08.03.10
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As promised, here is the FREE album by Adderall Canyonly called "The Ascension of St. Diamond and the Battles of Oxtest" and you can download it HERE. Tell us what you think of it!
07.01.10
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Music For Taxicabs is out! Real nice review HERE . Next month is new Adderall Canyonly, which will be FREE. How about that?
06.06.10
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We are proud to release Klyde Konnor's seminal double album opus Hypnopotamus, 24 tracks of prairie-psyche awesomeness for $12. We have also come across 100 NOS cd's, if you prefer your music delivered as such. More info here in the shop! Also we have 17 left of the special cassette edition of Unfluential that sports an extra track and hand-inked sticker. And in even cooler news, we will be releasing an album by Portland's very own Yes, Father! We are really, really, stoked for that.
05.05.10
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Oxykitten's "Toucht" is out now on Limited Edition cassette with digital download for only $8! Beautiful Satan-red with silver writing and bitching art. We are also psyched to let you know that we are releasing Boron's "DECRRESSCENNDO" on August 1st. GSK's "Music for Taxicabs" release will be out in July. Yay!
04.01.10
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Oxykitten's "Toucht" release date is to be May 1st! If you are like me, you are salivating. This will kick off a beautiful spring as the Pacific Northwest rains recede and the music flows! More good news soon...
03.01.10
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Mike Coykendall's "The Unbearable Being of Likeness" is officially out - come join us at THE WOODS on Sat. March 6th for the release party! And if you cannot make it, you can always buy it here!
02.20.10
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We are totally psyched to inform you that the release of Music For Taxicabs by Garth Steel Klippert will be this spring! And then we have some extra special suprises coming up as well of the cassette variety: anyone interested in a Old Heat cassingle?
01.28.10
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Due to overwhelming demand, we have decided to open up the shop early for the new Mike Coykendall album "The Unbearable Being of Likeness". At only $11, it will be the best money you have spent this month! GET IT HERE and thanks for all the support, we truly mean it.
01.01.10
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Fists of Dayton! is officially out and totally kick ass. The soundtrack from a 1983 action movie that never got made (think Bronson in a remake of THEY LIVE) is now dusted off and spit-shined, ready for purchase via download only. Recorded with vintage synths and old broken drum machines via reel to reel, this music is a throwback to a much different and sadly brief cinematic world. Get yr 80's soundtrack ON!
12.20.09
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The new year brings two new releases - Mike Coykendall's The Unbearable Being of Likeness and Adderall Canyonly's Fists of Dayton! soundtrack. When the moment is right, the doors of the shop will open and your lives will be fulfilled. Until then, more eggnog!
09.28.09
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Oxykitten EP's have dropped! The 5 song "Unfluential" and 17 minute opus "Library of Condo" can be downloaded here.
Also - we have a whole slate of really cool music coming up that will most probably blow your head off - stay tuned!
08.05.09
Couple shows of note in PDX - Chores is having a party at Kelly's Olympian on August 28th for the World Premiere for the video of "Super Car", filmed by the esteemed Jeremy Bird - it looks freakin' awesome. And Mike Coykendall and Old Light are @ Mississippi Studios on August 20th - go see these shows and support some kickass music!
06.15.09
We are pleased as punch to announce that we will be pressing the new album by musician, recordist and all around awesome fellow Mike Coykendall in March. The album is called "The Unbearable Being of Likeness" and will blow your mind. More deets to follow!
04.24.09
Hey all - happy spring! Here are some quick updates:
Snowfields in the studio - album next spring, no working title yet.
Oxykitten has two releases for late fall, one of which will probably be free: a tour EP and a soundtrack.
Klyde Konnor is still planned, just on a slightly laid back schedule.
And a totally awesome suprise release that we are completely bubbly about!
Go buy the Chores album! Next time will be our distro! But til then, that is a good place to get it.
Now go smell the blossoms...
03.29.09
A little bit o' news for ya'll ~
The new Chores cd can be bought here!
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New store is in the works - and we have stickers!
03.11.09
So here are the dates for the Chores Mini tour - support our boys and girls, tell your friends, host a nice big party. All those things would be grand.
