Beneath the Underdog: Pickwick

There's no better way to describe Pickwick than as a soulful band from Seattle. White boys with soul are the new "white girls with ass". While we all know who the originators of soul AND ass are, you can't help but admit that the once rhythm-less and ass-less white boys and girls are slowly approaching "lighter shade of brown" status.   Granted, their brand of soul is more Hall and Oates and less Marvin Gaye, it's soul nonetheless. More importantly, it's soul done tastefully and with an edge that doesn't sacrifice the principles of its origin. Although lead vocalist, Galen Dillard-Disston bares a striking resemblance to Lewis from Revenge of the Nerds (with a curly 'fro), don't count Pickwick as a band attempting to hustle their way into soul like Woody Harrellson hustled his way on to the courts in White Men Can't Jump. Pickwick is a band of talent musicians with a  folksy soul sound that is both authentic and refreshing. In fact, the band reinvented their sound shortly after forming, scrapping the traditional indie folk and replacing it with more soul; a move that appeared challenging but resulted in the band achieving an unexpected level of comfort.

Mistakenly overlooked, Seattle has always been a breeding ground for undiscovered talent. Pickwick follows a long line of tradition that includes juggernaut artists like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, the legendary Quincy Jones and in recent years Fleet Foxes. The band has released 3 EP's, Myth's Vol. 1-3. Each 2 song EP finds the band delving deeper into unknown territory and coming up more self reflective than tentative. Although driven by the passionate vocals of Galen Disston, the band relies heavily on percussion and bass much like the soul genre they are undoubtedly influenced by. Pickwick describes their sound as "lo fi soul". Regardless of how it's categorized, there's no denying the potential for growth with this band. I'm gonna go ahead and call it now, 2012 is going to be a big year for Pickwick. Their tour begins this month, highlighted by a stop in Austin, TX for SXSW. Get to know Pickwick.

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