Thirty Ought Six...

I recently busted out my copy of Hag Seed by the greatly under appreciated Thirty Ought Six and I felt like it was time to revisit the bands material on here. The Portland, OR group was founded in 1992 and consisted of members Sean Roberts (vocals/bass), David Blunk (guitar), and Ryan Paravecchio (drums). Leading up to their eventual first full-length album the group released the single “Huck”, the “Radon” split with Gern Blanston, and the 7” inch Eris. In 1994 the band saw the release of their first album Bosozoku through Candy Ass Records. The album resulted in a nationwide tour with emo staples Sunny Day Real Estate. The band had some success on the tour and found them selves with a bit more attention. They would shortly thereafter sign with Mute Records whom would release their second album titled Hag Seed in November of 1995. The album spawned two singles “Adamantine” and “Moreau”. After a stint of touring in the US and then over to London from ’95 – ’96, the band did their last run on Lollapalooza which following those dates Sean Roberts left the group thus pretty much ending the band completely.

Although fairly short-lived Thirty Ought Six released some pretty good tunes during their years together. Despite being lumped in with the majority of current emo groups of the time, their first album Bosozoku actually reveals an influence from the genre’s much earlier days. It featured a much thicker and dense sound that probably proved to be a bit to abrasive for much of the audience that the band was playing for at the time. Their second album Hag Seed was really a big step for them, it sounds much more accomplished and thankfully they didn’t drop any of the edginess and opt for a cleaner and watered down album. Instead they greatly expanded upon the sound of their first album, helped along with a bit cleaner production as well. The vocals from Sean Roberts are much more of a prominent player on Hagseed, allowing them to lend to the more emotive qualities of the band. One of the shining moments of the album is “Tourmaline”, which features guest vocals from Sunny Day Real Estate’s Jeremy Enigk. The combination of both Enigk’s and Robert’s vocals really blend well together making for an extremely awesome song.

Bosozoku:
Thirty Ought Six – Huck [MP3]
Thirty Ought Six – Dealt [MP3]

Hagseed:
Thirty Ought Six – Hag Seed [MP3]
Thirty Ought Six – Wheeler [MP3]
Thirty Ought Six – Tourmaline (feat. Jeremy Enigk) [MP3]

The album Hag Seed to me really is a hidden gem. It’s sad that the band broke up not to long after the release of it. If you can track down a copy of this through Amazon, eBay, or whatever it takes, I highly suggest you purchase it. The members of the band went on to do their own things after the band broke up. David Blunk still resides in Portland, OR and has played in local bands Bastinado and Roaring Lions. Sean Roberts went on to play in the short lived Umberhulk. Drummer Ryan Paravecchio who apparently packed up and headed for L.A. where he works as an artist/carpenter.