Tarkio (band)

Tarkio
Origin	Missoula, Montana, United States
Genres	Indie rock, alternative country, alternative rock
Years active	1996–1999
Labels	Kill Rock Stars
Past members	Colin Meloy Gibson Hartwell Louis Stein Brian Collins

Tarkio was an indie rock band from Missoula, Montana which included Colin Meloy prior to his forming The Decemberists. Tarkio broke up in 1999, but found new popularity in a retrospective released by Kill Rock Stars in 2006.

Tarkio formed in Missoula, Montana in 1996. Meloy, from Helena, had studied English at University of Oregon at Eugene for two years, then returned and enrolled in the creative writing program at the University of Montana in Missoula. He recruited banjo player Gibson Hartwell, bassist Louis Stein, and drummer Brian Collins following a meeting at an open mic night at a local coffeehouse. The band took its name from Tarkio, Montana, a small town in the western part of the state.Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament helped out with some rehearsal space and the band built a following at bar-clubs in Missoula, Great Falls, Butte, and Whitefish, Montana.

In 1997, the band self-released a number of demos. Limited to 500 copies, this self-titled EP was followed by an album, I Guess I Was Hoping For Something More, released on Barcelona Records. This album included musician Kevin Suggs on pedal steel.

In 1999, the band self-released Sea Songs for Landlocked Sailors. Limited to 200 copies, the EP included a song that would later be re-recorded by the Decemberists, "My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist."

Meloy finished school in 1998. The band broke up shortly after this, when Meloy moved to Portland, Oregon.

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