Boat

Taking cues from punk rock, 80's alternative acts such as the Replacements, and other Pacific Northwest outfits including the Young Fresh Fellows, BOAT cultivated a cheerful everyman style that appealed to indie listeners open to levity amid their distorted guitars. From the mid-2000s onward, the group delivered a series of albums that balanced reliable wit and enjoyment with genuine rock energy. Their 2020 release, Tread Lightly, demonstrated that although the members had inevitably matured somewhat, their energetic and playful spirit remained intact from the beginning.

The story started when songwriter D. Crane returned to Seattle following a year of teaching junior high in Chicago. Already developing song concepts, the move prompted him to complete a full album. He produced a lo-fi effort called Comic Book Rock and shared it with acquaintances, expecting nothing further. Positive responses instead led him to assemble a band alongside bassist/guitarist M. McKenzie and drummer/multi-instrumentalist J. Goodman, after which they began performing live. With an upgraded recorder, Crane guided the creation of the debut album 2005's Life Is a Shipwreck, We Must Remember to Sing in the Life Boats, whose title references Voltaire.

Tullycraft's Sean Tollefson caught a BOAT show and passed the record along to Magic Marker. Following the EP After All, the band secured a deal with the label and issued Songs That You Might Not Like in July 2006. Following a three-year break, now including drummer J. Long, they resurfaced with the similarly engaging Setting the Paces in October 2009. The subsequent album, Dress Like Your Idols, appeared in spring 2011. Their 2013 effort Pretend to Be Brave introduced drummer J. Angle along with contributions from vocalist Shelley Short and Scott McCaughey of the Young Fresh Fellows.

Post-release, members pursued separate projects: Goodman formed Brackets, McKenzie joined KEXP, and Crane started Unlikely Friends, which put out Solid Gold Cowboys in 2015 and Crooked Numbers in 2018. McKenzie and former BOAT drummer J. Long both contributed to those Unlikely Friends recordings. When BOAT regrouped for new material, Long rejoined. Many tracks on the 2020 album Tread Lightly originated from loops Long sent to Crane, who then supplied chords and melodies. During sessions, the lineup welcomed guest vocalists Shelley Short and Chris Ballew, formerly of the Presidents of the United States. Magic Marker, reactivated specifically for the project, handled the release.