Heatmiser was an alternative rock band that originated in Portland, Oregon in 1992. Consisting of Elliott Smith (guitar and vocals), Neil Gust (guitar and vocals), Brandt Peterson (bass; later to be replaced by Sam Coomes, frontman of Quasi), and Tony Lash (drums), they were known for their well-crafted lyrics and songs often featuring the juxtaposition of melancholic and cheery words and melodies. The pop-oriented songs of Elliott Smith were a contrast to the darker songs of Gust, while both Smith and Gust's songs touched on subjects such as anger, alienation, loneliness and despair.

Formation and history

Neil Gust and Elliott Smith met and formed the band with Jason Hornick (who attended college nearby and had played in a high-school band with Smith). Hornick's time in the band was brief, probably due to academics, and soon the band was just Gust and Smith. Both were attending classes at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts at the time. In clubs in nearby Northampton, the pair would perform original songs, as well as covers of songs by Ringo Starr and Elvis Costello.http://www.sweetadeline.net/bio5.htmlUpon their graduation from Hampshire and return to Portland, Smith and Gust reconfigured the band into the line-up it is known for today. Brandt Peterson's stay in the band, however, was short-lived; he was deemed to be "too confrontational" by the other members and was asked to leave. Sam Coomes, a friend of Smith's, was brought in to play bass, and played on Heatmiser's last album Mic City Sons and on tour. Tony Lash went to high school with Elliott Smith, and played flute in the school band. He left the band in late 1994, prior to what would be their final tour. John Moen (later of The Decemberists) was brought in to play drums.http://wweek.com/___ALL_OLD_HTML/timbre062498.htmlBrendan Benson was the opening act for Heatmiser on that tour. Reporter Jeff Stark's article about a date on that tour, a December 1, 1996 show at San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill club, recalled Smith as "part charismatic rock star, part bar-band regular, oozing nonchalant confidence".Heatmiser also had a less-serious side:Heatmiser was labeled as a "homocore" or "queercore" band by the mainstream press, because of the themes espoused in the songs of the openly gay Gust.http://www.sweetadeline.net/bio5.html It was also speculated that Gust and Smith were lovers. Elliott Smith repeatedly denied this in interviews or that he was even gay. In one interview Smith said he "would probably be a lot happier if [1] was gay." Smith also said that Gust's being gay was "not a big deal, [2] anyone's business".Elliott Smith later dismissed the group's music as "loud", and his own singing on their first album as "an embarrassment". Smith also bemoaned that being in Heatmiser changed the songs he was writing at the time into "loud rock songs with no dynamic."http://www.sweetadeline.net/bio5.html Heatmiser also frustrated the members of the band. In an interview, Smith recalled:Later in his career, Smith believed that his blatant dismissal of the band in interviews for his solo albums hurt Neil Gust and led to discontent between them. The success of Roman Candle and Elliott Smith caused tensions in the band, especially between Smith and Gust, and led to the band's break-up.http://www.undertheradarmag.com/es.htmlThe band broke up in the fall of 1996. Gust went on to play in the band No. 2. Coomes carried on as half of Quasi, as well as playing as a guest musician for Built to Spill and Sleater-Kinney. Lash currently keeps himself busy as a producer. He helped with the production of Death Cab for Cutie's first two studio albums (Something About Airplanes and We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes). Peterson currently teaches anthropology at Michigan State Universityhttp://www.reg.msu.edu/read/UCC/Updated/07faclty.pdfThe Arizona rock band Jimmy Eat World covered Heatmiser's "Half Right" (from Mic City Sons) on Stay on My Side Tonight, their 2005 EP, and make reference to the same song in "Kill" on Futures:

Discography

Studio albums

• Dead Air (1993)
• Cop and Speeder (1994)
• Mic City Sons (1996)

EPs

• The Music of Heatmiser (1992)
• Yellow No. 5 (1994)

Singles

• "Stray" (1993; B-sides: "Can't Be Touched", "Wake"; Cavity Search Records)
• "Sleeping Pill" (1994; B-side: "Temper"; Cavity Search Records)
• "Everybody Has It" (1996; B-side: "Dirty Dream"; Cavity Search Records)

Compilation and soundtrack inclusions

• Zero Effect: Motion Picture Soundtrack (1998) (Song: "Rest My Head Against the Wall")
• Puddlestomp (Song: "Mightier Than You [3]")
• A Benefit For Outside In (Song: "Mightier Than You [4]")
• Live at the X-Ray (Song: "Bottle Rocket [5]")
• Pet Sounds, Volume 1 (Song: "Junior Mint")
• Music to Push You Over the Edge (Song: "Stray")

References

1990s music groupsAlternative musical groupsAmerican indie rock groupsOregon musical groupsPortland, OregonMusical groups established in 1992Musical groups disestablished in 1996HeatmiserHeatmiser