Biography
Sam Coomes, a versatile multi-instrumentalist and songwriter active since the 1980s, is recognized chiefly through his role in the Portland, Oregon indie-rock duo Quasi, where ex-wife Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney handles drums. Born in Sherman, Texas, in 1964, he spent his formative years in Southern California. His earliest group, the ramshackle art-rock outfit Donner Party, launched in 1983; there Coomes handled guitar, violin, and banjo, and the band produced two albums before splitting in 1989. After moving to Portland, he teamed with then-wife Weiss the next year to launch Motorgoat, which generated two cassettes plus a 7-inch single before the project folded and evolved into Quasi in 1993. The pair, who had already divorced by the time the group began, cultivated a bluesy, laid-back rock sound that prompted comparisons to an indie version of Fleetwood Mac; Quasi started issuing recordings soon after its formation and, beginning with 2013’s Mole City, has produced nine well-received studio albums. In 1994 Coomes also played bass for the grunge and alternative-rock band Heatmiser, co-fronted by Elliott Smith. Beyond these projects he has collaborated live and on record with numerous Pacific Northwest artists such as Built to Spill, Jandek, Pink Mountain, and Elliott Smith, and he has composed music for several films by underground director Vanessa Renwick. His debut solo effort, the eccentric, carnival-like Bugger Me, appeared in 2016.
Albums
Singles