Stay tuned for the contest!
3.20.09 LIVE FRIDAYS! on KPSU 5pm, Portland, OR
3.20.09 The Astoria, Eugene, OR
3.21.09 The Java Lounge, Sacramento, CA
3.22.09 The Knockout, SF, CA
3.23.09 Monterey Live!, Monterey, CA
3.24.09 Mr.T's Bowl, LA, CA
3.26.09 Red Rock, Reno, NV
3.27.09 Downtown Eatery, Redding, CA
4.02.09 CD RELEASE @ ROTTURE!!!! PDX, OR w/ Church and Lesser Lewis & the Twigs
02.27.09
The street date for the next Chores album is Sept 1st! More info soon - here is a tiny, tiny cover to whet your appetite. The release party is at Rotture on April 2nd in PDX - bring it! More soon…
02.12.09
A eclectic little label of suprises and wee gems. You are a little early to the coming out party - check back in early spring 2009. We will be waiting for you.
toodles…
Here is a taste of the flav’
Adderall Canyonly
St. Diamond
FREE
Garth Steel Klippert
Music for Taxicabs
BUY IT - $8
Klyde Konnor
Hypnopotamus
BUY IT - $12
Oxykitten
Toucht
BUY IT - $8
Mike Coykendall
T.U.L.B
BUY IT - $11
Adderall Canyonly
Fists of Dayton!
BUY IT - $6
Chores
Public Hammock
BUY IT - $8
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oxykitten
Unfluential
BUY IT - $6
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oxykitten
Library of Condo
FREE 
Chores
Life is Hard
BUY IT - $6
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The Snowfields
The Snowfields
BUY IT - $6 
Mike Coykendall
Hello Hello Hello
BUY IT- $8
MIKE COYKENDALL
"It’s a weird, wonderful and (not surprisingly) inventively engineered disc that will hopefully find its way into the hands of a few daring music fans based solely on the company Coykendall keeps." - BOB HAM, PAMPLEMOOSE
"Regardless where you file him, The Unbearable Being of Likeness, Coykendall's latest, is a solid collection of exceptionally assembled songs from a singer/songwriter who takes great pride in his craft." - EZRA ACE CARAEFF, PORTLAND MERCURY
"On his new album, Coykendall's lo-fi pop sound covers territory ranging from psychedelia to folk to bluesy Americana in a brief but efficient 33 minutes that's consistently surprising and often fantastic. With highlights like the trippy haze of "Spacebaker Blues" and the alt-country balladry of "First Shot, Best Shot," he offers a generous amount of subtle yet impressive pop hooks and quirky, introspective songwriting that makes this record an enjoyably and genuinely unique experience." - CHEWING GUM FOR THE EARS
"We wrote about Mike Coykendall couple of months ago while listening to something he did with M. Ward. There is something about this guy and his music and attitude. I guess what impressed me the most was that it sounds so spontaneous and effortless. Maybe because the lofi end of it. So folks, there is a new album, ‘The unbearable being of likeness’, out on Field Hymns, and we love it. Mike Coykendall is an accomplished musician, player, engineer and producer. Very creative, and he keeps surprising you, with his unique songwriting, arrangements and instrumentation. It was impossible for me to listen to his record while doing something else. It required my attention constantly, and even now, after quite few times I have listened to the whole record, I still find it awesome." - LOFILES.ORG
"The Unbearable Being of Likeness offers a diversity of sounds, from mellow ditties to melodic rockers. Coykendall’s compositions share something with Jay Farrar’s campfire comfortability, but his work in the studio mastering the songs adds layers to the album, making it a much spacier, more nuanced affair." - LEFTOVER CHEESE
"...this weird, trippy record shows a talented musician stepping out into the spotlight to give us a (slight) glimpse of what makes him tick." - DAGGERZINE
Feature in The Oregonian
Feature in WWeek
GARTH STEEL KLIPPERT
"Who knew that I’d end up with the best episode of Taxicab Confessions ever put on a little box." - Michael Mannheimer, WWEEK
"There’s an awareness throughout this experience that cannot be ignored. It makes sense of a blurred landscape, slowed down just enough to make the details come through. But it never commits totally to the listener, as it seems very much an introverted album. Though it is never closed off too much for the listener to feel close, if only for a moment. Not to beat a dead horse, but let’s just say you’re definitely a passenger for this cab ride, and it’s well worth the fare." - THIS HEART WILL BURN RIGHT OUT
