TWO LOUIES, September 2004 Erupted Between Tony and Larry, Whereupon a Litany of Pranks Ensued
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photo Pat Snyder l Salazar was one of the fi rst to respond When the Psychedelic Furs played a gig at the Pine by Jim Wallace of the Odds). Th ey lent symphonic to the demand for bigger venues, Street on their fi rst US tour, the volume and pres- support to Rozz’ mostly extemporaneous songs opening the Pine Street Th eatre, at sure of their sound was such that it set the lamps and unpredictable antics, which might include his SoutheastA Pine and Sandy. Formerly housing a and chandeliers to swaying ominously above the hiking a long, skinny leg over the mic stand— easily Church of Scientology franchise (as well as the 9th audience. a height of six feet. Th eatre Of Sheep rapidly rose Street Exit), the building was a three-story honey- One of the fi rst local bands to exploit the Pine to prominence within the alternative community, comb of small, run-down offi ces and larger meeting Street stage was Th eatre Of Sheep. Led by mercurial achieving especial success among underagers; such rooms, which encircled the expansive main hall. vocalist Rozz Rezabeck-Wright, the Sheep were an that their popularity rivaled that of even the Unreal Salazar hung an extensive collection of antique imaginative, if sometimes sloppy quintet, which Gods in that demographic. Across town, Larry Hurwitz opened Starry “Rockabilly revivalists the Rockin’ NightNight oonn NNorthwestorthwest 66thth aatt BBurnside,urnside, WWithith a ccapac-apac- ityity ofof 850, tthehe cclublub pposedosed a sseriouserious cchallengehallenge ttoo Razorbacks, featured Chris Miller on guitar TonyTony DeMicoli’sDeMicoli’s abilityability toto bookbook LaLa Bamba.Bamba. D’anseD’anse and former Upepo bassist J. Michael CombeauCombeau chosechose toto enactenact theirtheir galagala ChristmasChristmas 1982 pageantpageant atat StarryStarry NightNight insteadinstead ofof LaLa BambaBamba Kearsey on bass.” (a(a showshow thatthat waswas thwarted,thwarted, mid-show,mid-show, byby anan anonymousanonymous tiptip toto thethe FireFire MarshallMarshall concerningconcerning swagswag lampslamps andand crystalcrystal chandelierschandeliers fromfrom thethe highhigh alwaysalways mademade superbsuperb useuse ofof thethe talentstalents ofof leadlead guitar-guitar- overcrowding). Th e Unreal Gods elected to follow ceiling in the main room, scattering among them ist Jimi Haskett (late of Film At 11) and classically suit for their New Year’s Eve celebration. Such the outstretched skeletons of massive birds of prey. trained keyboardist Leslie Arbuthnott; along with upheaval certainly caused hard feelings. A feud Upon the walls around the area, Salazar mounted the eff orts of the rhythm section of drummer Brain an eerie array of animal skulls. All in all, it cre- Wassman and bassist John Cliff ord (later replaced ated quite a disjointedly appropriate atmosphere. photo Wilds Rockin’ Razorbacks at Waterfront Park. Page 2 - TWO LOUIES, September 2004 erupted between Tony and Larry, whereupon a litany of pranks ensued. A call to the fi re mar- shall here, a smashed toilet and plugged sewer line there. Veiled threats everywhere. It was an exciting time. Following the lead of their predecessors Quarterflash and Johnny and the Distrac- tions, the top bands of the day continued to release albums, singles and EPs, though they were expensive to make and the results were seldom very satisfying. But vinyl was the sonic currency of the day, and every band worth its chops was releasing something. Slowtrain, Paul DeLay, Nu Shooz and the Unreal Gods had popular releases in 1982. Boom Chuck Rock Now featured many of Billy Rancher’s best, most ingenuous songs, though the album failed to capture the monumental Elvis-like appeal he generated on the live stage, prancing around in his signature leop- ard print pajamas and cowboy boots. Hair bands prospered in that era as well, with Sequel leading the charge from the outer Westside suburbs toward the Last Hurrah, Zack’s and to Tippers in the outer Eastside suburbs— followed closely by Movie Star, Kashmir, Fire Eye, the Storm and the Choir Boys, which were both Nate Phillips of Cool’r comprised of members of the Checker photo Wilds Brothers, Legend and Rising Tide, oddly enough. poppier bands such as the Bachelors, No A victim of rampant urban renewal, Tony Ties, and Mr. Nice Guy also found refuge in those Demicoli was forced to close La Bamba, allowing Precinct opened on Southwest 13th near Taylor, venues as well. the owners of the building to convert it into a providing a space for punk and alternative bands Th e blues contingency was anchored by Paul quaint mini-mall on the edges of the permanent such as Poison Idea and Final Warning or the Usual DeLay, Robert Cray and Terry Robb. Rockabilly Saturday Market space under the Burnside Bridge. Suspects and the Van Goghs. revivalists the Rockin’ Razorbacks, featured Chris Euphoria closed and