Music of Oregon
|
|
Template:USstatesmusic Oregon's musical contributions to American culture is centered around Portland, a center of hardcore punk and disco music, among other genres.
| Contents |
Early rock
The Kingsmen, best known for their oldies rock classic "Louie Louie", were originally from Portland, Oregon.
Seafood Mama was a 1970s rock band, with singer Rindy Ross, with a substantial local following that tried for national success as Quarterflash. Unfortunately, the band was unable to find much success after its first album.
Another Portland band that reached for a national audience was Noo Shooz.
Punk rock
Portland had one of the most vibrant hardcore punk scenes in the early 1980s Pacific Northwest, rivalled only by Seattle and Vancouver. The Wipers and Poison Idea are the best known representatives of the scene, especially The Wipers, a major grunge influence. These bands played at The Met and The Satyricon, and were connected with cult comedian Bill Hicks. Other hardcore bands included Lockjaw, Final Warning, The Rats and Sado Nation.
Eugene in the 1990s and 2000s
Eugene had a thriving local music scene in the early 1990s that slowly died out in the early 2000s as many of the local musicians became frustrated with the lack of interest in the scene from outside entities. The Eugene scene consisted of several bars, an anarchist teahouse (an integral part of the scene), and almost nightly basement shows (there were several houses that were basically music venues, often notorious enough for larger independent acts to stop at them while on tour in the Northwest). Icky's Teahouse, founded by Sunshine (Richard Mosher) on a large inheritance from a deceased uncle, was a stop for acts such as Jawbreaker, Green Day, AFI, Defiance, UK Subs, Mukilteo Fairies (now known as ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead), FYP.
Some prominent bands
Artless Motives: Comprised of Josh Jones (guitar, songwriting, voice), Aaron Christianson (bass guitar, songwriting, voice), and Chris Cogburn (drums), Artless Motives moved to Eugene from Grants Pass, and was one of the first pop punk bands to enter the local scene, producing three or four tapes before moving on to different incarnations. Peace Through Corndogs was probably the most notable. Later spin-offs included Officer Down Syndrome, The Hoogendoorns, and The Kite Flying Conspiracy.
The Readymen: The Readymen were a ska punk band in the vein of Stiff Little Fingers. They released one or two albums on an independent label, which were met with critical success, at least locally. Their house, on 4th and Monroe, was one of the basement venues that bands touring the West Coast often stopped by after a show at the Wow Hall to perform an impromptu set, and to party with the fans. For quite awhile, these houses and Icky's Teahouse, all located within a few blocks of each other, formed the heart of the Eugene punk scene.
Nowhere Fast: Nowhere Fast was another one of the first pop punk type bands to emerge from the Eugene scene. More of a rock n' roll, heavy metal inspired band, Nowhere Fast didn't survive the drug abuse, partying, and songwriting egos long enough to maintain any commercial success. Although the band had many offers to do BMX video soundtracks, 7" records on west coast labels, and an LP on The Offspring's Nitro Records, and a pretty good sized statewide following, the excesses of the band doomed it to failure. The band had the most success after reforming with a new drummer, under the name Short Round. The new sound was much more rock andmetal inspired, comparable to Guns n' Roses' Appetite For Destruction, aided by the dual Gibson Les Paul and Marshall half stack sound. Bryan Fields, half of the creative team with Jason Burton, another scene veteran, lived in a small recording and rehearsal studio behind a notorious Springfield bar, The Hollywood Taxi. Bryan befriended the owner of the club, Duke Pippen, and the band pretty much became the house band of the Hollywood Taxi.
S.E.D.: Severely Emotionally Disturbed, better known as S.E.D., was one of the first punk/alternative bands, alongside Withdrawal, to come out of Springfield in the early 90s. The band was comprised of Jared Hill (voice), Bryan Fields (guitar, backup voice), Jesse Fittipaldi (bass), and the inimitable Matt Pickett on drums. Very inspired and influenced by Minor Threat, Nirvana, and The Descendants.
The independent scene in Eugene consists of many of the musicians from the 90s working solo from home studios. Jared Hill from S.E.D. went on to join 'On The First Day... They Were Kittens'. which was derived from two different bands(giftgivencurse, and USAfuk). USAfuk consisted of Mike Morrison (guitar), Jamie Hartley(bass), jason haslett(guitar), Kendall Fox(drums). Bryan from Short Round has completed several self-recorded acoustic type albums under the pen-name 'Donnie Rhodes', and Josh from Artless Motives has been involved in several projects, including a few compilations he has produced. Other figures of interest are folkish artist Jesse Fittipaldi, who is working on a self-produced album, Joe Fittipaldi, a local producer who has worked with everyone in the local scene, Justin King, guitar virtuoso and proprietor of the magnificent Blackberry Hills studio.
Other artists and groups from Oregon
- Everclear is a group from Portland
- The Thermals is a group from Portland
- Elliott Smith, singer/songwriter (1969-2003), was from Portland
- M. Ward, singer/songwriter, is based in Portland
- Pink Martini is a group from Portland
- The Shins are currently based in Portland
- The Decemberists is a group from Portland
- Obo Addy is a Ghanaian drummer based in Portland
See also
References
Blush, Steven. American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Feral House. 2001. ISBN 0-922915-717-7