"...even without knowing Klippert as a person or musically, Music For Taxicabs functions as a window into the mind of a cab driver that is as telling as it is relatively timeless; with its old synthesizers, horns and disorienting percussion, it could have been produced in Travis Bickle's tenure just as easily as it was made in Klippert's. Unlike Eno's Airports, this isn't a third-person contribution to society. It comes off as a frank and often freaky self-portrait that, rather than being labeled experimental or progressive, could be filed under psychological." - SPECTRUM CULTURE
CHORES
"The band's first EP, "Life Is Hard," is a bruising, bluesy affair reminiscent of the bar-band intrigues of the Hold Steady and the sunburned punk of X. The interplay of Pierce's fuzzy rhythm guitar lines with Thomas' ringing lead work is wonderful enough on its own, but it is augmented in often surprising ways by the snakey work of bassist Eric Mellor." -the Oregonian
"Chores’ debut EP, Life is Hard, sounds kind of like a debut EP. For every promising harmony and inventive guitar twist, there’s a first-draft lyric or clichéd Rolling Stones-style lick. In some towns, Chores’ finer points—the instrumentation sounds great and Chores’ complete lack of pretension is downright charming—would be enough to make them the best pop outfit going, but here in Portland the band’s pop blends all to easily into the background. If Chores can perfect the balancing act between keeping its music fun and throwing a bit of lyrical-emotional substance into the mix, you’ll find me front and center." -the Willamette Week
OXYKITTEN
"Everything about this cool little tape that showed up in the mail one day hit the spot, the bright red tape, with silver metallic lettering, the eye popping crocheted cover art... Everything that is except the band name, not sure why, but the name Oxykitten just had us imagining the music would be way too twee, to cutesy, too fey, a sort of Hello Kitty vibe, but in the interest of not judging a book by its cover, or a tape by its band name, we threw it on, and BAM. Or POW. Or KABLOW. Or whatever sound would indicate you that you just stumbled on the bad ass, old school electro synth lo-fi party jam of the summer. Or whenever. The opening track is a killer, with super buzzy synths, some simulated 'meow's, retro drum machines, thick deep ominous synth basslines, the melodies weirdly haunting, a weird combo of mysterious and groovy, creepy and funky, with some rad squiggly synth freakouts, very soundtracky, or like the music to the best video game you've never played. The closest reference might be Black Moth Super Rainbow or Tobacco, that sort of lo-fi 8-bit bastardized hip hop, but the sound here is way more retro, and weird. That aforementioned opener throws in some creepy John Carpenterisms too, as if Carpenter had scored Castlevania for the Sega Saturn.
The rest of the record definitely mixed it up, from super stripped down electro grooves, to goofy vocoder driven electropop, to fuzzed out Ed Banger style synth blowouts, to full on 8-bit videogame music, to wild and seriously damaged eighties party jams, to awesome, creepy soundtracky creepscapes, and on and on and on. Definite contender for party jam tape of the year, odds are a bunch of these songs will end up on summer fun mix tapes, or get blasted at full volume from car stereos, or at the very least, get pumped through those headphones, rollerskates, parachute pants and satin jackets optional.
Bright red cassette, full color eye popping covers, and a download code for those of you who no longer sport that walkman clipped to your belt..." - Aquarius Records review of TOUCHT
ADDERALL CANYONLY
"Canyonly does something here that is antiquated yet unique in the now, as well as interesting in a melancholy sense, capturing the quirky roar of the analog, the tick-tock leftover rhythms from the disco era, and the paranoia that was felt a lifetime ago. So what if the placement lies in Dayton, these sounds can be a result of any schlocky situation or input into your daily routine to make up your own ‘80s movie masterpiece. Fists Of Dayton! is all about letting the imagination go." - ZAPTOWN
OLD HEAT
Old Heat is a duo (drum & guitar) from Rayborn, TX. After playing every juke and divebar in the Cattle Belt, they emigrated to the Pacific NW, were they immediately opened a food cart in downtown portland specializing in tofu ribs and guitar repair (when they are not brutalizing the eardrums of very clean looking gutter punks -wtf? - is Beyond Thunderdome the new Salinger? Unknown!). Limited edition cassingle this summer, in the meantime, they can be found here!
