Known primarily as one-half of the Portland, Oregon-based indie rock unit
Quasi -- drummer and ex-wife
Janet Weiss (
Sleater-Kinney) completes the duo --
Sam Coomes is a prolific multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who has been musically active since the 1980s. Born in 1964 in Sherman, Texas,
Coomes grew up in Southern California. His first band, the ramshackle art-rockers Donner Party, formed in 1983 and saw
Coomes taking on guitar, violin, and banjo duties. They issued a pair of LPs before disbanding in 1989. The following year saw
Coomes, who had since relocated to Portland, form Motorgoat with then-wife
Weiss. The project yielded a pair of cassettes and a 7" before ceasing operations and morphing into
Quasi in 1993. Employing a bluesy, easy rock vibe that has led some to describe the duo as the indie
Fleetwood Mac -- they had divorced prior to the band's inception --
Quasi began releasing material shortly after forming, and since 2013's
Mole City, have issued nine critically acclaimed full-length LPs. In 1994,
Coombes was also playing bass in the grunge/alt-rock unit
Heatmiser, which was co-led by
Elliott Smith.
Coombes has recorded and performed with a bevy of regional artists, including
Built to Spill, Jandek,
Pink Mountain, and
Elliott Smith, just to name a few, and has provided scores for multiple films from underground filmmaker Vanessa Renwick. In 2016,
Coomes released his first solo album, the wild-eyed, carnival sideshow-esque
Bugger Me. ~ James Christopher Monger