Biography
Space Needle originated in 1994 when Long Island natives Jud Ehrbar and Jeff Gatland, friends since their high-school days of playing music together, launched a four-track endeavor. Following their graduation Ehrbar relocated to Providence, Rhode Island, enrolling in school while serving as drummer for Chick Graning’s group Scarce; creative disagreements soon led to his departure, prompting a return to Long Island and a reunion with Gatland. The pair then established Space Needle as an outlet for blending an array of sounds that encompassed experimental music, ’70s prog rock, ’80s post-punk, and hip-hop. After inking a deal with New York’s Zero Hour imprint, the duo issued their first recording, 1995’s Voyager, whose hazy psychedelic pieces relied on rudimentary tape loops and unorthodox studio methods. Shortly before the 1997 release of the expansive The Moray Eels Eat the Space Needle, guitarist Anders Parker—the driving force behind Varnaline—joined as a permanent member, while Ehrbar simultaneously sustained his ambient side project Reservoir.