CHORES
Portland, Oregon's Chores is lively, loud, and opinionated. Blending heart-on-sleeve honesty, pissed-off political rhetoric, and occasionally heady language, Chores revels in the paradoxes of modern life with unabashed energy and unchecked confidence. Chores's first full-length album, the subtle politics of the Public Hammock, rocks hard and weird, infusing a uniquely arty sprawl with ramshackle energy that careens between genres while retaining the basic elements of rock, pop, and noise. The album hurtles like a pinball through 45 minutes of anger, whimsy, regret, and joy. Produced by Chores and recorded mostly by drummer Matthew White with the assistance of local luminaries Mike Coykendall (M. Ward, Blitzen Trapper) and Gus Elg of Pants Machine.
ALBUMS
The Snowfields
Cascading walls of droning slide and vintage synths drive these instrumentals into a soft and hazy 70's sunset. Cinematic in nature, musically wide in breadth, The Snowfields is the sound of your twilight. EP in the fall 2010.
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The Snowfields
2008
BUY IT - $6
GARTH STEEL KIPPERT
This album was recorded over the course of three years by a cab driver living in a San Francisco office building. Rife with audio collage, dirty saxophone, cheap organ and a dash of lunacy, Music For Taxicabs is truly a lost legend.
Now in Portland, Oregon, Klippert has since gone on to record and tour with Kelly Stoltz, Sonny Smith, Jolie Holland, Beulah, Miles Kurosky and Old Light. Ten years after its completion, Field Hymns is proud to release Music for Taxicabs this summer.
Between 1997 and 2000, Garth Steel Klippert lived in a 10' x 10' office at 1005 Market St., Ste. 309, San Francisco, upstairs from the world-famous grease-firetrap Vietnamese restaurant Tu Lan. During that time, Klippert worked nights as a cab driver, spending his days making art and recording music with two flea-market microphones on a Tascam 424 and a Macintosh Quadra. Inspired by Brian Eno's watershed album, "Music For Airports," Klippert experimented with unusual recording techniques to produce layered assemblages of sound. In direct opposition to Eno's objective, public art approach, however, Klippert instead drew upon recordings he made surreptitiously while driving the cab; creating a subjective, narrative portrait of his state of mind.
Over a period of three months, he auditioned his rough mixes on the unsuspecting, playing them on the taxi's cassette player. Only once did a passenger confront Klippert, accusing him of forcing the world to listen to his music.
Some of the instruments used on the album are: Yamaha CP-30 electronic piano, Kay archtop guitar, Casio MT-68, Klippert's grandfather's baritone saxophone, circular saw blades, pot lids, leather shoes, plastic toy pump-action shotgun, and samples from over 60 hours of recordings of night-shift cab rides.
"The Murko" is the only selection recorded separately from the rest. It was recorded in New Orleans in 1996, at 3034 N. Rampart St., 9th Ward. Klippert shared the house with Stefan Jecusco (of Portland bands The Dickel Brothers, Ging Gang, and Nitebrite).
Klippert plays a homemade "trumpophone" (trumpet modified with alto saxophone mouthpiece), and Jecusco plays bass. Andy Hervey played bass clarinet, and John Finkbeiner played double-reed drinking straw. Jecusco engineered the session using an SM-58 microphone, a Tapco 6 channel mixer built in reverb into a hi-speed Tascam 424 and a Yamaha rack-mount analog delay unit, both of which he dismantled and completely rebuilt, following their total submersion in a flood that had occurred two months prior to the recording. The session was recorded to dmx type cassette that was dumpstered in Austin, TX by John Henry Kelly of Static Static and was recorded over previous Robitussin-fueled sessions."
