Gothic Garages

The Seattle-based Whores of Babylon formed in 1999, yet “Gothic Garages” was recorded by the later lineup. The songs were recorded at Soundhouse Recording in Seattle, and were engineered and produced by Jack Endino. All songs are original. The musicians are Allen Ensign on guitar and vocals : Kate Coniff on bass and vocals : Mike Robson drums and percussion.

The Whores of Babylon are a three piece power trio, and samples of their music can be found on YouTube, under “Happy Fly” Whores of Babylon, “Ensign” Whores of Babylon, and “Gothic Garages” Whores of Babylon. Clips of the Seattle-based Whores of Baylon can be located at Whalebone Productions online. The interested surfer can find some stuff in the annals of Jack Endino. The recording was mixed at Hanzek, in Seattle, and finally, mastered by Barry Corliss at Masterworks (located as well, in Seattle).

The later lineup for the Seattle-based band recorded a single as well (two songs), at Peak Studios in Columbia City (home to live radio broadcasts for The End and The Mountain). The engineer, Chip Butters was amazing, and the first version of “LIAR” was recorded, as was the only version of “R.I.P.” The latter song was featured on the enkimusic website for awhile, and both tunes will be made available hopefully, in the not too distant future.

The cover photo was shot at Discovery Park, Seattle, at the last light of day by Steve Sheriff. The bird was an accident. It was the dead of winter and there were still some pockets of snow in the shade.

Arnis Sarma did the graphic layout work, which was extensive. Jon E. Vain, Allen Ensign and Mike Robson created the soundscapes which appear on the recording. BMI 2002.

The Seattle fanzine BACKFIRE/Volume 5 No.4,p37 reviewed "Gothic Garages"LP/CD in 2002. J. Robert "Crunchbird" Johnson.

"I can testify that Whores of Babylon are a damn fine live band, . . . I wouldn't really describe this band as goth as I would hard rock. The first three songs all have their moments, but the meaty rock really starts to kick in with "Happy Fly," the fourth cut. Here Allen Ensign seems to out-Bowie Bowie, . . . Standout tracks include "Miss You/Soul Hollow," "Symphony" . . .and "Miracle Know"(one of several tracks sung by bassist Kate Coniff, who nails it on the vox). "Kill Switch" is a nice and sludgey piece of music with just enough hatred to make it beautiful."