Updated April 22, 2009
Otisburg is a rock band that formed in Seattle in 2003. The band existed there from 2003-2005 and then in Oklahoma City from 2005-2008 and then back in Seattle from 2008 onward. Their musical style is characterized by humorous or ironic lyrics, deadpan vocal delivery, and heavy, melodic, three-chord song structures reminiscent of punk. However, unlike punk, they often feature interweaving guitar riffs and slower tempos. Much of the sound owes to influences like The Descendents, Smoking Popes, Weezer, and Face to Face.
Early Days
Before the band began Scott Shipp and Brant Watrous had just moved to Seattle. There they began recording songs in the basement of a house in Tukwila. One of the first songs they recorded together was, "Mistakes."
About a year later, without having got the band off the ground due to not having found a second guitarist and drummer, they moved to the Green Lake neighborhood of Seattle. There, lacking a defined vision for the band, Scott and Brant began arguing about the direction of the music. Scott locked himself into his room and came out with the songs, "Radio Unfriendly" and "Star Map," which defined the direction of the band from that point forward.
The following track is the early demo of "Radio Unfriendly," lacking the final bridge and chorus and also being tracked over drum loops.
Formation and First Official Demo
The band made a giant leap forward when they added Steve Long to their ranks. He became one of the chief songwriters in the band and largely took over vocal duties, sharing them with Brant as appropriate. In addition, the band added a permanent drummer, Matt Hite.
They then recorded a full demo in the attic of the Green Lake house. The drums were engineered by Brant Watrous and the rest was produced and engineered by the band, largely manning the boards was Scott Shipp.
The following document contains chord charts and lyrics for some of the additional songs the band was working on. Titles included, "My Plastic Smile," "Mistakes," "Something More," and "Star Map."
For the demo, the band emerged with four songs:
Trouble
Unfortunately, the band was unable to book any shows with this demo, largely because they were not yet familiar with the Seattle scene and local booking. They still practiced twice a week writing new material and trying to overcome the trying heat of the Green Lake attic.
Shortly after that, Steve Long had to step away from the band due to other obligations. The unfortunate circumstance caused the band to scurry for a replacement and they found Robert Beiser.
With Robert Beiser and Brant Watrous splitting vocal duties, the band recorded a new demo and managed to book and play one show at Manium in Olympia. The band temporarily broke up after that, to reform as Fall City Shakedown with a completely different musical vision.
* This song was originally written by Steve Long. When he left the band, he gave them permission to use it and this version is the result of a rewrite by Robert Beiser. When the band reformed as Fall City Shakedown, they dropped this song, as well as all the other Otisburg songs, altogether.
Reformation and Seattle Demo
Steve Long returned to writing music as Scott and Brant were beginning to play shows in Fall City Shakedown. Subsequently, he started sharing the new material with Scott and the two began practicing once again under the name Otisburg. Shortly after, Brant joined them on drums. The new lineup was Steve on lead vox and guitar, Scott on bass and yelling, and Brant on drums. This was a reformation and restructure, as the previous lineup had been Steve on bass and vocals, Scott on guitars, Brant on guitars and vocals, and Matt Hite on drums.
As this trio, the band recorded a live demo in the attic practice space. This demo included the debut of "Generic Punk Rock Song." "Generic Punk Rock Song" was one of the first tracks posted to the new Otisburg Myspace. Around this time, Otisburg also began offering merch online through Cafe Press.
They then multitracked a new demo, including acoustic and electric versions of Goodbye California and a new version of Radio Unfriendly. The electric version of Goodbye California also found the band debuting organ as an instrument. Steve intended to collect many of the Otisburg recordings into a new collection of songs titled, "Born Yesterday." Plans were to include the acoustic and electric versions of Goodbye California, along with previous recordings. The track list would have included "Radio Unfriendly," "Generic Punk Rock Song," "Hey Jennifer," "Goodbye California," "Mistakes," "Star Map," and others.
Unfortunately, during the mixing of the sessions, Steve moved to Oklahoma City and the hard drive at the studio crashed. After running several utilities on the drive, "Goodbye California" was restored and mixed and it is the last recording featuring this lineup.
Finally in 2007, "Born Yesterday" was released online as a four song EP. The cover featured a photo of Steve's newborn daughter, Jayla, although by the time the album was actually released she was over a year old. Born Yesterday could be downloaded from the band's website at www.otisburg.net.
Present Day
Steve moved back to Seattle and naturally Scott and Steve have begun collaborating once again on new material. Recent word is that the two are planning to write and record an album of new material and covers. The new songs are supposedly more humorous than ever and also branch out somewhat musically.
Scott also currently plays in Miracle Max, a pop/punk band frequently seen around Seattle.