Currently, Klippert plays in two Portland bands: Old Heat, and Old Light . Old Light's full length album, The Dirty Future, is slated for release in October 2010 on Portland label Arena Rock Records. Old Heat's limited edition cassingle, "Hooray For Humans," is out on Field Hymns this fall.
ALBUMS
Music for Taxicabs
BUY IT - $8
KLYDE KONNOR
R.E.M meets Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd: midwest legends Klyde Konnor rocked all that was living, and then more. Featuring a younger Mike Coykendall & friends, this thick dose of Prairie-psych is the double album masterpiece Hypnopotamus.
The long of it ---------
Klyde Konnor was a Midwestern three piece prarie-psych band based out of Wichita, KS circa 1985 – 1991. The name was a re-spelling of a neighbor’s name who always came over to ask them to stop playing. An agreement was arrived at where they could play on Saturday afternoons from 1 until 4PM. This was when the wife had her hair done. So, it was on those afternoons that Klyde tracked the louder parts of the initial band recordings. In 1986 some of these recordings were receiving airplay on college radio and Klyde was asked to perform at a fundraiser from the local college/community radio station “KMUW” and in particular for that stations “After Midnight” program which played “underground” music (pre the term “alternative”). This required putting a band together. Original members Mike Coykendall (main songwriter, singer, guitaris) and Tim Heuback (songwriter / bassist) joined with Cameron Gourley (drummer / singer). This was the first live version of Klyde Konnor. This line-up recorded a single “What’s She Doin’ with Him” in 1985 and a full length cassette release titled “The Weaker the Stronger.” These early recordings owe a lot to the sound of early REM, the Byrds, the Rain Parade, and the Psychedelic Furs.
In 1986 or so… Heuback left the group to be a good father and husband. Coykendall and Gourley found a new member in Ron Smith. Coykendall and Smith hit it off as they’d each never met another musician that could jam on Syd Barrett songs. There was much interest in Klyde during this time and in mid-1987 they went into a professional recording studio and did a record on good pro equipment titled “I Always Forget.” This record is spotty and a little too pro / safe / pop. It’s long been Coykendall’s least favorite. Soon after, with the further incorporation of the more rocking and experimental Smith the band took a turn towards more outlandish and noisy freak-outs. Sometimes these excursions were welcomed sometimes they were at the crowd’s dismay. Klyde went from being written up as the “best band in Kansas” by the Wichita Eagle and Beacon in1986 to being voted “worst live band” in 1988 by the Gopher Purge music magazine. The band decided to release these more challenging experiments under the alter-ego of “The Tanglebrains.” Same band with differing levels of discipline applied. By 1989 they were finding their own original voice and had jelled as a band into something unpredictable but still enjoyable. The band released the highly acclaimed “Wallpaper” in 1989. In 1990 they upped the anti with the release of the ambitious double cassette release “Hypnopatamus.” To date, this is the only Klyde record that has been made available digitally.
In late 1991 the day after playing their last official show the group quickly (in one day) recorded “When Worlds Klyde.” Coykendall then re-located to San Francisco where he stared anew and formed the folk / Americana group The Old Joe Clarks.
Klyde’s members stay in contact and have had several reunion concerts over the years. Just for the fun of it…always for the fun of it.
here is a good article about Klyde Konnor
and another!
ALBUMS
Hypnopotamus
org. released 1990
BUY IT - $12
OXYKITTEN
The brainchild of Bob Coctostin, middlewest mob-dance legend. Retro and ridiculous, this music rocks analog synth, drum machine & vocoder - just like the way it used to be. Part minimal-wave, part lo-fi synth-pop and all original, Oxykitten is the sound of your next party.
ALBUMS
Toucht
2010
BUY IT - $8
Unfluential
EP 2009
BUY IT - $8
Library of Condo
EP 2009
FREE DOWNLOAD
MIKE COYKENDALL
If you have heard of Portland's Mike Coykendall, you probably know him from his association with M.Ward, She & Him, Richmond Fontaine & Blitzen Trapper, the bands he has engineered, produced and performed with over recent years. It gets overlooked that he has a songwriting, performing, record-making history dating back to the mid 80's. Midwesterners might remember Kansas prairie-psych legends Klyde Konnor (available only here); americana fans might remember the seminal San Francisco group The Old Joe Clarks; and a lucky few will have copies of the 2005 underground classic Hello, Hello, Hello. The Unbearable Being of Likeness is another dose of the hi-lo-fi avant-pop, DIY-aesthetic first explored on that album.
