiving, the Murder City Devils. The band is currently based out of North County San Diego.
Dandelion Seeds is the second studio album by Anacortes based indie rock band D+, released in 1998.
Look Around is a compilation album by indie rock band Beat Happening, released on 20 November 2015. The album is touted as a "career-spanning double album anthology", with track selections picked by the band.
