Certain bands infuse a sense of place into their music. It’s like you can hear the geography. As Enumclaw ripped through a Monday afternoon Studio Milwaukee Session, the Pacific Northwestness of their sound was a constant — something front man Aramis Johnson explained during the mid-set interview.
“It’s just the way of life there. It just sucks,” he said, drawing a chuckle from the crowd. “I mean, it’s a great place, but for nine months it’s really hard to exist there. So I think it just makes you kind of cynical in a way, and the ’90s were a very cynical, drenched-in-satire era. I think Washingtonians tend to be that way still.”
If life experiences leaking into the music wasn’t enough, Emunclaw made their Washington roots evident during a session that took place a few hours before the band’s Monday night show at Cactus Club. Beyond the band sharing a name with a small city outside Seattle, bass player Eli Edwards sported a hat emblazoned with “TACOMA” as he bounced around next to Johnson, whose Seahawks shirt was a harsh reminder of replacement refs and botched onside kicks.
Those painful football memories (for the audience, anyway) provided the perfect state of mind for the grunge-indebted set Enumclaw shared with 88Nine listeners over the air and Radio Milwaukee members in the room. In particular, “This Light of Mine” felt like a musical version of flannel and Surge, instantly taking any ’90s kid back a few ticks on the calendar.
Besides talking about the time-and-place nature of their music, Johnson reflected on some of the more personal (and difficult) events that informed their upcoming album, Home in Another Life. He also shared a related piece of simple-yet-sage advice, and gave a little love to Milwaukee artist and 88Nine favorite Graham Hunt — before returning to Washington one more time by punctuating the band’s set with “Go Seahawks.”
You can hear the broadcast portion of Enumclaw’s Studio Milwaukee Session using the player at the top of the page and book your spot at our next session by becoming a Radio Milwaukee member.
Set list
- “Not Just Yet”
- “This Light of Mine”
- “Change”
- “Jimmy Neutron” (non-broadcast performance)