ALBUMS
The Unbearable Being of Likeness
2010
BUY IT - $11
Hello Hello Hello
2005
BUY IT - $8
Klyde Konnor
Hypnopotamus
1990
BUY IT - $12
*A semi-exaustive discography of Mike Coykendall
Records: 1986 - 2010
(full length commercial releases, does not include EPs and Singles)
(many only released on Cassette, especially those before 1996)
1986 - Klyde Konnor - The Weaker the Stronger
1987 - Klyde Konnor - I Always Forget
1987 - The Tanglebrains - Wizard of Owlsley
1988 - Klyde Konnor - Wallpaper
1988 - The Tanglebrains - Concept from the Onset
1989 - The Tanglebrains - III-Dumb
1990 - Klyde Konnor - Hypnopatamus
1990 - Mike Coykendall - Sweet Times of a Flying Machine
1991 - The Tanglebrains - Cream of Conciencnous
1991 - Klyde Konnor - In Front of Some People (live)
1991 - Mike Coykendall - In the Wink of an Eye
1992 - Klyde Konnor - When Worlds Klyde
1993 - The Old Joe Clarks - Bobbing for Graverobbers
1994 - Klyde Konnor - Together Again / Yum Yums on the Bathroom Floor
1994 - The Old Joe Clarks - Voice of Rita Mae
1995 - The Old Joe Clarks - 'nother Round
1996 - The Old Joe Clarks - Town of Ten
1999 - The Old Joe Clarks - Metal Shed Blues
2002 - The Old Joe Clarks - November
2005 - Mike Coykendall - Hello Hello Hello
2010 - Mike Coykendall - The Unbearable Being of Likeness
ADDERALL CANYONLY
From Tecumseh, Penn. - a whole bunch of fuckups and true analog gems...
Fists of Dayton! is the soundtrack from a 1983 action movie that never got made (think Bronson in a remake of THEY LIVE). More dark analog goodness to come this year with two more albums of basement gems : It Was A Dark And Stoney Night and The Ascension of St. Diamond and the Battles of Oxtest, the latter a concept album about Neil Diamond entering a black hole.
ALBUMS
BORON
Boron is an electronic musician from the Baltic Sea port town of Oulu, Finland. Not much else is known about her, except that her name is Juuka Laperi (or Leperi), and that either she or her father is a geologist, hence the name Boron. (The chemical element boron is a rock similar in structure to carbon, and is used in the production of semiconductors, insecticides, and preservatives.) It's also unknown when these tracks were recorded, but their track names have been preserved. They appear to have been recorded in two different sessions. A web search for her name turns up nothing, and Boron's MySpace page yields precious little information, save that she or a representative have described her music as "sound[ing] like a screensaver." Field Hymns is proud to bring this music to the world, and urges Boron to step forward and reveal herself.
ALBUMS
DECRRESSCENNDO
SUMMER 2010
Yes, Father
IN A VOCAL ranging from faux-Brit to amateur opera to pinched Prince-like screeching falsetto, Tim Wenzel of the lo-fi Portland, OR band Yes, Father takes stock observational humor material (cell phones, car alarms, shitty managers, rollerblading, etc) and ingeniously boils it down to its pure ridiculousness. Peppered with overwrought musical cliches and joined by Phil Stern (drumming on a suitcase) and bassist David Leavitt, Yes, Father play songs that jump genre a la Ween, albeit with a stronger emphasis on silliness, rock and roll gusto, and crowd participation. Their song "Tripper," featured in Thrasher's 2006 King of the Road video, has become a sing-a-long fave among skaters; although, we neglected to credit them for their work. Welcome to the family, boys!
- Michael Burnett THRASHER MAG. July 1, 2007
Your song "Rollerblading Into the Night" has become an anthem for the inline community, yet everyone in the Yes Father skateboards - How were you able to take on the persona of a 'blader to write that song?
