The Glass Notes story begins in a Seattle pub August 2009 when Seattle musician Robb Benson (Dept. of Energy, Dear John Letters, Nevada Bachelors) learned his bartender Jake Uitti was an accomplished poet.  Jake began sending his poetry to Robb, who transformed these poems into songs.  Robb had previously used this style of poet/songwriter collaboration during his many years in the group Dear John Letters.  The much loved DJL used this formula successfully during their time playing together, releasing three well received albums, the last reaching as high as #34 on the CMJ charts.

 The new tunes began to multiply very quickly.  During this time Robb learned that Jake, along with being a nationally published writer/poet, was a very talented bass player as well. Their music chemistry was a perfect match to the songs that had been created. Soon the two began playing live shows to an ever growing audience. As a duo they played a few dozen shows before expanding the live group.   

The band acquired the services of accomplished drummer Perry Morgan (Souvenirs, Gary Reynolds, Blue Spark) who became the official live drummer. Last the group added guitarist extraordinaire “Rock Tim” DiJulio ( Flight To Mars, North Twin, Lazy Susan) to the live set. To this day the line up is most often seen and heard this way.

“Dust & Hours” the debut CD released August 27, 2010 has sold out all of its original pressing. It was created to introduce the group as mostly a home studio demo record that was given some extra sparkle when Mastered in Robert Lang studios.

Since then the band has played some amazing shows, from the stripped down but very inspired improv sets at the fireside lounge, to the louder harder hitting full rock band at the Crocodile, the High Dive, and the tractor tavern, or the Summer Meltdown Festival... The Glass Notes are a never ending surprise when it comes to just what direction each show takes.

They have now also been written up and interviewed in “The Stranger” http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/sound-check/Content?oid=5401745 (Seattle’s best entertainment magazine) and have appeared on the MIXTAPE podcast www.mynorthwest.com with Sean De Tore. They also played a live meet and greet performance for Luke Burbanks “Too Beautiful to Live podcast” www.tbtl.net As well as appeared live on 97.3 FM radio with Ross and Burbank.

Today Robb and Jake have written and recorded over 100 demo songs. However the sophomore release (coming soon on Roam Records) is a full band affair with both Perry and Tim equally involved in the recording process in seattle’s Electrokitty studios (Head like a Kite, Nas, Brandi Carlile). 

Set for a mid 2012 full length release, some of the songs from the first album have been re-recorded to go from the acoustic indie folk demo sound to the full live hard driving rock energy that the group has been bringing to the shows. While other new favorites pulled from ample song list have been recorded by the group as the new tunes the band will soon introduce to audiences.

2012 looks like a big year for the group. They have found that new sound they were looking for and they are eager to share it with you. It’s Glassic rock, with a Glass Roots underground surge that is sure to be hitting a club near you soon! 

What the Media is saying about The Glass Notes:

On their soulful debut Dust and Hours, the two offer up a lyrically and vocally driven mix of indie pop, acoustic folk and alt-rock tinged with bits of country and Motown soul. It's a striking mix; Uitti and Benson make a great team, with the poems steering Benson's singing toward an emotional climax. Be ready to be touched.  - PERFORMER MAGAZINE

“Bassist/writer Jake Uitti feeds Benson words and poems that Benson sits with, ingests, and fashions into songs. The tunes are snug, up-tempo, and marksmanlike in their well-crafted lit-rock phrasing.  –THE STRANGER    

  

“Robb Benson has put together another great band. His latest is a team up with bartender/poet Jake Uitti, who also plays bass... their true strength in the powerful lyrics and simple chords. Benson will always be creating new projects and playing with lineups, and The Glass Notes could be the latest, and brightest, jewel in his crown.”  – SSGMUSIC

“…what holds the Glass Notes together: Benson, singing bassist Jake Uitti’s lyrics, can transform himself into seemingly anyone… The Glass Notes have the talent and the impact to garner legitimate comparisons to their canonical, professed influences; Benson manages admirably the balance between singer, songwriter and musician.” -POP MATTERS

“Jake writes straightforward poems, and Robb transforms them into catchy tunes… easily addictive lyrics, and that’s pretty much all I need to add it to my playlist.”  -DAYS OF MUSIC

“A great debut record… pick the CD up you will not regret it one bit.”

-SEAN DE TORE (MIXTAPE PODCAST on MYNORTHWEST.COM)

Awesome must see local band.

1. -LUKE BURBANK (TBTL podcast, Ross and Burbank KIRO FM Seattle )
   

I've been trying for over ten years to describe how much I love Robb Benson's voice. He's got all the pop smarts of McCartney, the peppy hooks of Squeeze and the gritty soul of Otis Redding, and he's so talented he sometimes uses all three in the span of a three-minute pop song. Benson has an extensive discography with the aforementioned Nevada Bachelors, The Dear John Letters and the Dept. of Energy, and evidence of his talent can be found on any of the cuts of those albums, but if you want to get right to it, The Glass Notes' "John Wayne" is all you need. The album closer here, Not only is this the single most powerful moment in music this year, this is what soul sounds like, this is what frustration sounds like and this is what existential worry sounds like when one realizes that the notion of heroism has lapsed into obsolescence. But most of all, this is what it sounds like to be alive, to be shot in your hummingbird heart with everything from global concern to concern about everyone you love. It's a voice that's filled with anger and dismay and sadness and it will bring you to your knees.

                                             -Alex Green (caught in the carousel)