70 sound DECEMBER 2008 Year of the Year Fleet Foxes WORDS BY MICHAEL CONNELLY Fleet Foxes wrapped up 2007 in star fashion. Frontman Robin Pecknold inadvertently played the last show at the Crocodile Café on December 15 before the storied club?s unexpected closure. Meanwhile, the band was fielding offers from several labels and dropping cryptic hints on the internet (?P.S. LP is done! Coming out late spring on a label from this town that is really cool!? commented Pecknold on The Stranger?s Line Out blog.) At the turn of the year, the band was yet unsigned?but not for long. On the morning of January 18, Pecknold?s sister Aja broke the news on Seattle Weekly?s Reverb blog that ?as of this morning at 11 a.m., Fleet Foxes are now signed to Seattle?s Sub Pop Records.? JANUARY 18: SIGN TO SUB POP FEBRUARY 28: RELEASE SUN GIANT, NATIONAL TOUR Fleet Foxes? 2008 kicked into high gear as the band embarked on a 43-date tour with new labelmates Blitzen Trapper. After starting things off at San Francisco?s Noise Pop Festival, Fleet Foxes stayed on tour with Blitzen Trapper through April, capping off the tour with a Portland show on April 19, pausing only briefly in the middle to play SXSW. Fleet Foxes marked the beginning of the tour by releasing a fivesong EP, Sun Giant, initially available only on the tour and from Sub Pop?s website. Produced by Phil Ek and recorded in December ?07 and January ?08, Sun Giant drew immediate attention from Pitchfork, where it garnered a glowing review and was featured in the site?s ?Best New Music? section. By year?s end, the EP had sold over 25,000 copies. Fleet Foxes was highlighted as one of twelve ?Acts to Watch? at SXSW by no less than Billboard Magazine, who bragged about having written ?the first national piece on Fleet Foxes in September 2006,? when ?the band had yet to play a show outside its Seattle hometown.? The band played at Sub Pop?s official showcase as well as at parties hosted by Under the Radar and Pitchfork. MARCH 13-14: PERFORM AT SXSW first Runner-up: Eddie Vedder JANUARY: His Into the Wild anchor, ?Guaranteed,? wins a Golden Globe for Best Original Song. MARCH: Who Are You: The Life of Pete Townshend, featuring a foreword by Vedder, is published in the UK. APRIL: His first-ever solo outing, dubbed the ?April Fools Tour,? kicks off in Vancouver, Canada. SEPTEMBER: ?All the Way,? a tribute to his hometown Chicago Cubs, is released as the team nears the post-season. OCTOBER: Vedder and girlfriend Jill McCormick reportedly have their second child. DAVID BELISLE