Singer/songwriter John Roderick has been tagged as an indie version of R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe. Seattle's Western State Hurricanes established Roderick as an insightful artist in progress while time spent touring the world with Harvey Danger in 2000 furthered his musical creativity. The Long Winters are the culmination of those years traveling the globe. The debut album The Worst You Can Do Is Harm, which was issued on Barsuk in spring 2002, was his friendly introduction, featuring select members and friends from Built to Spill, the Posies, Harvey Danger, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Death Cab for Cutie. The next spring, the Long Winters released When I Pretend to Fall. The Ultimatum EP, produced by Tucker Martine (Eyvind Kang, Wayne Horvitz, Laura Veirs), followed in fall 2005. After a successful showing at the annual South by Southwest conference in spring 2006, Roderick returned with his third indie rock opus, Putting the Days to Bed, in late July. This pop masterpiece featured a brand-new Long Winters lineup with the additions of Eric Corson (bass), the Lemons' Nabil Ayers (drums), and ex-Ghost Stories guitarist Jonathan Rothman. Stateside dates followed that fall. ~ MacKenzie Wilson