The Senate: Face Melting Acoustic Riffage

Amy Kenna
What’s Up Magazine

Before watching The Senate play live, try to throw all your pre-conceived notions about acoustic rock out the window. Then watch this band dismantle any leftover biases with their explosive sound, known by the masses as “face-melting acoustic riffage.” By the end of the evening you will never look at a set of acoustic strings in the same way.

The Seattle-based trio, comprised of Nick Drummond and Oliver Franklin on guitar, and Andrew Pulkrabrek on stand-up bass, is a rare fusion of talents and minds, with an even rarer agenda – to push the acoustic sound barrier beyond known limitations, without percussion.

So how did two thrash metalheads – one a rock n’ roll guitarist, the other a jazz bassist – come together with an African drummer-turned-guitarist to become Seattle’s foremost purveyors of acoustic muscle?

According to the story, Drummond and Franklin attended high school together but didn’t talk much. Franklin went on to form a metal band with vaudeville performer and beatbox extraordinaire Pulkrabrek. One night Franklin re-discovered Drummond, then 19, who was playing a solo guitar set at a local coffeehouse.

Drummond’s unique polyrhythmic playing style, influenced by African guitar virtuosos and a lifelong obsession with time signatures, blew Franklin away, and the two quickly began playing together. It was an interesting merge, considering Franklin played electric guitar almost exclusively until that point. Pulkrabrek joined the scene in 2005, and The Senate was born.

“We wanted to figure out how hard acoustic instruments could actually rock,” Pulkrabrek said.

And here’s proof of their success: The Senate can get virtually any crowd to dance the night away, without drums. Their heavily percussive playing style, coupled with alluring melodies and three-voice harmonies, keep fans coming back for more.

There’s one more factor we should add to the equation, and that is stage presence. Typically clad head-to-toe in black, The Senate isn’t afraid to exude old-fashioned charm and charisma, which today’s attention-starved crowds find irresistible. Herein lies the reason why The Senate rarely plays a show in Bellingham that isn’t packed out. (I’ve confirmed reports of desperate Western students sneaking in through the windows of the Underground Coffeehouse to catch the action.)

“We really define ourselves by our live shows,” Franklin said. “We feed off the room and the night.”

The Senate draws on a range of eclectic influences, from jazz and metal to folk, funk, and Afro-pop. The three share a common love for a hodge-podge of musicians including Bob Dylan, Marilyn Manson, The Beatles, Dave Matthews, Radiohead, Frank Sinatra and AC/DC.

Despite their impressive musical prowess, The Senate members are both down-to-earth and quirky. Drummond is a lover of Noam Chomsky and works at a bike shop for his day job. Pulkrabrek is a lifelong street performer and theatre major. Franklin enjoys existential philosophy – his favorite book is “The Brothers Karamazov” by Dostoevsky – and also studies Russian.

As one would expect from their literary tastes, The Senate is anything but lyrically shallow. Influenced by a self-admittedly “dark world view,” Franklin and Drummond aren”t afraid to explore themes of despair and disillusionment when they confer with their muses. The irony is that songs such as “Broken Dirt” and “Skeleton Line” are still quite dance-able. The Senate also has a dreamy, etherial side, caught in love songs such as “Ocean Song” and “Molly.”

“Each new song is really important to us,” Drummond said. “Songs have an identity, and we’re always exploring what we can do that we haven”t done before.”

The Senate recently released a new album, Live at Solstice, a 2-disc set that showcases new material and captures their live performance on DVD.

Despite their talent and personability, The Senate is still trying to break the ice in the Seattle musical scene. They enjoy playing in cities such as Bellingham and Pullman, where both fans and fellow musicians are encouraging. Their first “show” in Bellingham was a busking session on Western’s campus, and they’ve been digging the energy of the city ever since.

“Bellingham kids are really amazing,” Drummond said. “We love playing here.”

The Senate will be playing in Bellingham this month at Three Trees Coffeehouse, on Wednesday, Aug. 21. Doors open at 7 p.m. and I suggest getting there early. You don’t want to miss out.