San Francisco's own Or, the Whale is on the rise. Their album LIght Poles and Pines contains a country-tinged bunch of slow burners and their live shows are jam packed with energy and fantastic musicianship. Here, the band collectively answer the first half of the questions, and then sometime-banjo wielder Alex answers my nitty gritty questions toward the end of the interview. The band explains how the group came to be, their current obsessions and what is in store for the future of Or, the Whale.
Miss Ess: How did Or, the Whale form?
Or, the Whale: We formed from the renewed friendship of Alex Robins (guitar) and Matt Sartain (guitar), who had gone to high school together in San Diego and both coincidentally moved to San Francisco in the fall of 2005.
Subsequently, Alex put an ad on Craigslist about forming a "Sweet Country Rock Band." Jesse Hunt (drums) and Tessa Wagner (former lap steel player) both replied to the ad; in the meantime, Alex responded to a separate ad posted by Lindsay Garfield (vocals) about finding a guitar player to collaborate with. Matt went to school with Justin Fantl (bass); Lindsay worked with Julie Thomasson (keys). Our first show with this original line-up was January 2006 with Two Gallants at Making Impressions Fine Printing Salon in SOMA. Tessa left the band in November 2007; Alex then answered the Craigslist ad of Tim Marcus (pedal steel) who then replaced Tessa and solidified the current line-up.
Miss Ess: How did Or, the Whale form?
Or, the Whale: We formed from the renewed friendship of Alex Robins (guitar) and Matt Sartain (guitar), who had gone to high school together in San Diego and both coincidentally moved to San Francisco in the fall of 2005.
Subsequently, Alex put an ad on Craigslist about forming a "Sweet Country Rock Band." Jesse Hunt (drums) and Tessa Wagner (former lap steel player) both replied to the ad; in the meantime, Alex responded to a separate ad posted by Lindsay Garfield (vocals) about finding a guitar player to collaborate with. Matt went to school with Justin Fantl (bass); Lindsay worked with Julie Thomasson (keys). Our first show with this original line-up was January 2006 with Two Gallants at Making Impressions Fine Printing Salon in SOMA. Tessa left the band in November 2007; Alex then answered the Craigslist ad of Tim Marcus (pedal steel) who then replaced Tessa and solidified the current line-up.