Fastbacks

So this is from the album Z2, released in 2023.

Fastbacks, just under 5,000 monthly listeners, were formed in Seattle in 1979.

They were a pioneering force in the Pacific Northwest music scene, recognized for their unique blend of raw, energetic punk and melodic hook-heavy power pop.

Melissa, why did you have Fastbacks at number five?

I got like Bengals vibes, like Bengals, and they're also huge Raspberry fans.

So I got a lot of that.

So thank you.

Very nice.

And it's awesome, arty, experimental, psych rock, like for fans of butthole surfers or something like that.

Jason Finn is primarily known now as a founding member and drummer in the Presidents of the United States of America, but also Love Battery, a band you mentioned last time, and he's played with the Fastbacks, many other Seattle bands.

Ryan, I'm sure you have the Yeast single from 1990 on CZ.

Of course I do.

And he was telling me about when he was 17 in Seattle, he would play in this club, which, uh, I'm doing this documentary for called The Central, and he said there was a thing called the Teen Dance Ordinance, and he was 17, and he was the drummer of the band at the time.

I can't remember if it was Ten Minute Warning or the Fastbacks.

Uh, d- doesn't matter anyway.

He said, "So I w- somebody would drive me to the gig.

Mudhoney, yeah.

It's like the Fastbacks and, uh, The U-Men and-

[laughs] Yeah

... you know, these groups that-

I told you some of the bands that they opened for, so they obviously got around a lot in that nascent 80s Seattle scene.

I wonder if they ever played with the Fastbacks or some of those other bands on the Pop Llama label.

Doesn't say it in their bio.

Apparently they broke them in 89.

I think we've been acquainted with the man.

And then Ed thanks the crew for organizing everything, says, "Glad to see our friends before we take off on this trip," and he mentions the Fastbacks and how the Fastbacks were the opener of this show and how important it was for them to play a place like this.

No promoter for this show.

Very interesting.