Updated Feb 23, 2009 - 2:27 pm
Artist Interview: Michael Vermillion
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Where: Sunset Tavern [Photo Gallery]
When: February 26th
Where: The Comet Tavern
MyNorthwest.com
"We're not quite there yet," says Michael Vermillion, lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the band of the same name. The band evolved from Vermillion's solo project begun a few years ago. "I was a solo artist for a couple years prior to meeting my band...Eventually, I said if you guys want to come up with a band name it could be Michael Vermillion and the, whatever you guys can come up with, and they still haven't come up with anything."
Michael Vermillion, the act, fluctuates between a three and five piece group. "The core is five or six, sometimes we have more." Even after admitting to the difficulties in having a large number of collaborators Vermillion says, "The more the merrier, the more creative input the better. It is difficult to coordinate six people all at once, but the people I'm playing with, they've all played in other bands, and they're extremely talented, so it's kind of just jump right in."
Band members attracted to the unique style and sound that Vermillion's country inspired songwriting evokes, have organically melded into the project. "He ended up playing our CD release party, and after our CD release party he just started showing up to all our practices, so he sort of joined the band on his own volition, just started showing up," says Vermillion of banjo player Kimo Muraki.
Vermillion asks for creative input and gives free range for band mates to make contributions, "My lead guitar player Ben Blankenship, he used to play in Modest Mouse, so he's very talented and I just let him play whatever he wants to play, and if something rubs me the wrong way I'll tell him, you know, but for the most part, I just have faith in him, and it tends to work out."
Michael Vermillion performance on KIRO:
As of now, the group's musical aspirations remain relegated to the night hours, "We all have day jobs, Carly's a hairdresser, Kimo does construction, and I work at a pub. I work at the Hopvine Pub in Capitol Hill. Our drummer Greg is a sound guy. He's the head sound engineer at the Tractor Tavern, and Ben, sort of does odd jobs. Yeah, we're not quite there yet."
Vermillion says while the music might be first in mind, he respects and encourages band members to evaluate their participation in the project. "I told them when we formed, rule number one, if it's not fun, it's not worth doing, and rule number two is if you guys have anything else that's more important in your lives, if you need to go do something, go do it, I'm not gonna hold you back, and you'll always be welcome to come back and play with me."
Band members seem committed to the project, and as we were speaking, Vermillion was scheduling rehearsals to prepare for their upcoming shows at the Sunset Tavern, February 21st, and at the Comet, February 26th. For a sample of the band's sound consult their first release Michael Vermillion, "Last Night on Earth," available on itunes.
Vermillion says the challenge for the group at present is coming up with material for a follow-up. "Now that we want to do a second record, I'm finding new and creative ways to find inspiration," says Vermillion. Vermillion's first attempts have involved out of town treks to the Netherlands, and shorter journeys to remote areas of Washington. "I went out to the mountains, where I like to go sometimes, outside of Seattle, a little town called Gold Bar Washington, which is off Highway 2, going east. It's only about an hour drive from Seattle, but I go out there, with my guitar, and just write new songs."
