Here’s a nice piece in Seattle alt-weekly The Stranger on The Long Winters, a very pleasant band from Seattle. The piece is fine, in the usual too-long alt-weekly way (don’t those people have editors?), but the real kicker comes on the third page of the story. That’s where the paper, in the spirit of full disclosure, details all the ways the paper and the band are intertwined. Some highlights:
Not noted in Jeff DeRoche’s fine feature on the Long Winters are the numerous CONFLICTS OF INTEREST that may have colored the writing and editing process. Indeed, the very selection of the Long Winters for a feature article in The Stranger smacks of favoritism. To facilitate the drafting of outraged letters to the editor, I have been asked to identify each instance of COI.
Mr. DeRoche’s article is about one JOHN RODERICK, lead singer/guitarist/songwriter for the Long Winters. Mr. Roderick has, in the past, been an occasional contributor to this paper. The Stranger’s film editor, SEAN NELSON, is also a member of the Long Winters, and Mr. Nelson was once the lead singer for the band HARVEY DANGER, which featured EVAN SULT on drums. Mr. Sult, like Mr. Roderick, has occasionally contributed to this paper.
Additionally, Mr. Sult is the co-owner of 10TH AVENUE EAST PUBLISHING, a local publisher that recently released a book by Stranger calendar editor BRIAN GOEDDE (This World Is Yours, $10). Continuing along the Mr. Nelson vein, Mr. Nelson once worked at Metro Cinemas with BRADLEY STEINBACHER, with whom he now works with at The Stranger. Mr. Steinbacher’s former ROOMMATE used to date John Roderick who, readers will recall, is the subject of Mr. DeRoche’s article. Mr. Steinbacher’s former girlfriend, STEPHANIE PURE, went to high school with BO GILLILAND, former member of Western State Hurricanes, Mr. Roderick’s former band.
Additionally, Mr. Nelson’s grandmother, the late Evelyn Barrows, was a Polish Jew. POLAND is a country in EUROPE, and Europe is the continent that Mr. Roderick WALKED ACROSS; Mr. Roderick’s walk across Europe is the central metaphor of Mr. DeRoche’s article. Mr. Goedde studied in Madrid, a large city in Europe, and Harvey Danger toured Europe, but did not play Madrid. The drummer for the Long Winters, MICHAEL SHILLING, a Jew–like John Roderick, a Jesuit-educated Protestant, and Evan Sult, also a Protestant–has written for The Stranger.
[long entertaining section snipped]
Finally, the aforementioned Mr. Gilliland, who is, as already noted, a former member of Western State Hurricanes, is currently the boyfriend of former Stranger contributor (and current associate editor at the Seattle Weekly) LEAH GREENBLATT. Ms. Greenblatt has a pretty sweet ass, as does Mr. Roderick.