Music Monday: Meet Harvey Danger!

Harvey Danger

Welcome to Music Mondays! I have a special treat for you this week! I had brunch this weekend with a long-time friend, JEFF LIN, who just happens to be the guitarist for HARVEY DANGER! Yup, the band who had the hugely famous hit single, “Flagpole Sitta.”

I’ve always been a Harvey Danger fan – their music is smart, quirky, witty, and extremely catchy. They also rock hard live in concert!

(Keep reading after the jump for more info on my Harvey Danger pal Jeff Lin & his awesome band!)

Me & pal/Harvey Danger guitarist Jeff Lin!

I first met Jeff waaaaay back in 1992 when I was an intern at The Seattle Times. I was working with a mutual friend at the Times who introduced me to Jeff. At the time, Jeff and his friend Aaron Huffman were students at “U-Dub” (University of Washington). They had just started this band.

I remember visiting the UW newspaper office and saw the words “Harvey Danger” scrawled on the wall. Our friend told me that was the name Jeff and Aaron had given their new band.

So imagine my excitement when I moved to Los Angeles in the mid ’90s and started hearing this catchy little tune called “Flagpole Sitta” on the radio and the DJ announcing the song was by a new band called … Harvey Danger! I think the first time I heard the song, I started SCREAMING in the car. I was like, “OMG! JEFF!!!!!! YOU GUYS MADE IT!” 🙂

Their first album, Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone was released in 1997. Their single, Flagpole Sitta, put them on the map, followed by several more amazing recordings.

Here are some of my favorite songs…

Harvey Danger, “Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTnLVX689fE

Harvey Danger, “Save It For Later” (their remake of one of my favorite English Beat songs)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmTfAXzz3ok

Harvey Danger, “Private Helicopter”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNH82_MaBvA

And of course, “Flagpole Sitta.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJo0MT3wDBs

I saw Harvey Danger play live in Los Angeles on one of their last tours a few years ago. I wish the band was still around, but they had a great career and wrote a ton of amazing songs. I highly recommend getting not just their first album but also “King James Version” (2000), “Little By Little” (2005), “Cream and Bastards Rise” (2005) and their final recording, “Dead Sea Scrolls” (2009). You can download their music online at their website.

I’m SUPER proud of my friend Jeff Lin, who is an amazing musician and a totally cool human being. 🙂 It was so awesome to see Jeff this weekend!

For more info on Harvey Danger, go here: http://www.harveydanger.com/

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Hope you enjoyed today’s blog. I look forward to your comments. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s TV Tuesday! Until then, Happy Writing! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! 🙂