reopened as a sports bar. Th e Th e Van Goghs, vocalist bassist Lee Oser, Miller on guitar and former Upepo bassist J. Met folded. Tippers changed hands. Th e Fat Little guitarist (and heir to a cheese fortune) Kevin Kraft onon guitarguitar andand drdrummerummer CCharlieharlie MMaurer,aurer, lleviedevied a “Descended from the legendary Pleasure, soundsound somewhatsomewhat akinakin toto U2,U2, withoutwithout a vocalistvocalist Cool’r was the greatest funk band ever to likelike Bono.Bono. Th e Usual Suspects, guitarists Haroon Tahir play the local circuit. Bassist Nate Phillips, andand PhilPhil Royer,Royer, percussionistpercussionist TomTom HaythornHaythorn andand bassistbassist MichaelMichael HornburgHornburg werewere a seriousserious andand artyarty drummer Bruce Carter and guitarist bandband wwhoho ooftft e nen p lplayedayed t hthee m umusicsic f oforr p lplaysays a nandd e vevenen Doug Lewis logged ten years and seven backedbacked a dancedance troupetroupe forfor a fewfew performances.performances. Th ee UsualUsual SuspectsSuspects eventuallyeventually movedmoved toto SanSan Francisco-Francisco- albums with Marlon McLain and Pleasure, wherewhere HornburgHornburg laterlater ppennedenned thethe undergroundunderground novelnovel Bongwater.Bongwater. developing a superior level of expertise as Cafe Oasis attracted a more bohemian crowd, musicians” spearheadedspearheaded byby loyalloyal followersfollowers ofof EdEd andand thethe Boats.Boats. Th ee PC&SPC&S oonn SSouthwestouthwest MMorrisonorrison aatt 110th,0th, llongong aa MichaelMichael KKearseyearsey oonn bbass.ass. Th e eW hWhiteite E aEaglegle i nin N oNorthrth RoosterRooster becamebecame thethe BarleyBarley MMillill PubPub andand rreplacedeplaced quiet Jazz bar, became a vehicle for Billy Kennedy’s Portland stood as a blues stronghold, as it does to its stage with pool tables. trio Special K. Th e Rock Creek Tavern, way out in this day. But Last Hurrah and Beckman’s, which Th e remaining clubs catered to the fashions the western forty, welcomed Les Clams, the Beaver superseded the Faucet space in the Southwest, were and trends which were being dictated by a new and Trail Boys and the Rasco Brothers. amenable to the blues as well. So was Key Largo. powerful force in the music and consumer indus- With the demise of Trigger’s Revenge, Hank Opened in 1978 by Hollywood pitch man Tom tries: MTV. Metal bands disappeared. Hair bands Rasco formed a new band, the Rasco Brothers, Nash, Key Largo, located at Northwest 2nd Avenue were as scarce as pandas. Blues bands played the with fellow former Revengers bassist Don “Th e and Couch Streets, was to become a fi xture in the White Eagle. New wave ruled the day. New wave Rock” Weiss and guitarist Al McLeod, along with local music scene. bands were booked into every major rock club in drummer David “Lonnie Broadway” White. And Cyclic by nature, the Portland music scene town. Men at Work and a Flock of Seagulls were once again the lone Wasted Ranger was back on the swung toward a nadir in 1983. Bands broke up, the role models. boards with his own band, revving out a mixture of reconfi gured or simply hunkered down as clubs Still, out of the ashes, new clubs sprung to life. rockabilly and old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. closed and public interest waned. Flames of disil- Th e roots of some are still growing today. Others While Tony DeMicoli moved his operations lusion consumed all but the most faithful. Or those only came briefl y to the fore, before dying off ; but that were poised to sign big contracts. sustained less-fashionable musical styles. Th e 13th Continued on page 8 TWO LOUIES, September 2004 - Page 3 tympani drums for a song we were recording at the old White Horse studios setting there, when a guy came in with a dog and the damn dog lift ed his leg and started spraying those babies down, watching ell, I’m headed up to Cartersville Dave Friedlander’s face was a moment now etched Georgia for church on Sunday into my mind forever. Th e thing that’s still great this weekend, you see it’s the only about being a bandleader of 10-14 people is being placeW those crazy ministers still handle snakes for able to play for people and watch them have the the Sunday sermon. I’m working on a video for the best time they could. Now I know selling lots of band using a new number called “Redneck Riviera” CD’s would be super and having checks come in and I’m thinking what better place for some foot- the mail for songs I wrote 7 years ago is fantastic, it age. Funny thing is I found a 100-year-old church still moves me in a way that nothing else ever has, out side of Atlanta well not counting about 35 mins that the night when I books live music, booked “The Lick so I’m shooting the Sisters” to perform rest of the video with the band and there. With our watching them fi rst Atlanta shows show me backstage coming up the last what they wanted weekend in Sep- to do with these tember I’m busy bananas during the hooking up with show.