The Blakes

By Bob Ham

Photo by David Belisle

The idea of two brothers playing in a band together all too often conjures up images of Ray and Dave Davies fist fighting on stage or the strained relations between Tom and John Fogerty. Fortunately for Bob Husak, drummer of Seattle’s finest garage-pop trio The Blakes, he’s not had to patch things up nor get in the middle of any confrontations between the brothers that front the group, Snow and Garnet Keim.

“I guess we have a pretty rare thing,” says Snow (the eldest Keim). “I mean, there’s gonna be friction with any sibling or any close friend, but we’ve had very few problems over the years.

Growing up in Maine amidst, as Snow puts it, “two or three generations of songwriters that didn’t make it,” the brothers bonded over a love of rock from the ‘50s and ‘60s and a love of creating their own music.

“It is really easy for me to get lost in music,” says Garnet. “Listening and playing to music was really a chance to escape for me.”

Music was also the inspiration for the two to escape from their hometown and pursue their dreams of starting a band. So, in 1998, the brothers Keim took off for the West Coast, finding the place that was furthest from Maine but that still had a connection to their close knit family.

“We had a cousin living in Vancouver,” recalls Garnet, “so we went to stay with her, but we couldn’t get work permits. The next closest city was Seattle, so we decided to give that a shot.”

The Keims settled in quickly, busking in Pike Place Market and near the Seattle Center, eventually finding Husak in a coffee shop. “Bob really wanted to be in a band,” says Snow, “and we found out that we listened to a lot of the same music and really hit it off.” At that time, Husak was playing guitar in the band, with a revolving series of drummers backing them up (“We must have had close to 10 drummers in one year,” recalls Snow).

The Keims’ restless spirit kicked in yet again, spurring The Blakes on to Los Angeles, where the three moved into a single room at a Days Inn, surviving off what meager earnings they could pull busking and playing the occasional show. Garnet says that, though it brought the band closer together, living in L.A. did not suit their sensibilities “Now that I’ve lived there, I realize that it’s not who we are.”

The most positive aspect of that trip was that the Keim brothers were able to convince Husak to take up the drums full time, solidifying the lineup that has been gaining acclaim and some diehard fans throughout the Northwest. One of those diehard fans turned out to be Matt Sullivan, the owner of Light In The Attic Records. “He started calling us relentlessly,” recalls Garnet. “I mean, we were shopping a demo around, but here was this one guy who was at every single show and would hang out in the van drinking with us. Once we got to know him, we figured out that he had really good taste and that it would be a great label to be on.”

One of the few non-reissue releases on LITA, The Blakes self-titled CD — which will be in stores this month — is a quick (13 songs in just over 30 minutes) and dirty affair, matching the forward thrust of 1980s New Wave pop with the fuzzy energy of late ‘60s rock.

The Blakes have been steadily selling their album at shows and through various websites, resulting in a deafening amount of buzz surrounding the band. It has also opened up a wide range of opportunities, including the possible use of some of their songs in T.V. shows this fall, and a chance for The Blakes to act in an independent film (playing a band, of course).

Although they welcome these opportunities, The Blakes have their eyes firmly set on the future. “We just want to keep working and keep having fun,” says Snow. “I mean, all I’ve wanted to do my whole life is make a lot of records and write great songs that inspire other people.”

www.myspace.com/theblakes

Catch The Blakes this month on their West Coast tour.