Biography

Comprised of five singer/songwriters, the members of L.A.'s indie alt-country band Everest boast some impressive pedigrees, having played with groups like Earlimart, Sebadoh, the Folk Implosion, Slydell, Mike Stinson, Great Northern, Alaska!, John Vanderslice, and the Watson Twins. Sharing a mutual admiration for each other's respective track records, the five were drawn together by a common desire to make classic-sounding pop songs in the style of earthy bands like Wilco and Calexico. Russell Pollard, Jason Soda, Joel Graves, Rob Douglas, and Derek Brown first assembled in 2007, and connected quickly. Graves was especially excited about the instant chemistry, remarking in interviews, "I'm getting to play with my favorite singer, my favorite bass player, my favorite guitar player, and my favorite drummer. It's the band I've always wanted to be in." In August 2007, they entered New Monkey studio with Foo Fighters producer Mike Terry to capture a set of light, acoustic-based songs on vintage equipment. After only two weeks of recording, one week of mixing, and an afternoon of mastering, their debut album, Ghost Notes, was finished, and they started shopping it around. Neil Young's Vapor Records label -- home of Tegan and Sara and Jonathan Richman -- seemed a logical choice, and after signing there, the group made plans to tour in promotion of Ghost Notes, which was scheduled for release in May of 2008. Two years later, they returned with On Approach, an album co-released by Warner Brothers in conjunction with Vapor. The band toured ceaselessly in support of the album, but the Warner Brothers connection didn't last long. In the beginning of 2011, road-weary from constant gigging, the band was dropped from the label and set about the process of regrouping for their next album. Teaming up with producer Rob Schnapf, well known for his work with Beck, Elliott Smith and many others, the band set about on a very careful and considered recording process for their third album Ownerless. The album was slated for release on new label ATO in summer of 2012 . ~ Jason Lymangrover, Rovi