The Long Winters

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This article is about the rock band. For other meanings, see The Long Winter (disambiguation).

The Long Winters are an American indie rock band.

1 Early History
2 The Band is Formally Formed
3 Early 2004 and Onward
4 The Long Winters Discography
5 Current Members
6 Former members
7 Contributors
8 External links

[edit] Early History

Singer-songwriter John Roderick (b. September 13, 1968) was born in Seattle, Washington, and later moved to Anchorage, Alaska while in elementary school. He later returned to Seattle and formed several bands, including Bun Family Players and the Western State Hurricanes.

In 2001 Harvey Danger singer/songwriter Sean Nelson suggested that he and Roderick record an album -- half of the songs penned by John, and the other half by Sean. Death Cab For Cutie band member Chris Walla had recently opened up the Hall of Justice studio in Seattle, and agreed to help them record.

John recruited Joe Bass of Sky Cries Mary and Brian Young of Fountains of Wayne to flush out several of the songs, and gradually the album evolved to feature only John's songs. After several months, The Worst You Can Do Is Harm was finished.

John traveled to New York, where he played solo shows and quickly began to pen new songs -- several of which would eventually be included on the Long Winters' sophomore album, When I Pretend To Fall.

While there he was contacted by Barsuk Records -- the label that would release The Worst You Can Do Is Harm – who made it clear they wanted John to tour to promote the release. He traveled back to Seattle, and was joined by Chris Caniglia, former Western States Hurricanes drummer, Michael Shilling and Eric Corson on bass. Thus, The Long Winters were born.

[edit] The Band is Formally Formed

At the band's first live gig, Sean Nelson offered to perform harmony vocals on a number of songs. He ended up casually performing with the band for their first few shows before committing to full-time enrollment.

The original trio responsible for The Worst You Can Do Is Harm (John Roderick, Sean Nelson, and Chris Walla) is often considered the original formation of the band. John and Sean, along with recruits Eric Corson and Michael Shilling are the core players behind When I Pretend To Fall, with Sean having replaced Chris Canola as the band's keyboardist. When I Pretend To Fall was released and John, Sean, Eric and Michael embarked on an ambitious series of tours throughout 2003 in support of the album. The band toured North America with Barsuk Records labelmates Nada Surf and Death Cab For Cutie, and later spent November touring Europe. Michael Shilling eventually resigned in December of 2003, burned out by the hectic touring and lifestyle of the band.

With the best wishes of the Long Winters, Sean left in March 2004 to rekindle his former band.

[edit] Early 2004 and Onward

At the time of Sean's departure, The Long Winters had recently begun rehearsing with Michael Shilling's replacement for the band's 2004 tours, former Death Cab For Cutie percussionist Michael Schorr. Confronted with a double blow to the band's line-up, John took opportunity to reinvent the band again -- especially with an east coast tour with The Pernice Brothers, a more fleshed out European tour, and a nationwide tour supporting The Decemberists that would take the band through the spring and well into the summer. Thus, the leaner three-piece version of The Long Winters was born, featuring John Roderick, Eric Corson, and Michael Schorr.

This extensive spring/summer 2004 tour took its toll on drummer Michael Schorr, who left the band shortly after its completion. John continued to do small promotional events and shows throughout the latter half of 2004 and 2005, often previewing a handful of new Long Winters songs.

The Long Winters toured with Keane in September 2005 in support of the acclaimed Long Winters' EP released on October 11th, 2005 entitled Ultimatum. For this incarnation of The Long Winters drummer Nabil Ayers and guitarist/keyboardist Mike Squires joined John Roderick and Eric Corson. It was commonly agreed that Ayers' drumming combined with Corson's bass wizardry completed what would often be referred to as "the best rhythm section in music."

In May 2006 John Roderick did a solo mini tour through Europe with Centro-matic to promote awareness for the forthcoming Long Winters album. This third LP, Putting The Days To Bed was released on July 25th, 2006. American and European concerts will follow from September 2006 onwards in support of this album, with Jonathan Rothman as new guitarist/keyboardist.

DorsiaFilms is currently in production on a documentary film about the band, titled Through With Love. Shooting should be done before August, the film screened in September of this year.

In October 2006 for the second time, John Roderick acted as the support act for Keane's Under the Iron Sea Tour. For the UK dates he played a short acoustic set, before being joined by the remainder of the band for the European dates.

[edit] The Long Winters Discography

Year	Title	Cover Art	Label
2002	The Worst You Can Do is Harm		Barsuk Records
2003	When I Pretend to Fall		Barsuk Records
2003	Scared Straight (single)		Munich Records Singles Club
2005	Ultimatum (EP)		Barsuk Records
2006	Putting the Days to Bed		Barsuk Records

[edit] Current Members

Name	Duties
John Roderick	Guitar, Vocals
Eric Corson	Bass
Nabil Ayers	Percussion
Jonathan Rothman	Keyboards

[edit] Former members

Name	Duties
Sean Nelson	Keyboards, Vocals
Michael Shilling	Percussion
Michael Schorr	Percussion
Chris Caniglia	Keyboards, Vocals
Darren Loucas	Keyboards, Guitar, misc.
Mike Squires	Guitars, Keyboards

[edit] Contributors

Name	Contribution	Album
Jon Auer	Guitar	WIPTF
Joe Bass	Percussion	TWYCDIH
Kurt Bloch	Guitar, Vocals	PTDTB
Peter Buck	Mandolin	WIPTF
Dave Carter	Trumpet	WIPTF / PTDTB
Katrina Cordi	Violin	WIPTF
Kerry Downing Johnson	Viola	WIPTF
Jennifer Faulkner	Vocals	WIPTF
Jason Finn	Percussion	TWYCDIH
Craig Flory	Tenor Sax	WIPTF / PTDTB
Chris Funk	Pedal Steel, Hammer Dulcimer, Banjo, Glockenspiel	PTDTB
Ben Gibbard	Percussion	TWYCDIH
Nathan Harrison	Tambourine	WIPTF
Kevin Horning	Writing	WIPTF
Robbie Lodermeier	Percussion	TWYCDIH
Tucker Martine	Production	UEP
Scott McCaughey	Boomerang Haromonica	WIPTF
Steve Moore	Trombone	PTDTB
Floyd Rietsma	Drum Programming	PTDTB
Sean Ripple	Vibrophone	WIPTF
Bart Roderick	Organ	WIPTF / PTDTB
Jim Roth	Pedal Steel	TWYCDIH
Steve Scalfati	Alto Sax	WIPTF
Mike Simpson	French Horn	WIPTF
Joe Skyward	Bass	TWYCDIH
Sarah Standard	Viola	WIPTF
Ken Stringfellow	Ghost Piano, Vocals, Production	WIPTF
Megan Thompson	Vocals	WIPTF
Chris Walla	Organs, Bass, Mellodio Horn, Guitars, Vocals, Drum Machine	TWYCDIH / WIPTF / PTDTB
Christa Wells	Vocals	WIPTF
Blake Wescott	Tambourine	WIPTF
Stephanie Wicker	Vocals	TWYCDIH / WIPTF
Gloria Wu	Vocals	WIPTF
Brian Young	Percussion	TWYCDIH