Tim: Well, everyone has given the rollerbladers shit for so long I decided to take the opposite stand and joke about it. It's actually a way to cover up a secret longing in my life. Even though I skateboard, I've always secretly wanted to rollerblade.
David: That song's an oldie
Tim: Yeah. It's an oldie. I've been playing it for 10 years, maybe.
Phil: See! It's not a fad. It's a fucking lifestyle!
In your hometown of Portland, Oregon, rollerbladers aren't really accepted at the skateparks. What are your thoughts on that?
Tim: It's a shame.
David: Yeah, 'cause rollerbladers go a lot faster than skateboarders.
Phil: They have eight wheels; we only have four. They win.
So Dave, I hear that you're the poon hound of the band. Like the rapper Mike Jones, you also have a song with your phone number in it. How's that paying off?
David: What's my number? Yeah.
David: It's 503.975.9165. Tim: It's not like the Mike Jones song. We're not concerned with money. I wrote the song so Dave could get laid more.
Does it work?
David: I guess my reputation precedes me. We've played the song at a bunch of shows, and the most phone calls I get are from my bros making fun of me. I'd say it's sort of backfired on me in that way, but my friends have an easier time remembering my phone number. There are different benefits to the song.
Phil, you play a suitcase as your bass drum. How do the sound guys mic that thing now that you're playing some bigger shows?
Phil: From the side and at the rear.
Can you fit the rest of your kit in the suitcase?
Phil: I usually borrow a chair from somebody, so the only thing that doesn't fit is the snare and the snare stand. I also keep some blocks of wood in there so when we play outdoor venues or festivals the bass pedal doesn't sink into the sod, 'cause I'm really giving it to that thing. There's also Duct-tape and extra sticks, too. And memories.
Your song "Tripper" was in the most recent King of the Road video, and a lot of people want to know if it's based on a true story?
Tim: It's based on a true story with fantasy added. It's about a guy in Portland we used to call Tripper Skipper.
Did he really like to swim covered in Halls' Mentholatum rub?
Tim: I'm pretty sure he did, yeah. It's basically a shout out to all the trippers, because everyone's got at least one tripper in the bunch. This song's for that guy. So the encounter in the steam room?
Tim: Fantasy.
You had a song in a skate video. What's your next big move as far as promotion of Yes Father?
Tim: Hopefully to not get paid at our next gig.
Phil: We don't get paid in money. We get paid in beer, and occasionally, poon.
I know that the Portland music scene is pretty serious. Has Yes Father met any resistance among the more stoic fans?
Phil: No, 'cause we never even took it seriously. If you come see us at your local arena or living room, you'll see that we're a couple beers in and want to get everyone into it and laughing. We're not part of the peacock rock scene. That's what I like about it. You don't have to worry about being cool or how white your white belt is.
David: We're pretty much geared to play house parties. That's our volume level.
Are there any rumors that you have heard about the band in the press or on the streets?
Phil: Someone thought we were actually called No Father.
Tim: No, it was Don't Daddy. No, but aside from, "You guys still aren't very good," not much.
Weren't you called Portland's Best Party Band by the local entertainment paper?
Tim: Yeah. We had the cover three weeks in a row. The first was us getting undressed. The next week was full penetration, and the last cover was us cuddling.
If people want to track the music down, how would they do that?
Phil: Call Dave.
Tim: Yeah, call Dave.
Tim: You could also come by my record store. It's in Portland, and it's called Q is for Choir. So either MySpace, Dave, or the record store.
What should someone know if they're nervous about coming out to see a Yes Father show?
Phil: Probably that their band is better than ours.
David: Wear a fanny pack. You'll fit in.
Tim: 'Blade to the show. Fucking 'blade to the show has always been our motto. 'Blade to the show, get in free.
Phil: 'Blades get in free.
Tim: Skate to the show, pay double.
Field Hymns is...
a wee record label in Portland, Oregon. You can find our physical releases at The Biz , Music Millennium, Mississippi Records and Aquarius Records. If you know of a place or own a place that would love to sell our releases, drop us a line. And don't forget about our store!
Thanks!