GOD

Talk about an understated name. (Seattle has a history of rock understatement: remember Sub Pop Records' modest plans for "world domination?") Of course GOD founder, guitarist and singer Ian LeSage doesn't consider himself a deity. The band's origins are humble, in fact, growing from LeSage's computer-recorded demos. After writing and recording, he enlisted the help of friends to take over bass, keyboards, drums and cello. While the band's indie-rock instrumentation sounds like a more aggressive take on influences like Radiohead or the Postal Service, LeSage's vocals include a healthy dose of punk rock sneer, not to mention a bit of self-flagellation. "She's smarter than me/ She works in a lab," he spits in "Anti-Robotics," "She tells me some things/ I don't understand." Sometimes the distain extends out to the whole of human endeavors: "oh, how we think that we are, the best thing to ever come" he asks on "H.P. Lovecraft Killed Hieronymus Bosch." But GOD isn't the only thing on LeSage's mind. He is one of several "$5 Cover: Seattle" denizens who splits his time between groups. Look for him behind the guitar in Whiskey Tango, as well.