-The St John’s Sentinel; Portland, OR.
You catch them out of the corner of your eye: a firetruck whizzing by, the bed filled with mismatched band uniforms and spangly cabaret clowns honking their sousaphone in your general direction. Or maybe you walk past an open door and hear on the summer breeze the wail of an accordion, accompanied by a sweeping operatic tenor, wafting over the head of a dancing crowd. Who are they?
They are the bands embodying the latest evolution in the Portland music scene: the Pohemian fusion of turn-of-the-century musical traditions and carnivalesque performances.
Since the 1970s, every generation has gone through a retro trend, as we see leg warmers reappearing on self-respecting adults, but this music is different. Rather than the usual 20-year nostalgia - the ’70s in the ’90s, the ’80s in 2006 - this trend reaches back much farther.
The music and style of Pohemia is influenced by the late 1800s to 1930s. All of the bands choose their own homage to the era; it may be their style of dress or their music. Music then was part of a community, whether it was people with homemade instruments on their porch or gathering to see a traveling show.
In the age where the recording contract is king and big-name bands go on the road only when they have a new album to push, the music of Pohemia places emphasis on the show. It doesn’t matter if the show is in a club or just free music on the street. The aesthetic, the dancers, the quality of sound are all best experienced live, and they track their success in the quality of their audience, rather than the number of iTunes downloads.
The new movement pays homage to that spirit in unique ways. At the heart of the Pohemian music movement are such bands as the March Fourth Marching Band and the Vagabond Opera, as well as country-flavored groups like the Stolen Sweets, Sassparilla Jug Band, the Dickel Brothers and others.
The Aesthetic
When March Fourth takes to the streets, their look is as much a part of the show as their music. The mismatched band costumes decorated with spangles, flowers, stripes and punk-rock twists are a far cry from the traditional stodgy marching-band attire.
As the dancers and stilt walkers move about the crowd, enticing people who were bobbing their heads to let loose and dance, the face paint and the costumes act as a bridge. People see them and smile, and you get the feeling the real world has faded just for a minute and it’s acceptable to do something silly.
“I thought I was dressed up because I had some glitter on my face,” said Eric Stern, the bandleader for Vagabond Opera, after playing with March Fourth with the first time. “They really raised the bar.”
Stern has left the glitter behind and, as part of his ringmaster mystique, sports an impressive handlebar mustache, waxed to perfect points.
“I got into the circus-art-vaudeville communit and it was fun to bring it into the band,” said Robin Jackson, Vagabond’s saxophonist and vocalist.
Unlike the Stolen Sweets, who play ’20s and ’30s Boswell Sisters tunes, or Sassparilla Jug Band, who play dust-bowl folk, March Fourth and Vagabond Opera’s music doesn’t specifically evoke the era, but the circus vibe certainly does. Solely by listening to a CD you miss part of what makes them unique and so much fun.
The Sound
Vagabond Opera’s bassist, Jason Flores, stresses the band, and most Pohemian music for that part, has an “emphasis on musicianship,” and it’s important that they “challenge [them]selves.” In the age of digital production where one person and a computer can simulate a symphony, the music of Pohemia stresses mastery of traditional instruments.
For Pete Krebs of Stolen Sweets, the music and the look conjure up a time “when things were well-made, rather than stretched out and bleached by mass production.”
The Depression in many ways defined the music of this era, and music was a thing of joy at a time in the nation when people were feeling things were out of control.
“All you need is a washboard and a tub and you have a band,” said Jackson. “It makes music accessible for a lot of people.”
The Community
“I was looking for a community of like minded freaks,” said Vagabond’s Flores of coming to Portland.
“And you found it,” said Mark Burdon, Vagabond’s drummer, laughing.
The Pohemian music scene is intertwined - members of Vagabond play in March Fourth, it seems like everyone has at least one other band, and they all know one another.
“We all stand on each other’s shoulders,” said Stern, “but at the same time we’re all striving for better and unique sound.”
For all the bands, most of the members hail from elsewhere. Some were drawn to Portland for the music, while others came for other reasons but stayed for the music.
“It constantly blows my mind,” remarked Nayana Jennings, an original member of March Fourth. “Whether it’s a middle school or an architectural firm, people respond to us. We tap into something that people were looking for, even if they didn’t know it yet.”
So the next time you see a fire engine filled with clowns, follow it; or if you spot a man with a handlebar mustache and an accordion, stop and check it out. Maybe you’ll find something you need. At the very least, you’ll witness something that makes this city an amazing place to live.
Anastasia Gornick - The St. John’s Sentinel, Portland, OR view publication’s website
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