Singer Finds Her Calling As Vocalist For Lazy Susan
Just over five years ago, Lazy Susan vocalist Kim Virant wasn’t singing for any band. In fact, she wasn’t even a singer.
“This was a late-blooming venture for me,” said the Seattle singer in a phone interview this week. “When I discovered it, it all made sense.”
It made sense because Virant, whose band plays Mother’s Pub tonight, is a natural singer with a compelling, strong-willed voice. Hence, she’s been blessed with one of the most golden set of pipes in the Pacific Northwest.
Any given moment, Virant’s vocals can change from a calm, soothing voice to a demonreleasing one.
The rest of Lazy Susan, rounded out by guitarists Brian Kenney and Tim DiJulio, bassist Scott Summers and drummer Richard Stuverud, supplies the dense and moody Southern guitar textures and cascading rhythms necessary to bolster Virant’s emotionallycharged vocals into the stratosphere.
In a strange sort of way, Lazy Susan’s music is very reminiscent of the Tragically Hip.
The Seattle band was formed four years ago by Virant, Kenney, who had stints with the Best Kissers in the World, the Pickets and DiJulio.
Since Lazy Susan was pursuing a sound that wasn’t being tapped by its peers, the quintet stood out and immediately gathered attention.
“By not being a flavor of the month kind of band, we’ve developed a really nice following in Seattle,” said Virant.
This attribute, no doubt, led Hollywood Records, a Disneyowned major label, to pursue the band and sign it.
To date, Lazy Susan has recorded two independently released albums: “Twang” and “Sink.” Both garnered favorable reviews.
The band is writing songs for its third album, which it plans to record sometime this spring.
Buddha Leadbelly and Harvest Day open.
The show begins at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are available at Mother’s for $5. You must be 21 to attend.
Elsewhere in the night
That irrepressible band of hippies, the Strangers, will play the Big Dipper again, on Saturday.
The Strangers has a strong fan base in Spokane, mainly consisting of local college students.
Recently, the Portland band entered the studio to record songs for an upcoming promotional demo tape, which the band plans to use as a means for shopping itself to labels.
Music starts at 9:30 p.m. The cover is $4. Bring ID.
xxxx On the scene Acting on a tip received last Thursday - that Violent Femmes would be at the Valley Hasting’s last Friday to sign autographs - Nightwatch drove out there to be on hand. Upon entering the store, we spotted Violent Femmes front man Gordon Gano surrounded by a crowd. Gano, in town visiting family, was the only one of the three band members there. Unfortunately, Nightwatch didn’t get a chance to speak to Gano, who left the store without notice while Nightwatch was standing in line trying to purchase a copy of the Violent Femmes’ “New Times” CD to be autographed. Oh well.