The Blasting Room didn’t start with a Big Bang, as you might expect, but a drunken nap. The engineer for one of the Descendents’ mid-80s records fell asleep at the recording console. As he snored, Bill Stevenson, the band’s drummer, rolled the engineer’s chair out of the way to work the dials himself. 25 years later, the studio he built with Jason Livermore has become a punk rock recording institution, producing pop and folk records too. But the heart of the original Blasting Room still beats like a punchy snare, a place where young bands make their punk rock dreams come true.
Since In the Whale began they have been a band not afraid to take chances. Bands starting out usually have certain hurdles they have to get over to reach the next level. Recording professionally, marketing, a solid live show, and hitting the road are all things bands face on their journey to making it. While others stumble, In the Whale has leapt forward each time, embracing whatever comes. Their latest EP, Quicksand, is proof all of these things are coming together in a big way.