The Elsewhen Guardinias

Representing the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest regions of the United States
Image credit for iteration #1: WKM + AI

This group was formed in Seattle in the early 1980s as members of the “Iowa contingent” (who had relocated to the Pacific Northwest from that “breadbasket state”) reached out musically to others (domestic transplants from elsewhere in the country).  The core members include: 

• Ed Osenbaugh — 12-string acoustic rhythm guitar; lead and harmony vocals; songwriting
• Scott Strait — 6-string electric lead guitar (and guitar synthesizer); lead and harmony vocals; songwriting 
• Bill Meessen — 6-string acoustic and electric rhythm guitars; lead and harmony vocals; songwriting 
• Greg Meyer — 6-string acoustic rhythm guitar; harmony vocals; songwriting
• Gary Graber — acoustic drums and percussion 

With occasional appearances by: 

• Dean Calahan — 6-string electric rhythm guitar
• Dennis Burkhardt — cello
• Tim Donnelly — hammered dulcimer
• Buffy Strait — keyboards

A few of the many jam sessions that happened in our homes will be featured on the Living Room Tapes page of this website.  Eventually, our hope is to re-imagine and re-record our favorite tunes with the clarity and fidelity of modern technology, all the while seeking to preserve the emotive integrity of these spirited sessions.

Concurrent with the music-making, we sought to awaken a literary and activist consciousness in ourselves and in our wider circles of friends and family by publishing The Elsewhen Guardian on a semi-regular basis for a few years.  Rumor has it that there’s been a sighting of this heartfelt journal in recent times.  The Spirit of Elsewhen — peace, love, happiness and consciousness-raising⁸ — lives on in each of us…

The Mystic Weasels

Artists residing Hither and Yon, including in the Great Beyond

If a guitar-heavy band was the appropriate recipe, then we dutifully assembled the necessary organic ingredients, baked the cake (pie?), waited impatiently, and watched in awe as out popped our doppelgängers in the form of musically mystical creatures who would hearken back to the primordial strains of the comforting surf, songbirds singing in the Pacific Northwest sky, and the soothing wind whistling through the mighty conifers.  Joined together as Weasel brothers forevermore, the core members include:

• Bill “Bilbo” Meessen — 6- and 12-string acoustic and electric rhythm guitars; lead and harmony vocals; songwriting
• George “Geo” Pal — 6-string acoustic and electric rhythm guitars; lead and harmony vocals; songwriting 
• Jim “JayJoe” Jackson — 6-string electric lead guitar; harmony vocals; songwriting 
• Scott “O’Scotty” Strait — 6-string electric lead guitar (and guitar synthesizer); lead and harmony vocals; songwriting

Along the way, we had occasion to play with a few others, including a drummer, a female singer, and even more guitar players.  What remained constant was the sense of core brotherhood, especially considering the passing (already) of Geo and Scotty, well before anyone thought it was “reasonable and proper” for them to leave us so early for The Great Beyond.

Like The Elsewhen Guardinias before us, The Mystic Weasels have really just wanted to make music for the sheer fun of it and to revel in those joyful noises made unto the Almighty.  That said, while there is still (some?) time for the remaining two of us on this plane of existence, we do want to make a lasting contribution to the reverberant spirit that inhabits the spaces where we play, including those rooms spread far and wide, where, by the magic of tele-hearing technology (i.e., recorded music!), we can reach our blessed listeners wherever they are.

We already have a good notion of the tunes to include on our debut release, titled Imagining the Synestia, and we hope to make this happen sometime in this decade.  (No pressure…?!)  Expect some unexpected collaborations to occur, and we pledge our honor for the opportunity to elicit emotive and energetic responses in our audience.  🎵Stay tuned…🎶