The Unnatural Helpers have been banging around Seattle for a few years now as the perennial hobbyhorse of singer / drummer / songwriter / sole consistent member Dean Whitmore, who has also spent time with such Seattle outfits as the Intelligence, Welcome and Dipers. Despite the myriad lineup changes over the years, the band has managed to retain and expand on its original sound in a steady and cohesive way – anyone who has witnessed the live show over the years will be well familiar with the band’s taut, muscular guitar-rock, driven by Whitmore’s whip-tight drumming and usually caustic, often self-deprecating vocals. Oh, and the songs are always short. Very short.
No words should be wasted listing off the dozen or so people that have passed through the ranks, and even as this is being typed it remains impossible to guess at who all is playing in the current lineup of the band, so let’s just agree to focus on the folks that played on the record. Guitar and sporadic vocal duties are held down by Andrew Greager (Scraps, Popular Shapes) and Johnnie Heinz, while Andrew Sullivan (The Trashies) provides swaggering bass lines throughout, as well as some guitar and the occasional backing vocal. All the way through Whitmore’s half sung / half shouted vocals and lashing drums seem to be racing the rest of the instruments to end of the song.
UNNATURAL HELPERS
07/20 – Seattle, WA – Funhouse !
07/21 – Portland, OR – The Know
07/22 – Oakland, CA – The New Parish #
07/23 – Fullerton, CA – Burger Records ^
07/24 – San Diego, CA – Eleven Bar ^
07/25 – Los Angeles, CA – Dark Horse Saloon ^
07/26 – San Pedro, CA – TBD ^
07/27 – Palm Springs, CA – Dillon Roadhouse ^
07/28 – San Francisco, CA – Hemlock ^ *
07/29 – Davis, CA – House party at the Hub ^
! – w/ Tit Pig
# – 1-2-3-4 Go! Anniversary Fest
^ – w/ Uzi Rash
* – w/ Eat Skull
Unnatural Helpers – Sunshine / Pretty Girls by hardlyartrecords