The Thousand Yard Stairs – The Thousand Yard Stairs
More than two decades after it was recorded, The Thousand Yard Stairs has finally been released
The Thousand Yard Stairs – The Thousand Yard Stairs
Format: Digital EP
Label: Independent / Self-released
Release date: July 29, 2026
More than two decades after it was recorded, ‘The Thousand Yard Stairs’ has finally been released. The six-track EP captures a previously unheard chapter in the career of Nashville musician Sam Powers, known for his work with Superdrag, Who Hit John?, Century Club and Guided By Voices.
Powers recorded the EP in 2004, shortly after leaving Superdrag. The sessions took place at No Budget Studios, the East Nashville home studio of Dean Bratcher, Powers’ former bandmate in the Nashville power-pop group Who Hit John? Bratcher and Powers recorded and produced the material together, but the six songs remained unreleased for more than twenty years.
Released digitally on July 29, 2026, the EP brings together power pop, indie rock, jangle and psychedelic rock. Powers handles vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, keyboards and percussion across the record, with Bratcher supplying the drums.
Two additional guitarists appear on individual tracks. Cory McAfee contributes guitar to Withdrawn, while Guided By Voices guitarist Doug Gillard plays on Waiting For a Holiday. Powers previously toured Europe as bassist with Guided By Voices in 2003.
The EP also reconnects with Powers’ earlier musical history. Before joining Superdrag in 1999, he co-founded Who Hit John?, one of the bands associated with Nashville’s 1990s power-pop scene. He later wrote, sang and played bass and guitar with the Nashville trio Century Club. His songwriting and multi-instrumental work could also be heard during his time with Superdrag, including on the band’s 2002 album Last Call For Vitriol.
Donnie Bott mastered the recordings for their eventual release. Despite the long interval between recording and publication, the EP is presented as the original six-song collection created by Powers and Bratcher in East Nashville in 2004.
Website: https://thethousandyardstairs.bandcamp.com/album/the-thousand-yard-stairs
Tracks:
01.Riding Your Own Reflection – 2:30
02.Withdrawn – 2:46
03.Untitled #14 – 4:00
04.World Surrounded – 4:10
05.Waiting For a Holiday – 4:10
06.In Passing – 5:37
Credits:
Sam Powers – vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, keyboards and percussion
Dean Bratcher – drums
Cory McAfee – guitar on Withdrawn
Doug Gillard – guitar on Waiting For a Holiday
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