The Warmers
“Simple songs say all or nothing. Sometime before this band: Alec was in The Untouchables, Faith, and Ignition. Amy was in Mr. Candyeater, Moats Definitely, and Lois. Juan Luis Carrera was in the band Lois.” Dischord
“Circa 1994, [Alec] MacKaye grabbed a guitar and recruited bassist/vocalist Juan Luis Carrera and drummer Amy Farina – both of whom had played in Lois with singer/songwriter Lois Maffeo – to form The Warmers. The trio excelled at a spare, highly dynamic style, stripping down hardcore to its essence and drawing on the less-is-more attitude of pioneering post-punkers like Gang of Four, Wire, The Swell Maps and The Fall. Trebly guitar spitting notes like shards of broken glass, fluid bass lines finding the melodic path and no-holds-barred drumming equal parts jazz and hardcore were The Warmers' key components, and over one LP, one 7" and one EP, MacKaye, Carrera and Farina were responsible for some of the most galvanizing sounds blaring from the District in the late '90s.” Benjamin Freed
“We thought a lot about musical pauses, silent passages instead of constant attack. Restraint was a real instrument in our music; it allowed other things to jump out and, in my experience, music that holds back in certain spots can pull a listener in. The listener expects to hear something, and when it's not there, it has even more of an impact than always giving them what they are accustomed to.” Alec MacKaye
“For me, being in The Warmers was a real enlightenment. It gave me new ideas about life and how to live it, how to make music with pieces of silence busted up by noise, threaded with beats, eased with some melodies. How to stand still and play a song, if I felt like it. How to make songs that weren't didactic or very obvious. It was a big, gentle breakthrough for me.” Alec MacKaye
The Warmers The Warmers CD (Dischord Records, 1996)
