* En anglais uniquement
Indie-jangle pop ensemble
Julie Ocean (the name of a band, not a singer,) based their operations in Washington, D.C. for the scant few years of their existence. Initially Friendship Flower Shop, named for a local retail florist, they transformed to
Julie Ocean, inspired by a song from the early-'80s Northern Ireland group
the Undertones. Early influences for the group include
the Beatles,
the Ramones,
Orange Juice,
Aztec Camera, and Flying Nuns. Bandmembers had known each other as early as 1990 through Peter Cortner, the singer from
Dag Nasty. Never a touring group,
Julie Ocean remained a local cult band, with some out of town dates on the Eastern Seaboard, opening for
the Dirtbombs,
Apples in Stereo and
Half Japanese. Their sole recording
Long Gone & Nearly There was produced by
Geoff Sanoff -- whose credits include
Luna,
Fountains of Wayne, and
the Secret Machines -- for the Philadelphia based Transit of Venus label and distributed by Redeye Media.
Julie Ocean comprises former
Velocity Girl and
High-Back Chairs guitarist and vocalist Jim Spellman, ex-
Saturday People,
Tree Fort Angst, and Glo-Worm guitarist and vocalist Terry Banks, former Weatherhead bassist Hunter Bennett, drummer Alex Daniels, who previously worked with
Swiz,
Severin, and
Sweetbelly Freakdown. The band dissolved in 2008 when Jim Spellman moved to Denver, CO to take a position with CNN. ~ Michael G. Nastos