THE NEWS TRIBUNE

Lashes let loose

ERNEST A. JASMIN; The News Tribune
Published: February 3rd, 2006 02:30 AM


The Lashes are a refreshing rarity among Northwest buzz bands – an outfit that is unpretentious in its desire to become hugely popular, have loads of fun and maybe land on a few glossy magazine covers along the way. Imagine that.

“Maybe (it’s) ’cause all of us know we’re not cool enough to be hipsters,” said Ben Clark, the Seattle power-pop sextet’s gregarious front man, speaking by a cell phone during a stop in San Diego.

The Lashes’ major-label debut, “Get It,” is due Feb. 21 from Columbia Records. Before that, locals can sample the band’s blithe, hook-packed sound (think Hot Hot Heat meets Cheap Trick) at Saturday’s all-ages show at Hell’s Kitchen.

Clark’s enthusiasm was infectious, even over the phone. He’d pause to haggle with the guy behind the counter at Easy Lube or make friends with the lady sitting at the bus stop outside.

Clark, 26, mused momentarily that getting signed to a major hadn’t fixed all his day-to-day problems, this in the context of having just read an online rejection from a girl he’d fallen for. “It happens,” he said, laughing. “No big bags of money. A girl I actually like doesn’t like me back.”

But mostly the singer talked about how much fun he and his band mates – bassist Nate Mooter, drummer Mike Loggins, keyboard player Jacob Hoffman and guitarists Eric Howk and Scotty Rickard – have been having. One of the keys has been ignoring hipster notions of what defines a cool band.

“Anyone who takes themselves too seriously … (is) taking away from the fun of it,” he said.

“We just like playing our pop rock ’n’ roll songs and having crazy fun, and having the time of our lives. We’ve all broken up with girlfriends and quit (bad) jobs … just to go on the road and play songs together nd everything. And now we’re actually getting to do it. So every time we get to do anything for our band, whether it’s doing a show or going on the radio or doing an interview, all of a sudden that’s the most exciting thing ever because we’ve been waiting so long.”

The band has its roots in Spokane, where Clark, Mooter and Rickard grew up. Clark went to Whitworth College for a year, where he said he didn’t fit in and “spent too much money … learning how to skateboard and going to Taco Bell at 4 in the morning.”

He’d played in local bands and dreamed of stardom. But it took an epiphany, experienced while reading about Seattle’s Harvey Danger, to send him west.

“It hit me hard that if I don’t do this and own it and live it, it’s not gonna happen at all,” he said. “I knew I had to get better and I had to go experience things. So moving to Seattle was a huge deal. I moved over and tarted working tons of (bad) jobs, like we all did to be in this band.”

Since the band formed in 2000, it’s earned considerable attention for, well, knowing how to get attention. “That’s part of the fun, trying to get people to find out about your band in a fun way,” he said.

Among the gonzo marketing strategies the band has employed are writing the song (“It’s Your Party” from 2004’s “The Stupid Stupid” EP) that name-checks former Stranger music writer Kathleen Wilson and hiring a homeless guy to pose as their biggest fan and picket Sub Pop Records.

“So we hired our friend with pizza and a little bit of alcohol to dress up in an awful suit and hold a ukulele,” Clark recalled. “And he’s like 6 foot 6 inches and kind of doughy and really crazy. … His whole thing was that he was just our biggest fan … and he just wanted them to sign us because we didn’t have enough money to put out a record, and he wanted to buy one.”

The event made an impression on Sub Pop president Jonathan Poneman – kind of. “I have a vague recollection of somebody doing something,” he replied when e-mailed about the incident. “Who are The Lashes again?”

The band has toned down its promotional efforts – for now.

“We decided not to do a really big video,” Clark said. “We did a cool performance video that’s simple. It hasn’t been sent out yet or anything. I’m sure if things go really well, and we get played on all those radio stations, maybe we’ll shoot a new video with lots of booty girls and low-riders and everything – goblets made of gold and gems.”

He adds, “I’ve got hip-hop friends in Seattle who keep trying to get me to wear a grill.” What: The Lashes, with Amber Pacific, Paramore and Terminal