Album Notes

staring at the sea is one of those bands that seems to keep evolving, though not necessarily by choice. Formed in early 2000, after the ending of Collins Gate - a local electric/acoustic world rock band, founder Kent Meloy wanted to "strip down and get simple". Over the next two years, dozens of songs were written, unwritten, rewritten, put in self-addressed envelopes and set on fire...until the core of the band's sound began to emerge, a playfully moody modern-rock soup with a garnish of ambient sensibilities. A year into the project he was joined by Connie Hymer, a veteran singer who's influences spring from Joni Mitchell to the Beastie Boys. Her energy and talent pushed the music to the next level. Doug Dunlap, bassist and self-diagnosed synth-head brought another perspective to the music, and aided kent in the production of "small moves", the band's debut CD. Drum duties were begun by local jazz percussionist Dan Walzer, and finished up by Jeff Koehnke, whom Kent and Connie had worked with earlier. Now that "small moves" is finally completed, the band hopes to start focusing on the reason to be a band in the first place...to play their music live, and continue the evolution of sound far into the future.