Scrabbel

Scrabbel was formed in 1999 by two old high school friends Dan Lee and Becky Barron. On the strength of their debut show in 2000 at a sold out event for the San Francisco Intl' Asian American Film Festival, they were approached by a label to record a record. They released their first full length in 2001 on Kittridge Records. The music was full of imagination and incorporated unconventional instruments such as a Speak & Spell. The self-titled CD was rated 4 out of 5 stars by Allmusic and the SF Weekly's review called it "a Sgt. Pepper's for the twee set".
In 2002, the duo split up, but Dan Lee continued to work under the name Scrabbel. Highly influenced by all things '65 to '75, Dan drew upon his love for bands like the Beatles, Love, the Who, the Zombies, David Bowie, and T Rex to create the follow-up.
He took time off in 2003 to become the keyboard player for the The Aislers Set, and toured extensively around the US and Europe. In between tours, Dan worked hard writing new songs and building a new live band to perform as Scrabbel.
The new recordings sought the help of guest musicians: Alicia Vanden Heuval (The Aislers Set), Pete Nguyen (Total Shutdown), and Gary Olson (Ladybug Transistor). But the most important change was the addition of Hellen Jo, whose cello is featured throughout the CD. Released by Three Ring Records in 2005, the follow-up CD, titled 1909, is leaps and bounds beyond the first record. The music embodies new arrangements to accompany the standard guitar, bass, and drums lineup. There are 808 beats, clarinet, and of course, cello and violin to add a unique layer of texture to these songs. Every song promises to be different from the last, but still manages to be a cohesive collection of songs that make up the album, 1909.
2005 And Beyond
Scrabbel has seen a solid line up since March 2005 with the core members consisting of Dan Lee, Hellen Jo, Stanley Lam, Chris Cline, Atsushi Murase and Aya Nakamura. 2005 also saw the release of 1909 on the San Francisco label Three Ring Records which has remained Scrabbel's label home for the past 4 years. Upon 1909's release, it was the 2nd most added record with the College Music Journal the week of its release and peaked at number 53 in the top 200, a feat considering the band has never toured extensively. That same year Hijacked Tunes was released and featured a collection of covers recorded by the band and included the song Sometimes by My Bloody Valentine. After hearing Scrabbel's cover of Sometimes, Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo was quoted in a Pitchfork article saying that, "I guess it was that same trip out to San Francisco, our friend Dan Lee, whom we met when he was playing with the Aislers Set, gave us the CD by his new band, Scrabbel. It's a record of cover songs, and they're all really good, but they cover a My Bloody Valentine song, Sometimes, and it's beautiful."
Film and television
In the fall of 2007, Scrabbel made a stop-motion music video for their song "Emily, I" with videographer, Paul Jaffe.
The video showcased artwork and costumes by San Francisco artist, Nathalie Roland, and a comic by James Kochalka, which was about meeting Scrabbel member Atsushi Murase. This 3 minute video features a driving Dog and his sidekick Hot Dog, a finger skateboarder skating around San Francisco, and a dance routine by a John Lennon Yellow Submarine toy. The video was featured on the front page of YouTube in early 2008. It was then screened for audiences at the 2008 SF Intl' Asian American Film Festival, 2008 Visual Communications Film Festival in Los Angeles, and the 2008 Chicago Asian American Film Festival.
The song, Pillowmint, which is on the self-titled Scrabbel CD, is featured on the VH1 show Free Radio, once during a scene w/ Spanx creator, and again in a scene where pro-skateboarder, Tony Hawk, waits in the lobby.
Members Past/Present
*Dan Lee (Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Clarinet)
*Becky Barron (Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards)
*Hellen Jo (Cello, Keyboards)
*Chris Cline (Drums)
*Nathalie Roland (Vocals, Bells)
*Aya Nakamura (Vocals, Keyboards, Bells, Percussion)
*Atsushi Murase (Guitar, Bass)
*Stanely Lam (Bass, Guitar, Vocals)
Contributing Musicians
*Alicia Vanden Heuval/The Aislers Set
*Gary Olson/Ladybug Transistor
*Pete Ngyuen/Total Shutdown
*Sadie Contini/The Invisible Cities
*Rosemary Kim
*Arel Cordero
*Jonathan Chong
Discography
*2001 Scrabbel Kittridge Records
*2005 1909 Three Ring Records
*2005 Hijacked Tunes Self Released, Three Ring Records
*2008 Emily,I Single (Digital Only) Three Ring Records
Various and Compilations
*2000 Ocean Park Paradox California Compilation Contact Records
*2000 Beikoku Ongaku Beikoku Ongaku
*2003 Cool Beans Magazine Cool Beans
*2004 Broken Umbrella Magazine Broken Umbrella
*2005 Homemade Hits Vol. 2 Kittridge Records
*2005 At The Crossroads: A Benefit For Homeless Youth Three Ring Records

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