Sera Cahoone
Encyclopedia
Sera Cahoone is a singer-songwriter
from Seattle, Washington
. Cahoone's music combines elements of both classic country-western and modern indie rock
and lo-fi.
Cahoone is the daughter of a Rocky Mountain dynamite salesman and grew up in Littleton, Colorado
. She got her musical start on the drums at twelve years old. Her first stage performance came in a suburban Denver bar, where, at the age of 12, she played drums behind a bunch of bluesmen on open mic night.
At twenty-one Cahoone moved to Seattle and drummed for many artists including Carissa's Wierd
, Los Angeles
musician Patrick Park
, and on Band of Horses
’ debut, Everything All the Time
.
In 2006, Cahoone focused on singing, songwriting, and guitar playing, skills she’d been honing for nearly 15 years on her own. Her first album was Sera Cahoone (2006). The album was praised by indie-rock radio station KEXP
along with NPR
. Seattle indie newspaper The Stranger
called Sera’s debut "…a breathtaking collection of sad and dusky songs that reveal an artist of remarkable depth as well as a truly stunning voice."
In 2007 Cahoone was signed to the Seattle label Sub Pop Records which was home to former Carissa’s Wierd band mates Ben Bridwell
(Band of Horses
) and later Mat Brooke
(Grand Archives
). The first label release titled "Only As The Day Is Long" released in 2008, found Cahoone exploring airy gentle arrangements, counter-weighted by tension in her lyrics. The album features characters mired in the present cast either skeptical or hopeful eyes on the future: "It’s got to get better than this" (Runnin’ Your Way), "I wish this night would pass on by" (Shitty Hotel), "Time’s been moving too fast" (You’re Not Broken).
In 2011 Cahoone began to prepare for her second Sub Pop release by testing new material to crowds at the Sawtooth Music Festival as well as the Doe Bay Music Festival.
Opened For:
She has also played drums with Panda and Angel, Carissa's Wierd, and Patrick Park. She recorded on selected tracks of the Band of Horses release Everything All The Time
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
from Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. Cahoone's music combines elements of both classic country-western and modern indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
and lo-fi.
Cahoone is the daughter of a Rocky Mountain dynamite salesman and grew up in Littleton, Colorado
Littleton, Colorado
Littleton is a Home Rule Municipality contained in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. Littleton is a suburb of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and the 20th most populous city in the state of...
. She got her musical start on the drums at twelve years old. Her first stage performance came in a suburban Denver bar, where, at the age of 12, she played drums behind a bunch of bluesmen on open mic night.
At twenty-one Cahoone moved to Seattle and drummed for many artists including Carissa's Wierd
Carissa's Wierd
Carissa's Wierd was an indie rock band from Seattle that formed in 1995 and disbanded in late 2003. Their sound has been described as "chamber rock". The band deliberately misspelled the word "Weird" in their name...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
musician Patrick Park
Patrick Park
-Early life:Park grew up in Morrison, Colorado. He was exposed to the arts at an early age: his mother was a published poet, and his father was a doctor who enjoyed playing folk and blues records and the guitar at home...
, and on Band of Horses
Band of Horses
Band of Horses, originally briefly known as Horses, are an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle by Ben Bridwell. They have released three studio albums, the most recent and most successful of which is 2010's Grammy nominated Infinite Arms...
’ debut, Everything All the Time
Everything all the Time
-Personnel:*Ben Bridwell - Vocals, guitar*Mat Brooke - Guitar, co-lead vocals on tracks 8 & 10*Chris Early - Bass guitar*Tim Meinig / Sera Cahoone - Drums-Chart performance:-Songs from Everything All the Time in popular culture:...
.
In 2006, Cahoone focused on singing, songwriting, and guitar playing, skills she’d been honing for nearly 15 years on her own. Her first album was Sera Cahoone (2006). The album was praised by indie-rock radio station KEXP
KEXP
KEXP-FM is a public radio station based in Seattle, Washington, that specializes in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys. Its broadcasting license is owned by the University of Washington, which operates the station in a partnership with Paul Allen's Experience Music Project...
along with NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
. Seattle indie newspaper The Stranger
The Stranger (newspaper)
The Stranger is an alternative weekly newspaper in Seattle, Washington, USA. It runs a blog known as Slog.-History:The Stranger was founded by Tim Keck, who had previously co-founded the satirical newspaper The Onion, and cartoonist James Sturm. Its first issue came out on September 23, 1991...
called Sera’s debut "…a breathtaking collection of sad and dusky songs that reveal an artist of remarkable depth as well as a truly stunning voice."
In 2007 Cahoone was signed to the Seattle label Sub Pop Records which was home to former Carissa’s Wierd band mates Ben Bridwell
Ben Bridwell
Benjamin "Ben" Bridwell is the lead singer of American rock band Band of Horses and a former member of the band Carissa's Wierd.-Early life:Bridwell was born on April 25, 1978 and grew up in Irmo, South Carolina...
