Capping Day

Like a flower growing among boulders, indie pop band Capping Day emerged during Seattle’s now famous grunge era. As grunge band after grunge band got signed and become enormously famous, Capping Day stayed true to what made them unique: powerful melodies and harmonies, compelling songwriting, and a rock-solid rhythm section that kicked some serious ass.

Laura Weller (guitar, vocals) and Bonnie Hammond (keyboards, vocals) were joined by bassist Joe Ross and drummer Norman Scott, long time veterans of the local club scene in bands such as Skin Yard, Green Pajamas, and 64 Spiders. The band was well received from the start, playing shows and festivals etc. Their first single, Mona Lisa/Slow Fade, recorded at Reciprocal by the now legendary Jack Endino and released by Green Monkey Records, quickly rose up the KCMU charts, landing it in the top 10 singles of 1989. In the same year, KCMU entered the single into a nationwide college radio “best unsigned band in America” contest, sponsored by EMI Records, which Capping Day won.

Representatives from the label visited Seattle to discuss next steps. The band was elated. They had achieved rock stardom!

But it was not to be. The contract was terrible, and the band refused to sign. Instead, they took the prize money and put out their own damn record, bringing in Jon Auer of the Posies as their engineer/producer. The result was an EP titled “Post No Bills,” released on Popllama.

More shows and studio sessions followed at Red Farm Films and House of Leisure. Tragically, House of Leisure suffered a fire that destroyed the recording studio equipment, halting the project and ultimately resulting in the Capping Day material being shelved.

The band continued playing, though their hopes for next-level success, like the Titanic, were sinking.

Laura and Bonnie’s lifeboat became performing as a semi-acoustic duo, opening up for the likes of Robyn Hitchcock, Exene Cervenka, Bob Dylan*, and Bob Weir & Robert Wasserman of the Grateful Dead. As a duo, Laura and Bonnie earned a coveted Northwest Area Musicians Association (NAMA) award in 1991 for Best Acoustic Group. To this day, Bonnie and Laura will argue that they invented the “Unplugged” genre before MTV did.

Fast-forward to the present. Capping Day has decided it’s time to put all this unreleased music out into the world for its many loyal fans. In spring of 2025, Green Monkey Records will release a 6-song vinyl album titled WHO DOES ANYWAY: THE KING ENDINO SESSIONS. The release will feature a set of songs recorded by Gary King at House of Leisure (the place that caught on fire!), recovered from multi-track tapes, and remixed/mastered by Jack Endino. At the same time, the band will release a 15-song digital download that includes the songs from the record as well as other previously unreleased songs. This epic release will ensure the legacy of Capping Day within the annals of PNW rock history.

* This is a bald-faced lie.