From the loins of some of Seattle’s most fondly and fuzzily-remembered bands springs a virile new creation…the mighty STAG. Longtime Seattle rock statesman Ben London (Alcohol Funnycar, Sanford Arms, Burning Rivers) writes the songs. Golden-voiced perma-lad Steve Mack (That Petrol Emotion, Anodyne) sings ‘em. Fellow veterans Pete Everett (The Mellors, Tuffy), Rob Dent (Jackie on Acid, Kingsley, Sanford Arms), and Lincoln Barr (Red Jacket Mine) lend their talents on bass, drums, and guitar, respectively. The result is succinct, hook-filled American rock music in the tradition of Cheap Trick, the Cars, and Guided by Voices. Hoist your glass and sing along! After an auspicious debut at Seattle institution The Crocodile in May 2010, the band entered Soundhouse Studios with Northwest rock legend Jack Endino, and in a single August weekend emerged with the four songs that comprise their first EP, These Times Are for All of Us. Recorded live, with minimal overdubs and zero time allotted for navel-gazing, These Times bristles with the energy of five rock ‘n roll lifers letting it all hang out…a task made much easier by the tremendous tunes penned by Mr. London. In addition to their regular schedule of club shows, beginning November 20, Stag will curate a quarterly “rock ‘n roll circus” at Shoreline dive bar par excellence Darrell’s Tavern (a perfect fit if there ever was one), with a revolving cast of like-minded bands. With another stellar EP already written and plans for shows throughout the Northwest (and beyond) in 2011, the band looks forward to boozy nights plying their craft in front of boozier crowds. (Same as it ever was.) Like the songs on These Times, some things just never get old. Recommended if you like: Guided by Voices, the Buzzcocks, The Who, Cheap Trick, Rainier tallboys