The Mission Orange

The Mission Orange combine equal parts Garage rock, Indie and an experimental nature to create a sound unique and uncommon for a two-piece. Drawing their influences from Dungen to Simon and Garfunkel and everything in between, they have been able to evolve an original style while still being able to be compared to bands like The Black Keys, Failure, Built To Spill and Nirvana. KEXP's RJ Cubarrubia may have summed them and their live show up the best when he said, ?Both members' impressive technical skill and high energy drove their live performance...

Lead singer and guitarist Marcus Nevitt and Drummer Sam Hutchens form a high energy, full sound that rarely comes from a two-piece and are known for their surprisingly loud and engaging live shows. Casey Catherwood of The Stranger described The Mission Orange as ?stripped down to nothing but a nasty guitar sound, tight drumming, and a heavyweight aural display reminiscent of Seattle's glory days of grunge.? They have quickly become a recognizable figure in Northwest music, garnering articles and reviews from local music magazines and newspapers as well as landing them live in-studio performances and radio play on college stations like 89.3 KUGS FM, Bellingham and top Commercial stations like 107.7 KNDD FM ?The End,? Seattle. This has also landed them in the EMP Sound Off! Competition, and a spot for two consecutive years on the Northwest Folklife Festival's ?All Ages Alternative? Showcase.

The Mission Orange released their debut ?Self/titled? EP in April 2007 and more recently released ?Seasick? in January 2008, both through the now defunct Independent record label Murder Mountain. TMO were also featured on a Bellingham, Washington compilation album called ?Music From The Center Of The Universe? with bands like No-Fi Soul Rebellion and Black Eyes & Neckties.

2008 was a big year for TMO. In January they released ?Seasick? their first full-length album, which was followed by a two-week west coast tour. A busy year followed, with many large regional shows including a slot on the at Seattle's Folklife Festival on the EMP Skychuch Stage. In late summer they embarked on another two-week west coast tour this time with Anacortes band, The Oregon Donor. In August they were support for Portland's Menomena at the Nightlight Lounge in Bellingham, and throughout the year played other large shows with the likes of The Lonely Forest, Megasapien, Black Eyes and Neckties, Kate Tucker and The Sons Of Sweden, Das Llamas and The Whore Moans to name a few.

So far 2009 has seen some of the biggest and best shows from TMO. They competed in this year's EMP Sound Off! Competition, have performed many shows throughout the region, played to a capacity crowd at the Vera Project during the Folklife Festival as well as a special showcase at The Seattle Center Skate Park. In July a studio demo version of their song ?Hammer Fever? was featured on KEXP's world famous ?Music That Matters? Podcast. Currently they're working on their full length follow up to 2008's ?Seasick? album, this time at Bayside Recordings, with producer Paul Turpin (Idiot Pilot/Black Eyes & Neckties/The Trucks). The untitled album is set for an Early 2010 release.