THE BAND
DAN McALISTER
// guitar, lead vocals
THOMAS PAGE
// bass, vocals
CONOR McALINDIN
// drums, vocals
BRIAN MOONEY
// keys, vocals
PRESS RELEASES
"Truckee-based band Coburn Station takes the stage in the Red Room. If you haven't heard this band, we recommend giving them a listen (check out their website http://www.coburnstation.net where you can listen to tracks from their debut album 'Coming Home').
The sound is jamband-ish — the 'ish' is due to the band's ability to pay homage to a classic sound while owning it in its own right. The fact that the show is free feels almost criminal, but we're not complaining."
- Tahoe Magazine
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"The members of Truckee’s Coburn Station bill their music as 'Mountain Rock'. 'It’s just the energy, I think,' said Dan McAlister, guitarist and lead vocalist. 'You live in the mountains. There’s a way of going about your every day that kind of informs your taste, your outlook, your perception of the world. It’s just mountain living, and we’re a product of it—and it’s rock n' roll'.
It most certainly is rock n’ roll, although not of any particular flavor. And, in a way, that’s another aspect of Coburn Station’s sound that qualifies it as mountain rock. It’s a mix of blues, folk and psychedelia that speaks to different regional influences. It’s the product of a resort town, a 'mountain town'—and like its creators and so many others who visit and live in Truckee—the music has roots elsewhere."
- Reno News and Review
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https://www.newsreview.com/reno/write-home/content?oid=23158428
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"Showcasing the bands maturation is “Coming Home,” Coburn Station’s 11-track debut album. The project was recorded in Oakland in the spring and summer of 2015, funded in part by a Kickstarter campaign among the band’s fans and friends. In January, the group also launched a website, www.coburnstation.net. 'The vibe that we were able to set on the record is a combo of dirty and wholesome, gritty yet honest sounds,” McAlindin said. 'Sometimes the music tears your face off, and then it cuddles you right after. It really did a good job of capturing the vibe and the energy that we’re hoping for.'"
- Tahoe Onstage
http://www.tahoeonstage.com/coburn-station-cd-release/
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"Formed in 2012, Coburn Station was an ideal band to open the annual Made in Tahoe Festival. Three of the members live in Truckee and the fourth resides in Kings Beach. Moreover, Coburn Station was the original name for the spot that would become the town of Truckee. Coburn Station had planned to play 'Cheap Sunglasses' and 'L.A. Woman' during its performance at the Made in Tahoe Festival, but with children sprinting throughout The Village at Squaw Valley the band instead went into an extensive jam of the Pink Floyd song 'Run Like Hell.' 'It just went a different direction,' guitarist Dan McAlister said. 'Our set list is more of an outline. When we play live we like to loosen up and make it a little different each time.'”
- Tahoe Onstage
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https://www.tahoeonstage.com/genres/jam/coburn-station/
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"Consisting of 11 songs, Coburn Station’s debut album 'Coming Home' is a diverse blend of rock genres, which McAlister dubbed 'Mountain Rock.' 'I think there is a really good variety in the songs to where some of it is heavier, really loud, kind of aggressive,' he continued. 'There are other areas to it that are really psychedelic and spacey. And there are things that are a little more bluesy, things that are more country Americana.' Encapsulating Coburn’s eclectic collection of songs, the album opens with the soulful blues jam “Wise Men Disagree” and closes with the folk ballad — and title track — 'Coming Home.' Another highlight includes the penultimate track 'Streetlight,' a sprawling nine-minute psychedelic jam that calls to mind 'The Wall'-era Pink Floyd."
- Sierra Sun
http://www.sierrasun.com/news/20807169-113/tahoe-music-truckee-rockers-coburn-station-to-release
"The album kicks off with the funky blues-rock number 'Wise Men Disagree,' and the power, passion and musicianship of the group are immediately on display with guitarist and front man Dan McAlister’s scorching, tone-perfect licks and Thomas Page’s locked-in, throw-it-down baselines.
The second track 'She Ain’t Here' can only be described as outlaw space country. After rambling for 6 minutes over love lost, it drops into the high-energy dance jams for which Coburn’s live shows are known. The throbbing drumbeat, pulsing synth and wailing guitar form an immense climax before fading away into obscurity.
McAlindin's inspired, energetic thumping breathes the lifeblood into this band, and the uplifting vibration is alive and well on these studio tracks. When we enter the jam rock bliss of 'Breathe Deep,' his tight, in-the-pocket playing perfectly underlays McAlister’s solid multi-layered guitars, bringing to mind Pink Floyd circa 'Animals.'
The country-rock funk of 'I Don’t Mind' keeps things light, before opening up into the grungy crowd-pleaser 'On the Trail.' This track reminds me of an upbeat Widespread Panic Southern rock anthem paired with a Pearl Jam breakdown cut from 'Ten.' The jam evokes the image of a 747 taking off until the double-bass kicks them into an overdrive guitar solo cranked up to eleven. It’s a highlight of the album and a local rock triumph.
The album closer and namesake 'Coming Home' is probably the best song on the record. McAlister has penned and delivered a perfect last-call bar song, one that would make even Willie Nelson proud. Taylor’s swinging piano and McAlindin’s mandolin beautifully complement this sad, sweet story of a man born to drink, love and play guitar with his local band. Essentially, it’s the story of Coburn Station."
- Tahoe Weekly
http://thetahoeweekly.com/2016/02/tahoes-hometown-heroes-jam-forth/
Coburn History
In 1865 a man named S.S. Coburn operated a stage station and public house for teamsters further east from the Donner Lake camp, aptly named "Coburn Station." The present day site of Coburn Station is the train depot in downtown Truckee, California. But before April 12, 1868, when the name was officially changed to Truckee, our quaint mountain town was Coburn Station.
The place had a life and energy of it's own; one that had never been witnessed before, and hasn't since. Coburn himself was apparently a smith; an indispensable craftsman of the era who arrived from Dutch Flat with knowledge of the exact route of the proposed railroad. It just so happens he was also a music man.
When the Central Pacific rails began their ascent into the Sierra Foothills, Coburn Station was selected as the advance camp for the railroad construction crews. Workmen poured into the area and the settlement grew into a bustling lumber town. With the influx of workers and travelers, S.S. Coburn regularly played music for his men at Coburn Station. As the town grew, so did the scene. The massive music parties involved whiskey, wine, weed and dancing into the wee hours of the night. The music was new, and powerful, as big as the Redwoods and as sharp as the saws that laid them.
By December 1867, the first excursion train neared Donner Summit. Despite severe winter storms, a forty-ton locomotive named “San Mateo” was pulled and hauled in pieces on sleighs safely to Coburn Station. This special event sparked Coburn's most extravagant celebration yet. That night, the spirit of the locomotive took control of the music, and the railroad workers danced hard, and they danced well. Coburn Station came alive with the energy and spirit of all the pines that had been jacked to lumber, all the men that had laid the rail, and all the locomotives that would run its tracks from this day forward. In the midst of the magical jam, Coburn's guitar started to glow with heat, as bright as burning coal. The music soared and the people raged. And as the music of Coburn's soul was floating over the sage and Sierras, Coburn yelled to his fleet, "Let there be music as strong and hot as a steam engine! It will melt your face!" And melt faces it did.
Coburn Station is a band dedicated to the night the music took control and melted the faces of those men.