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Alongside fellow natives , Some Velvet Sidewalk helped establish Olympia, WA, as an epicenter of the American indie rock community throughout the 1980s and 1990s, their minimalist sound and wide-eyed world view giving rise to the emergence of the love-rock ethic. Originally a duo comprised of singer/guitarist Al Larsen and drummer Robert Christie, Some Velvet Sidewalk debuted in 1988 with a cassette titled From Playground Till Now; the single "I Know," their first release for the famed local label K Records, followed later that same year. After the full-length Appetite for Extinction, left the group, and was replaced by bassist Don Blair and drummer Martin Bernier in time for 1992's Avalanche; the I Scream EP followed in 1993, and a year later Some Velvet Sidewalk returned with Whirlpool. Though not released until 1995, Shipwreck was actually recorded in 1990 and intended as the band's second album; after issuing the all-new Generate and The Lowdown in 1997, Some Velvet Sidewalk disbanded, with Larsen soon resurfacing in the Polar Bears. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
