{{Short description|American indie rock band}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians --> | name = The Spinanes | image = The_Spinanes.jpg | caption = | image_size = | background = group_or_band | alias = | origin = Portland, Oregon (US) | genre = Indie rock | years_active = 1991–2000 | label = IMP Records, Sub Pop, Merge | website = | current_members = | past_members = Rebecca Gates<br />Scott Plouf }}
'''The Spinanes''' were an American indie rock band, primarily active during the 1990s.<ref name="Larkin90">{{cite book|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=Virgin Books|date=2000|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0427-8|page=371}}</ref> The band was founded by and initially consisted only of singer-songwriter/guitarist Rebecca Gates and drummer Scott Plouf.<ref name="Larkin90"/><ref name=NPR2012>{{Cite web |title=Rebecca Gates: The Spinanes' Star Floats On |last=Antrim |first=Taylor |publisher=NPR |date=August 21, 2012 |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/08/21/159395172/rebecca-gates-the-spinanes-star-floats-on }}</ref> They released three albums on the Sub Pop label before Gates retired the name in 2001 and began releasing music as a solo artist;<ref name=NPR2012 /> Plouf began playing with Built to Spill in 1996 and left The Spinanes shortly thereafter to become their permanent drummer.<ref name="Larkin90"/>
==History== The duo formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1991,<ref name="Larkin90"/> just as worldwide interest in the music scene of the Pacific Northwest was beginning to crest. The Spinanes played one of their first shows at the International Pop Underground Convention in August 1991 in Olympia, Washington.<ref name=Guardian2011>{{Cite web |title=Riot Grrrl get noticed |last=Hopper |first=Jessica |work=The Guardian |date=June 13, 2011 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/14/riot-grrrl-get-noticed }}</ref> After releasing two singles on the local label IMP Records in 1992, they were signed by Sub Pop, who issued the single "Spitfire" in mid-1993, followed that October by their first full-length album, ''Manos''.<ref name="Larkin90"/> Much was made of The Spinanes' unorthodox lineup – specifically, the lack of bass guitar – but it proved invaluable in helping them forge a more singular, original sound. In a March 2010 review, nearly two decades after the album's release, eMusic praised them for having "a sense of negative space that's rare for a rock band", then went on to describe their sound as "Gates's dreamy murmur and resonant, open-tuned riffs up top, Plouf's inexorable attack at the bottom, and nothing but air between them." ''Manos'' became the first album released by Sub Pop to hit No. 1 on the college radio charts;<ref name=NPR2012 /> its second single, "Noel, Jonah and Me", received considerable airplay on college and alternative radio stations and video outlets such as MTV's 120 Minutes. A video was also made for a third single, "Sunday", in 1994, but the duo's appearances over the following two years were largely limited to separate guest spots on their friends' records. Merge Records re-issued ''Manos'' in 2018.<ref name=Vogue2018>{{Cite web |title=Talking to Rebecca Gates of the Spinanes, as Manos—a Lost '90s Indie Rock Classic—Gets a Deluxe Reissue |last=Antrim |first=Taylor |publisher=Vogue |date=December 5, 2018 |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/rebecca-gates-spinanes-interview-manos-reissue }}</ref>
Gates provided backup vocals on Elliott Smith's "St. Ides Heaven" (from his self-titled album), as well as on multiple tracks on Ben Lee's first album, ''Grandpaw Would''. Plouf did a brief stint in Team Dresch, and appeared on their first single, "Hand Grenade"; he also played on the Beck album ''One Foot in the Grave''.
The Spinanes regrouped in 1996 for the release of their second album, ''Strand'',<ref name="Larkin90"/> which was bookended by the singles "Madding" and "Lines and Lines". Elliott Smith, in turn, provides backup vocals, as does John Moen (of Dharma Bums and The Decemberists). Around the same time, Plouf began playing with Built to Spill, but due to that band's signing with Warner Bros. Records, he was unable to continue with both bands full-time, and in 1997, he made the decision to leave The Spinanes.<ref name="Larkin90"/>
Gates then relocated to Chicago, Illinois, reconfigured The Spinanes as a three-piece with bassist Joanna Bolme and drummer Jerry Busher, and began work on another album at Easley McCain Recording in Memphis, Tennessee. Additional tracks were recorded with John McEntire (of Tortoise and The Sea and Cake) at his Soma Electronic Music Studios,<ref name=NPR2012 /> one of which features vocalist Sam Prekop (also of The Sea and Cake). The resulting album, ''Arches and Aisles'', was released in June 1998.<ref name="Larkin90"/> An album consisting of early Spinanes singles, ''Imp Years'', came out in 2000. Gates shed the Spinanes moniker in 2001 and released ''Ruby Series''.<ref name=NPR2012 />
==Discography== ===Albums=== * ''Manos'' (Sub Pop, 1993; Merge re-issue, 2018) * ''Strand'' (Sub Pop, 1996) * ''Arches and Aisles'' (Sub Pop, 1998)<ref name="Larkin90"/>
===EPs=== * ''Imp Years'' (Merge Records, 2000)
===Singles=== * ''Madding (Single Version)/10 Metre Platform'' (Sub Pop, 1996) * ''All Sold Out'' (Sub Pop, 1996)
===Compilation appearances=== * "Jad Fair Drives Women Wild" on ''International Pop Underground Convention'' (K Records, 1991) * "Stupid Crazy" on ''Rock Stars Kill'' (Kill Rock Stars, 1994) * "Grand Prize" on ''Wild and Wooly: The Northwest Rock Collection'' (Sub Pop/Experience Music Project, 2000)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://russellbates.com/work/the-spinanes-noel-jonah-and-me/ "Noel, Jonah, and Me" music video (from ''Manos'')] *[http://russellbates.com/work/the-spinanes-sunday/ "Sunday" music video (from ''Manos'')]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Spinanes, The}} Category:American indie rock groups Category:Musical groups from Illinois Category:Musical groups from Portland, Oregon Category:Musical groups from Olympia, Washington Category:Musical groups established in 1991 Category:1991 establishments in Oregon Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Category:Sub Pop artists Category:American musical duos