(Band of Horses
Band of Horses
Band of Horses, originally briefly known as Horses, are an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle by Ben Bridwell. They have released three studio albums, the most recent and most successful of which is 2010's Grammy nominated Infinite Arms...
) and later Mat Brooke
Mat Brooke
Mathew Etter "Mat" Brooke is the lead singer of American rock band Grand Archives and a former member of the bands Band of Horses and Carissa's Wierd.-Early life:...
(Grand Archives
Grand Archives
Grand Archives is an American indie rock band that formed in Seattle. They were originally called Archives and are led by principal songwriter Mat Brooke, formerly of Carissa's Wierd and Band of Horses.-The Grand Archives:...
). The first label release titled "Only As The Day Is Long" released in 2008, found Cahoone exploring airy gentle arrangements, counter-weighted by tension in her lyrics. The album features characters mired in the present cast either skeptical or hopeful eyes on the future: "It’s got to get better than this" (Runnin’ Your Way), "I wish this night would pass on by" (Shitty Hotel), "Time’s been moving too fast" (You’re Not Broken).
In 2011 Cahoone began to prepare for her second Sub Pop release by testing new material to crowds at the Sawtooth Music Festival as well as the Doe Bay Music Festival.
Collaborations
Toured With:- Son VoltSon VoltSon Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo.-History:The group formed after Farrar met Jim and Dave Boquist during the final Uncle Tupelo tour. Together with former Uncle Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn, the band rehearsed and...
- Matt CostaMatt CostaMatthew Albert Costa is a singer-songwriter from Huntington Beach, California.He has five independent releases: two self-recorded EPs, and three full-length CDs released via Brushfire Records.-Life:...
- Band of HorsesBand of HorsesBand of Horses, originally briefly known as Horses, are an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle by Ben Bridwell. They have released three studio albums, the most recent and most successful of which is 2010's Grammy nominated Infinite Arms...
- Grand ArchivesGrand ArchivesGrand Archives is an American indie rock band that formed in Seattle. They were originally called Archives and are led by principal songwriter Mat Brooke, formerly of Carissa's Wierd and Band of Horses.-The Grand Archives:...
- Sea WolfSea Wolf (band)Sea Wolf is a band led by Alex Brown Church, an indie folk musician based in Los Angeles, California. Church attended film school at NYU and was a founding member of a group called Irving in 1998...
- Patrick ParkPatrick Park-Early life:Park grew up in Morrison, Colorado. He was exposed to the arts at an early age: his mother was a published poet, and his father was a doctor who enjoyed playing folk and blues records and the guitar at home...
- Beachwood SparksBeachwood SparksBeachwood Sparks are an American alternative country band from Los Angeles. A Daily Telegraph article on America's underground psychedelic pop scene described Beachwood Sparks as "country through a kaleidoscope".-Biography:...
- Fruit BatsFruit BatsFruit Bats is an American rock band formed in 1997 in Chicago. Noted as an early entrant into the folk-rock boom of the early 2000s, the group has had many personnel changes but revolves around singer/songwriter Eric D. Johnson.-History:In 2000, Eric D...
- Ben GibbardBen GibbardBenjamin "Ben" Gibbard is an American musician known as a member of several successful indie rock bands. He is the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, and is also known for his project ¡All-Time Quarterback! and his first band, Pinwheel.-Personal life and career:Gibbard was...
- Jay FarrarJay FarrarJay Farrar is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. A veteran of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001...
Opened For:
- Lucinda WilliamsLucinda WilliamsLucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
- Okkervil RiverOkkervil RiverOkkervil River is an indie rock band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya. They self-released their first album, Stars Too Small to Use, which led them to the South by Southwest music festival. After recording their first...
- Mary GauthierMary GauthierMary Gauthier is an American folk singer-songwriter.-Life and career:Gauthier was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Given up at birth by a mother she never knew, Gauthier was adopted by an Italian Catholic couple in Thibodaux, Louisiana...
She has also played drums with Panda and Angel, Carissa's Wierd, and Patrick Park. She recorded on selected tracks of the Band of Horses release Everything All The Time
Everything all the Time
-Personnel:*Ben Bridwell - Vocals, guitar*Mat Brooke - Guitar, co-lead vocals on tracks 8 & 10*Chris Early - Bass guitar*Tim Meinig / Sera Cahoone - Drums-Chart performance:-Songs from Everything All the Time in popular culture:...
Discography
- Sera Cahoone · 2005 · Self-released, but distributed through special agreement with Sub Pop RecordsSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
. - Only as the Day Is Long · 18 March 2008 · Sub Pop