Temple Drake

The five members of Temple Drake are continuously looking for ways to get free beer--be it playing their bastardized amalgamation of country, roots, rock, indie, or whatever, or clog dancing while the drunks at the bar throw nickels at them. Everyone in the band has a terminal illness and will soon be dead--so catch them while you can!!

Temple Drake is a San Francisco-based four-piece playing a bastardized amalgamation of country, bluegrass, and indie rock. Their live shows shift from country with honky-tonk and bluegrass sensibilities to the unconventional song structures and distortion effects of indie rock. Although you'll find Pavement in their record collections, right next to Gram Parsons, the band increasingly defies comparison as their sound continues to develop. Two employees of Amoeba Records, David Nagle and Steven Perry, began writing songs on an old acoustic guitar and accompanying each other with banjo or mandolin in early 2002. The band, as well as their careers at Amoeba Records, allowed them to indulge in their mutual interests in a broad spectrum of music, which was reflected in the music they created. The two soon joined with Chris Modell (drums) and Russ Kiel (bass) and started playing live shows in San Francisco (at places like Bottom of the Hill, 12 Galaxies, Thee Parkside, Club Deluxe, and Voodoo Lounge). The band recorded their 2004 EP, Durn Yer Hide, in late 2003 at Hitwall Studios. Peter Craft (Firecracker and Bellyachers) engineered the EP, with original artwork by Jennifer Pickens. The EP has been selling remarkably well throughout the Bay Area and the rest of the country, thanks to creative self-promotion and their raucous live shows.

San Francisco is town built of cold brick walls.

Old 97s, Split Lip Rayfield, Whiskeytown, The Gourds, Soltero, Okkervil River, Firecracker, Red Meat, Tom Armstrong, and anybody named Hank.

I've vomitted at every job I've ever had.