Liar's Club

Unlike the Posies, Liar's Club shared little sonic territory with the metal-driven rage rock that emerged from the Pacific Northwest during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The trio captured the warmer, hook-driven facet of the regional sound, yet the description falls short because the musicians hailed from Tacoma rather than Seattle—an origin that likely contributed to their frequent omission whenever Emerald City acts were eyed for MTV's Buzz Bin rotation. Near the close of the 1980s, three graduates of the same Tacoma high school—Jayson Jarmon on vocals, guitar, and piano; Scott McPherson handling vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards, and bass; and bassist Kevo X. Thompson—formed the group, later adding drummer John Vangen. Devoted to the British pop tradition exemplified by Elvis Costello, XTC, and Prefab Sprout, Liar's Club stood apart from the guitar-heavy local acts; given wider exposure, the band might have illustrated how much broader Washington State's music landscape truly was. The playful single "Espresso Girl," featuring its memorable "Thanks a-latte" hook, delivered a short-lived surge of regional attention. Still, none of the independently issued albums gained substantial notice, and the original lineup disbanded in 1994. Six years afterward, Jarmon and McPherson revived the Liar's Club name for a new recording that featured drummer Dana Simms and bassist Sean Gaffney.