The Donner Party
Encyclopedia
The Donner Party was a San Francisco-based indie-rock band, performing between 1986-1989. The band consisted of Melanie Clarin on drums and accordion, Sam Coomes
on guitar, violin, and banjo, and Reinhold Johnson on bass. The band released two albums, both self-titled; the first was released in 1987 on the Cryptovision Records
label, and the second on Camper Van Beethoven
's Pitch-A-Tent label in 1988. These two albums, plus an unreleased third album and some live tracks were collected and released as Complete Recordings 1987-1989 in 2000 on Innerstate Records. The band played a one-time reunion show on April 16, 2000, at Slim's in San Francisco.
Named after a group of 19th century American travelers who turned cannibals while stranded, The Donner Party's songs frequently took a comic view of death and its attendant dread (and also, as it happens, food). Titles include "When You Die Your Eyes Pop Out", "John Wilkes Booth", "Try to Imagine a Terrible World", "Boxfull of Bones". "When I Was a Baby", recorded with a cheap organ with almost whispery vocals to sound somehow homey and quaint, begins: "When I was a baby I looked like a pig/My nose was a snout and my ears were too big," and only gets creepier from there. The amusingly titled "Mom Please Don't Listen" is basically a litany of coprophagia and gorey death. In "Would You Like to Have Something to Eat?", they link failing to follow parents' nutritional imperatives with being sent to Hell.
In contrast, their cover version of the Sesame Street song "Up & Down," designed to teach the literal concepts of "up" and "down," is performed cheerfully yet not exaggeratedly—in keeping with the spirit of the original song from the series.
Clarin, also played drums in another San Francisco folk-rock band, The Cat Heads
. Coomes would later play in Heatmiser
, and then form Motorgoat and Quasi
with his ex-wife, Janet Weiss
.
Sam Coomes
Samuel J. Coomes is an American musician, and currently one-third of the Portland-area indie band Quasi, along with drummer and ex-wife Janet Weiss and bassist Joanna Bolme...
on guitar, violin, and banjo, and Reinhold Johnson on bass. The band released two albums, both self-titled; the first was released in 1987 on the Cryptovision Records
Cryptovision Records
Cryptovision Records, a New York City based independent record label was founded by musicians James “Sweat” Talley, Mike Linn, and Gene Wood in 1979 and dissolved in 1990...
label, and the second on Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven is an American alternative rock group formed in Redlands, California in 1983.An eclectic band, Camper Van Beethoven mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk and alternative country, as well as various types of world music. Their aggressive musical pluralism created a...
's Pitch-A-Tent label in 1988. These two albums, plus an unreleased third album and some live tracks were collected and released as Complete Recordings 1987-1989 in 2000 on Innerstate Records. The band played a one-time reunion show on April 16, 2000, at Slim's in San Francisco.
Named after a group of 19th century American travelers who turned cannibals while stranded, The Donner Party's songs frequently took a comic view of death and its attendant dread (and also, as it happens, food). Titles include "When You Die Your Eyes Pop Out", "John Wilkes Booth", "Try to Imagine a Terrible World", "Boxfull of Bones". "When I Was a Baby", recorded with a cheap organ with almost whispery vocals to sound somehow homey and quaint, begins: "When I was a baby I looked like a pig/My nose was a snout and my ears were too big," and only gets creepier from there. The amusingly titled "Mom Please Don't Listen" is basically a litany of coprophagia and gorey death. In "Would You Like to Have Something to Eat?", they link failing to follow parents' nutritional imperatives with being sent to Hell.
In contrast, their cover version of the Sesame Street song "Up & Down," designed to teach the literal concepts of "up" and "down," is performed cheerfully yet not exaggeratedly—in keeping with the spirit of the original song from the series.
Clarin, also played drums in another San Francisco folk-rock band, The Cat Heads
The Cat Heads
The Cat Heads were an indie rock band from San Francisco. The band formed in 1985 with a later line-up recording as The Cat Heads.-History:...
. Coomes would later play in Heatmiser
Heatmiser
The Music of Heatmiser is a six-song demo cassette, recorded on April 29 and 30, 1992, at Sound Impressions in Milwaukie, Oregon. It was made available only at shows or by mail order....
, and then form Motorgoat and Quasi
Quasi
Quasi is an American indie rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1993 by ex-husband and wife Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss . Since 2007 the group has been a trio, following the addition of bassist Joanna Bolme.-History:In 1990 , Coomes, Weiss, and Brad Pedinov formed the band Motorgoat...
with his ex-wife, Janet Weiss
Janet Weiss
Janet Lee Weiss was the drummer of now defunct Sleater-Kinney and is currently a member of Quasi and Wild Flag. She was the drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, leaving after the album Mirror Traffic.-Early life:...
.
Discography
- The Donner Party (1987), Cryptovision
- The Donner Party (1988), Pitch-A-Tent
- Complete Recordings 1987-1989 (2000), Innerstate