The Pharmacy - Stoned & Alone (album stream)

For their fourth album Stoned & Alone, The Pharmacy collaborated with producer Brandon Eggleston (Modest Mouse, tUnE-yArDs, Les Savy Fav) to create their trademark sound of garage punk, pop-psych shenanigans and stoned enthusiasm. Parts of the album have been recorded at Soundhouse studio in Seattle with Nirvana's Twin Reverb Amp. While recording piano parts in a Methodist church on an island in the state of Washington, the band found the priest's weed behind the pulpit. What a blessing! Most of the 13 songs have been written while touring which is what the band is doing pretty much all the time anyway. The band did sustain minor injuries during the recording of the album due to adopting an abandoned couch off the street in New Orleans.


The Pharmacy was founded in 2002 by high school buddies Scott Yoder and Brendhan Bowers on Vashon Island in Washington (state). Starting off as a garage/punk band they quickly incorporated psych/pop influences to create a sloppy mess of good times. In 2005 they embarked on their first US tour as the backing band for Kimya Dawson (Moldy Peaches). Since then they have toured relentlessly in the US and also Europe, where they already toured 3 times, playing shows in 18 countries. In 2007 classically trained pianist Stefan Rubicz completed the current line-up of the band, which is now located in Seattle.

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Biography

It's been almost a decade since a young Scottie Yoder received a 4-track for his birthday and began turning out poppy, energetic garage numbers with friend Brendhan Bowers in a shed on Vashon Island up in Washington state. After classically-trained pianist Stefan Rubicz joined the pair in early 2007, they've been on a constant schedule. The past few years, the band's been alternating between the recording of 3 albums, a handful of 7"s and touring all over North America and Europe with acts varying from Japanther and Vivian Girls to Kimya Dawson and Matt+Kim.

They spent 2009 living in New Orleans where they recorded the LP Weekend for Park The Van Records. Seattle's The Stranger called it "the strongest, most consistent record the band has ever made" that "continues to move even further away from their basement-punk beginnings, experimenting with a more mellow, sometimes psychedelic sound laced with sweet harmonies." The New Orleans Gambit stated that "the LP plays out like a lost artifact from 1965 London" and that "The band's formerly kaleidoscopic psych/pop suddenly finds laser-guided precision, both musically and lyrically."

So after supporting the LP with 3 US and 2 European tours including a special SXSW session with Daytrotter, they returned to Seattle with a wealth of new material. The A side of the new Dig Your Grave EP contains two songs recorded in Seattle at Jack Endino's Soundhouse Studio. It was produced by Brandon Eggleston who is known for his work with Modest Mouse, Swans & Les Savy Fav. Yoder was even able to use the same guitar amp from Nirvana's Bleach LP for the solo in "Pines." The B side contains a demo recorded in the barracks on Governor's Island and an acoustic track from their time in New Orleans. Its a diverse and varied document offering a glimpse into their anticipated next LP, Stoned & Alone, out now.

The Pharmacy is:
guitar, lead vocals : Scott Yoder
drums, backing vocals: Brendhan Bowers
keyboards, backing vocals: Stefan Rubicz

Watch out for The Pharmacy hitting European shores again in October!

Links
http://thepharmacyband.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pharmacy/69170658649