Four decades of Pacific Northwest rock

It started where the best rock stories start: in a basement. In 1981 a crew of high-schoolers plugged in at the Ekdahl house and tore through covers like UFO's “Rock Bottom” and Van Halen's “Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love,” fueled by a steady diet of '70s and '80s rock from the likes of Scorpions, Def Leppard, Cheap Trick and Black Sabbath.

Obsession was short-lived, but it lit the fuse: the band became the core of Polytechnique.

Members

• Ron Ekdahl guitar, bass
• Leo Ekdahl drums, lead vocals
• Fruity guitar, bass, backing vocals

When Lyle Ekdahl, the eldest Ekdahl in the band, and Alan Back joined the fray, the covers went out the window. Polytechnique wrote every note itself: ambitious, synth-laced progressive rock in the spirit of Sparks, Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

In early 1984 the band took matters into its own hands and built an 8-track recording studio, Big Fish Studios, in Seattle's University District. It became home base for Polytechnique's own records and a launch pad for other local artists.

Polytechnique: the hottest undiscovered band of the '80s.

Members

• Ron Ekdahl guitar, bass, vocals
• Leo Ekdahl drums, vocals
• Fruity guitar, bass, vocals
• Lyle Ekdahl keyboards, synthesizers, vocals
• Alan Back keyboards, synthesizers
• Maurice Burum keyboards, guitar, vocals

Releases

• New Fears New Faces 1984
• Eternity 1985 More progressive rock.

Maurice “Mo Dawg” Burum and Bradley “Brad Dawg” Scudder launched the band as high-school freshmen and cycled through a string of sit-in drummers from 1982 to 1986. In 1987 Fruity strapped on a guitar and joined the ranks.

Homegrown progressive rock was the heart of it, with a few covers in the early days. In 1988 the band cut Serious Peyote Eaters with producer Steve Fisk. From 1989 the sound got heavier and the band hit the Seattle club circuit, opening for local bands whose members hadn't yet hit the big time with Screaming Trees, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.

Members

• Maurice Burum guitar, bass, vocals
• Bradley Scudder guitar, bass, vocals
• Fruity guitar, bass, vocals (joined 1987)
• Dan Coleman drums, vocals (joined 1989)

Releases

• Serious Peyote Eaters: The Legend of Danny Spangler (The Comic Book Mangler)

Fruity's solo flight. Mostly guitar instrumentals, most of them played ad-lib and captured in a single take: no safety net, no second pass. A few tracks bring Strange Cause for Gladness back into the room.

Members

• Fruity, AKA Jack the Rooster guitar, bass, vocals
• Maurice Burum guitar, bass, vocals
• Bradley Scudder guitar, bass, vocals
• Drums on Demand drums

Releases

• Ozium circa 2000