Chiefly
began coalescing in 2003 when Greg Dember (Lavish Cat, Rumpus, Loud
Zoo) and Jeffrey Lorien (Coffin Break, Sky Cries Mary, Her Last Arrow)
met on the island of Vashon (near Seattle) to which each had moved in a
retreat from urban intensity. Their friendship and creative
collaboration was driven by a need to find fresh ways of using sound
and word to express feeling. Greg soon met Alma Garcia
DeLilla, a
Seattle author and violinist and with the recruitment of musical whiz
kid Noah Dolan on drums, a band was born and a record was
ready
to be made.
While recording their debut
CD,
“Planets of Plenty”, Chiefly began gigging in small
venues
around Seattle, such as The Rendezvous and Mr. Spot’s Chai
House
as well as honing their sound for fans at Vashon
venues.
With chief songwriter Greg on piano and vocals and occasional guitar,
Jeffrey on bass/guitar and background vocals, Alma on violin and Noah
on drums Chiefly evoked a style that was unique and yet recognizably
influenced by acts such as Elliott Smith, Ben Folds, Death Cab for
Cutie, The Velvet Undergound and The Pernice Brothers.
The
completion of the CD brought changes, as completions often
do.
Jeffrey was drawn to the East Coast for personal reasons, and the
remaining Chiefly members spent some time searching for a Jeffrey
replacement, until they discovered that they actually liked the agility
that was possible as a three-piece. Greg gave up the serenity
of
island life to base himself in Seattle full time and make himself more
available to the music scene.
Chiefly’s
14-song CD,
Planets Of Plenty was completed in 2005 and released on the
band’s own label, Hieronymus Records, in January
2006.
Most of the tunes are built around
Greg’s
piano-based songwriting, and meaningful melodic violin lines add a
compositional twist by taking the part usually filled by lead
guitar. Chiefly’s lyrics are wry, fresh and
sometimes
funny, but do not shy away from serious themes such as loss and the
search for self in relationship. Although there is a common
feeling across the entire CD, the texture is nicely varied with
artfully placed bits of slide guitar, cello, organ and trombone as well
as the notable absence of piano on several songs.
The
disk, Planets of Plenty, has been played in the local music slots of
Seattle stations KEXP-90.3 (Audioasis with Lisa Wood) and KMTT-103.7
(Sunday Morning Brunch with Drew Dundon).
As
of Spring 2007, the band continues to metamorphose. Original
violinist Alma Garcia-DeLilla and drummer Noah Dolan have moved on to
pursue new creative directions, with Thorn Michael now soaring on
violin, and the multi-talented Sam Geren on bass. New songs are
constantly bubbling up and there is talk of a second recording.
Chiefly
still performs regularly in cafes and bars around Seattle (such as Mars
Bar, Caffe Bella, Greenbean), and is eager to play in some more
far-flung venues as well!