On the occasion of the Cherry City Music Festival, which
showcases Salem-bred bands in venues around our state’s capital the
weekend of October 12-13, I asked several Portland musicians who spent
their formative years in our statehouse-hosting neighbor to the south
(most of whom are playing the festival as part of a sizeable ex-pat
contingent) to reflect on their hometown.

Eric Earley (Blitzen Trapper, Singer/Guitarist):

Wherever
you spend your formative years will affect you regardless. It was for
me, looking back, a fairly rural Middle American place to live, with a
river passing through it and mountains on the borders, good fishing in
the mountains, and forests of blackberry [brambles] filled with rusty
train parts.

Devin Gallagher (Boy Gorilla Records, Co-Owner; the Black Black
Black, Vocals Guitar; Typhoon, Guitar/Drums):

My favorite thing
was how many people truly loved and cared about Salem music. My least
favorite thing was that the city’s administration and a lot of its
middle-aged residents didn’t love it, or care about it, and often
worked to hinder it.Tyler Ferrin (Boy Gorilla Records, Co-Owner;
Typhoon, Guitar/Trumpet):For the most part, the music scene is very
tightly knit in the high schools. Those kids only go to Portland to see
bigger bands play. It’s hard for a Salem band to come play Portland,
since no one knows of them, and most likely they are working with
horrible promoters like BigTime or someone else. Bands play for a
couple of years and then drop off the scene. There isn’t much for Salem
musicians after high school. Nobody is offering any bands an
opportunity. If a band has the will and desire to do something with
music, they always move to Portland. A few have broken that mold, but
it’s generally the case.Josh Blanchard (Towne Lounge, Someday
Lounge, Booker; Plants, Singer/Guitarist):My favorite Salem band
right now is called the Nodding Tree Remedies. They are an eight- to
12-piece psychedelic party collective, and every set is different from
the last. Imagine a mixture of Amon Düül, the Happy Mondays,
and the Merry Pranksters and you’ll get a loose idea of what these guys
have going on. Sometimes living in a bubble [like Portland] doesn’t
create the natural tension needed to make “honest” art. Portland, god
bless it, is often a big hipster circle jerk, where everyone you meet
is a self-stylized artist of some kind. Salem, for good and ill, is
free from the pressures of fashion and trends, and the music that comes
out of the city is refreshing precisely because of that.Typhoon and
the Black Black Black play at Ike Box as part of the Boy Gorilla label
showcase from 6 pm-1 am on Friday, October 12. Plants play at Coffee
House Café at 11 pm on Saturday, October 13 followed by Nodding
Tree Remedies.