- Jeff J. Lin: guitar, piano, violin
- Aaron Huffman: bass, guitar
- Michael Welke: drums
History
(1992–1996) Early years
Harvey Danger began in 1992 with University of Washington classmates Lin and Huffman deciding "it might be fun to start a band." Taking their name from a phrase graffitied onto the wall of the UW student newspaper office, the duo played house parties and bars as they were until the following year, when they invited Evan Sult to be their drummer. Despite his complete lack of drumming experience, Sult agreed, bringing along his own similarly-inexperienced classmate Sean Nelson.The foursome played their first show on April 21, 1994 at the now-defunct Lake Union Pub; Sult and Nelson, both under 21, were only permitted entry during the set. That summer, the band moved into Nelson's student house together and began holding band practices in the basement. More shows at the Lake Union Pub and other low-rent Seattle clubs followed, leading to exposure in ''The Seattle Times''.As the band began playing more shows at increasingly reputable venues, their songwriting gained momentum. In 1995, the band produced a six-song demo tape, sold at shows for $3. When three-quarters of the group became unemployed in 1996, they decided to devote yet more attention to the band, moving to another house and renting a rehearsal space. Their shows continued to improve, to the point of becoming regular weekend performers at the Crocodile CafAc.The band recorded a three-track demo tape with producer John Goodmanson, a demo tape which drew attention from some generally-uninterested major labels and the very-interested Greg Glover, a London Records intern who ran his own small label, the Arena Rock Recording Company. Glover expressed interest in releasing a 7" single, and Harvey Danger provided him with an additional three songsaincluding "Flagpole Sitta"aalso recorded with Goodmanson. On the strength of these, Glover agreed to bankroll a full-length album.(1997–1998) Success
''Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?'' was released in July 1997 to local critical acclaim. The record performed well on college radio charts, and sold steadily in Seattle and New York, among other cities. By the end of the year, however, the band felt as though the record had lost its momentum and contemplated dissolving the band. Shortly before taking January of 1998 off to contemplate their future, Nelson gave a copy of ''Merrymakers'' to a KNDD DJ. Within weeks, "Flagpole Sitta" had become KNDD's most-requested song.Influential L.A. radio station KROQ picked the track up, and stations across the country shortly followed suit. When Greg Glover of Arena Rock was hired full-time at Slash/London, Harvey Danger quit their day jobs and signed to that label. "Flagpole Sitta" reached number one on radio charts, made ''Billboard'' magazine's Top 40, appeared in a number of films and television shows. Its video found heavy rotation on MTV and VH1.The band toured extensively from March through December of 1998, playing headlining and support gigs with some of the most popular artists of the year, and appearing at many radio festivals. ''Merrymakers'''s second single, "Private Helicopter," was released in the fall of 1998 to lukewarm reception, and in December, Harvey Danger began writing songs for their follow-up album.(1999–2001) Fall from grace
Harvey Danger began production of their second album in March 1999 at Bearsville Studios, near Woodstock, NY. Slash/London was unusually uninvolved in the recording process, a harbinger of what was to come. After three weeks of recording at Bearsville and some finishing touches applied in Seattle, the band submitted the record, ''King James Version'', to their label, and waited. What the band refers to as "elaborate corporate reshuffling" began almost immediately after they finished their album: mergers and acquisitions among record labels left them and their record in limbo for over a year, not knowing to whom they were signed, nor when ''KJV'' would be released.Attempts to release the album on then-fledgling indie label Barsuk Records fell through due to legal complications, a tour with The Pretenders fell through due to financial difficulties, and, just when the band was about to give up, newly-reorganized London/Sire Records released ''King James Version'' on September 12, 2000. Reviews were strong, but buzz was almost nonexistent: sales of the album were slow, and single "Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo" performed poorly on radio and MTV.Harvey Danger played their final show in Portland on April 21, 2001, seven years to the day after their first show. Without a record contract, and having found any enjoyment in the band long since evaporated, the group disbanded.(2001–2003) Hiatus
Lin returned to school, but the other former members remained musically active: Sult relocated to Chicago and joined the band Stems; Huffman formed Hotel; Nelson recorded and toured with The Long Winters and worked on solo material, sometimes with Lin and Huffman; Nelson also became a partner in Barsuk Records and a DJ for Seattle's KEXP. The idea of reforming Harvey Danger was raised several times, but rejected.(2004–2005) Reunion
Nelson, Huffman, and Lin entered a studio together for the first time in three years to record tracks for Nelson's solo project, with Nada Surf's Ira Elliot accompanying on drums. The session went so well that the trio agreed to begin writing music togetherawith "no strings attached". Sult, busy in Chicago, is unable to return, but sends his blessing for Harvey Danger's reincarnation.April 21, 2004 saw both the 10th anniversary of Harvey Danger and their first show since 2001. With Nada Surf opening and Elliot again filling in on drums, the band played Seattle's Crocodile CafAc to a rapturous audience. More live shows followed, including appearances at the Saquatch Festival and Bumbershoot.Free of pressure, expectations, and a major label, the band found themselves renewed and rededicated to making music, recruited their drummer from Bumbershoot, Michael Welke, full-time, and formalized their return as a band. 2004 ended with the self-release of a five-song EP, ''Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas (Sometimes)'' and another sold-out show at the Crocodile.In February 2005, Harvey Danger entered Robert Lang Studios to record their third album. Joining them again was Goodmanson, accompanied by Steve Fisk. The recording process ran smoothly, and ''Little By Little...'' was released on September 13, 2005, exactly five years and one day after ''King James Version''.Internet release of ''Little By Little...''
Citing "a long-held sense that the practice now being demonized by the music biz as 'illegal' file sharing can be a friend to the independent musician," Harvey Danger released their third album, ''Little By Little...'', as a download via BitTorrent a week after its release, and directly from the band's website a week after that. Within two months of release, the album had been downloaded nearly 100,000 times, while the first pressing of physical copies (packaged with a disc of bonus material) had nearly sold out.Trivia
Harvey Danger Discography
{| class="wikitable"Year
Title
Label
1998
''Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?''
Arena Rock Recording Co./London/Slash
2000
''King James Version''
London/Sire
2004
''Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas (Sometimes) (EP)''
Phonographic
2005
''Little by Little...''
Phonographic