My first peak at The Senate at Three Trees Coffeehouse during sound check
A special Senate show featuring Tyler Carson
Once upon a time there was a three piece band that could shred, shake, and serenade any room they walked into. They were called The Senate. They described themselves as “face melting acoustic riffage”. I’m sad to say that I reluctantly discovered them in August 2008. Bellingham catches some great musical acts, and my entire time in college all I heard about was The Senate. Purely out of spite, I didn’t want to go to a show. It was sort of my boycott to popular music in my stupid college ignorant ways. However, one summer day my friends invited to a show at Three Trees Coffeehouse. I got there early and apparently was locked in as the band conducted their sound check. Saying that they blew my mind away was an understatement. They immediately captured my attention with their harmonies and seemed like really cool people in general. A stand up bass player/part-time beat boxer, an acoustic rythmic guitar, and an acoustic guitar shredding genius, they brought an incredibly energy to the room.
Ever since then, every show I witnessed after was unique and incredibly fun. I always new that I would be in for a treat and guaranteed fun. I was so sad I hadn’t discovered them earlier. From coffeeshops to festivals to The Triple Door, I’ve seen them rock each stage they took. You’ll notice the quality of the photos start off pretty rough (I was shooting with a Canon Powershot S3 at the time) and my first photo opportunity with my Canon 50d was at a Senate show, so please forgive that these aren’t the best either since I hadn’t totally figured out my camera yet.
Unfortunately, they disbanded in Fall 2009 so each guy could pursue opportunities. But as one door closes, another one opens and I was able to get to know their lead singer Nick Drummond as a person. We became great friends sharing great laughs and memories and I continued to follow his solo work, and now he has partnered with Tyler Carson to create Impossible Bird, their new duo band. Tyler is an amazing fiddle player whow as a guest with The Senate back in the day. Their new sound is righteous, and you can tell each of them have grown tremendously over the years. You can catch their new material on their web site.
Even if you’ve never seen The Senate, the Live at Solstice album is still worth a listen and share with your friends. They did have a reunion performance for their fans one last time in February 2010. Since then, each of the guys have gone their separate ways and still doing great things. We’ll miss you!
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