* En anglais uniquement
Unsung heroes of the Seattle rock community, the witty, rough-edged pop unit
Young Fresh Fellows formed in 1982. Originally comprised of vocalist/bassist
Scott McCaughey, guitarist Chuck Carroll, and drummer Tad Hutchison, the group debuted in 1984 with
The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest, an understated pop nugget featuring whimsical numbers including "Teenage Dogs in Trouble," "Power Mowers Theme," and "Rock and Roll Pest Control."
After recruiting bassist Jim Sangster to allow frontman
McCaughey to switch over to the guitar,
the Fellows returned to the studio for 1986's
Topsy Turvy, spotlighting the adolescent hijinks of tracks like "You've Got Your Head on Backwards," "Hang Out Right," and "The New John Agar." The following year's The Men Who Loved Music (aka "Chicago 19") and the follow-up Refreshments EP solidified the band's cult following, which included among its ranks a number of other members of the indie music scene;
the Replacements'
Paul Westerberg considered the
Fellows kindred spirits, and the two groups often toured in tandem.
After 1988's
Totally Lost, Carroll left the group. In the wake of his departure, the remaining three
Young Fresh Fellows issued an authorized bootleg titled Beans and Tolerance (aka "Simply Wonderful, Wonderfully Simple") before enlisting
Fastbacks kingpin
Kurt Bloch for 1989's rootsy
This One's for the Ladies, issued concurrently with
McCaughey's solo side project
My Chartreuse Opinion.
With producer
Butch Vig in tow,
the Young Fresh Fellows returned in 1991 with Electric Bird Digest, while a team approach was employed for 1993's then-swan song
It's Low Beat Time (including
Vig,
Conrad Uno, Memphis R&B legend
Willie Mitchell, and Seattle garage-rock veteran Kearney Barton). In the wake of
the Fellows' hiatus,
McCaughey formed a new band,
the Minus 5, an ever-changing aggregate of Seattle area all-stars; additionally, he toured as a sideman with his pals in
R.E.M. But
the Young Fresh Fellows still had some life in them after all, and a "comeback" album, Because We Hate You, appeared in 2001, followed eight years later by the
Robyn Hitchcock-produced
I Think This Is from Yep Roc. During the 2010s, the band continued to play a handful of shows most years, and also recorded their 13th long player,
Tiempo de Lujo, for release in 2012. ~ Jason Ankeny & Steve Leggett