Were the cities of Spokane and Bellingham to hold metaphorical hands across the Cascadian divide and stare deeply into each others' eyes, they might whisper these words in a simultaneously hushed coo...
"We're not so different, you and I."
Sure, Spokane's a few times bigger, but they're more spiritually similar than many might think. Both cities are afterthoughts behind Seattle when most outsiders think of Washington state. Both are surrounded by plenty of natural beauty. Both are known for their universities.
Both also share aspects of their music identities. Each has a small collection of primary venues including an all-ages spot (in Bellingham: Wild Buffalo, The Shakedown and Blue Room). And for each, hardcore punk and metal make up the most reliable local scenes.
A bit of that slightly familiar Bellingham audio flavor can be tasted this week when indie rock band Full Color Dream swings through the Inland Northwest for shows at The Big Dipper and Mikey's Gyros in Moscow. The band led by singer-songwriter Cullen Webster boasts a big open-air, guitar-driven, slightly eclectic sound (inspired by bands like Spoon and Silversun Pickups) that's somewhat reminiscent of deeper cut, Midwest indie-post rock bands like Pele and Aloha. And while he knows folks don't view Bellingham as a cultural mecca, Webster finds plenty of energy to draw from his hometown scene.
"Bellingham has pretty much always had a really vibrant scene," Webster says. "We've got [Western Washington University] here, and so there's a lot of young people making bands. And those bands kind of cycle through pretty quickly, like you see a lot of bands break up when the school year ends. I wouldn't say that there's a ton of indie rock music like we play. The younger folks seem to be really pushing hardcore music and emo revival stuff. ... In terms of vibe, we tend to be on the low end of that rock stuff that's around here. I think our newer stuff is kind of edging more into being a little more abrasive, but if you listen to some of the stuff on our records that we've put out there, it's very straightforward indie/alt-rock."
Full Color Dream emerged after Webster's previous band Fossil Fire (not to be confused with the Spokane band Fossil Fire Fossil Blood) disbanded in late 2022 with shows still on the books. So he got ahold of a bassist (Royce Nickerson Jr.), who brought in a drummer he knew, and they fleshed out some songs Webster had already written. After a host of lineup changes, Full Color Dream is now a five-piece group (with Webster as the only consistent member) that boasts two rock-solid LPs under its belt (2023's Blooey and 2024's Grouse) and a third self-produced album on the way (the band just dropped two new singles at the start of May: "Driving Through A Fly-Over State" and "Lessons").
While the band may call a college town home, the thirtysomethings that comprise the group are comfortable being somewhat apart from certain aspects of the scene.
"The Bellingham house show scene is definitely banging, but we've never played a house show with Full Color Dream," Webster says. "I mean, we're all dudes in our early- to mid-30s, and we roll with an in-ear monitoring system. We're more a venue band than a DIY band."
Despite being a much smaller city, Bellingham has actually birthed two massive acts that dwarf any Spokane artists since Bing Crosby — arena-headlining EDM duo Odesza and indie rock titans Death Cab for Cutie. While Full Color Dream isn't aiming to sonically be the next Death Cab for Cutie, Webster still mentally feels the band's presence.
"I think that people here don't necessarily have it in their heads that Death Cab is from here. Which is crazy to me, because I grew up here," Webster says. "I will say that shadow looms large over me personally, because I'm such an enormous fan. I can't walk past the house that they used to practice in without feeling the energy from it. And like, I moved away from Bellingham for a while, and I remember when I was leaving town listening to that song 'Movie Script Ending,' which is literally a song about moving out of Bellingham very specifically. That's the kind of stuff that really sticks with me. And I wouldn't necessarily say our music sounds much like theirs, but Ben Gibbard's songwriting and rhythm section in general just groove so hard."
Tapping into a sense of groove is one of the things that makes Grouse standout, thanks in large part to Webster's buddy guitarist Ian Stephens joining the group.
"[Grouse] was the first album that we did with Ian, who's really a creative partner for me, on guitar," Webster explains. "Neither of us really play lead or rhythm. We just kind of like find our spots and sort of groove around each other. And that's something that really keeps that album alive for me — just the fluidity that we have, and how locked in we are together as players, because we're such close friends and collaborators."
The latest Full Color Dream also finds Webster's songwriting somewhat mirroring the spirit of his city. Like Bellingham itself, it eschews adornment and pageantry in order to focus on the basics.
"I think lyrically with Grouse, I really tried to be more plain-spoken. Hide less behind metaphors and kind of poetry, and just say things as I would say them normally," Webster says. "I really think if you're a songwriter, it's hard to just say how you feel." ♦
Full Color Dream, Hermano Kuya, Killmer, When She Dreams • Thu, May 8 at 7:30 pm • $15 • All ages • The Big Dipper • 171 S. Washington St. • thebigdipperspokane.com
Full Color Dream, Killmer, Thimastr • Fri, May 9 at 8 pm • $10 • All ages • Mikey's Gyros • 527 S. Main St., Moscow • mikeysgyros.com
