#bubble cats

This coming Saturday we’re back at The World Famous Kenton Club probably for the last time this year. Medicine Family has asked us to support their gig and I’m very excited. I dig Medicine Family, a band made up of a lot of really great musicians, most of whom played in another band I really enjoyed, The Git Rights.

When I first moved into the Kenton neighborhood about 7 years ago, The Git Rights would play a Sunday "Gospel Brunch" show once or twice a month. Basically a cover band that played everything from traditional gospels tunes to Tom Waits' Chocolate Jesus. I suppose if the song mentions Jesus it might get a chance to be part of the set. The frontman Michael, would set up behind a white pulpit with a goat skull affixed to the front (super metal). He'd dress up like an old west gunslinger turn preacher, sometimes with crazy feathers and shit coming out of his white cowboy hat. He played a black flying v acoustic guitar for fucks sake. The whole thing was a blend of sacrilegious fun, outlaw country, metal posturing but also a warm and genuine celebration of music and community. The Kenton Club would be packed to the gills on a Sunday afternoon in a way that would shame some of the bigger weekend nights. People loved that band, I know I did. Turns out they still play every once in awhile, I believe they played Doug Fir last summer with Hillstomp, it's just not as frequent as it once was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80fzhMimvEU

Anyhow, now I will remove my puckered lips from The Git Rights and place it directly on the ass of Medicine Family. They’re fucking cool. They kinda remind me of Wilco in that they are rooted American Rock but allow their sound to breath outside of those confines. They remind me of Bubble Cats in a way, refusing to have a singular sound - they are stylistically eclectic. The singer Jesse, used to drum in my old band Curious Hands. Another incestuous point I'd like to make is, Chris, Medicine Family's drummer and morning bartender at The KC, was the drummer of my very first Portland band, The Tallboys back in 2000-2001. We lived together with the rest of the band over in felony flats. I was with him on 9/11/01 people and that makes us run deep like baby seals. We used to get stoned (before it was legal) and watch Pokemon weekday afternoons at 4:30pm. Ah, the simpler times.

Last night of the trip, Bombs Away Cafe, Corvallis, OR. I’ve been running on an average of 3 to 4 hours of sleep since this thing started. Team Bubble Cats are all pretty out of it and we’re coming up with stupid jokes to pass time. Bits that technically shouldn’t be funny, but to a carload of stinky, sleep deprived dudes, it’s comedy genius. I’m eating a yogurt. “What are you eating there, is that a muscle milk shooter?” Somehow the idea of muscle milk is the most hilarious thing I’ve ever heard. My dormant 13-year-old sense of humor has risen to the surface, and is now completely in control. That hill over there looks like a butt.

I’ve learned a lot of this trip. 1. Don’t assume anything about anyone. Give people a chance to show you who they are. Some of the nicest people are right in front of you. 2. Sleep more. Naps would have helped moods and general health. 3. Water. Put it inside of you, as well as using it to wash up.

I know in a lot of these post I’ve focused on the debauchery and crazy shit we’ve encountered. It’s more colorful to talk about that stuff I suppose, and often I’m just trying to track what I think might be the more interesting details. But in doing so maybe I’ve left out the heart of the story.

I’m going back over this blog, trying to correct my grammar, and now I have a chance to reflect on what it is I’m trying to say here. I wanted to add some of the other points that maybe weren’t as extreme, reactionary, grumpy, or just plain stupid. In between all the driving there were those thoughtful, quiet moments. Starring out at the ocean from Baker Beach (before the naked man and his gray baby arm). Admiring the rolling green fantasy-esque atmosphere of Southern Oregon from the window of a van. The forever brown, garbage covered plains, punctured by wind turbines between SF and Modesto, CA. The sea of Crackheads, scratching and shuffling around The Mission district. The pirates and wenches who operate Oberon’s Tavern. The plague that is the California driver - seriously no turn signals, you fucking ass?

I’m thankful for the conversations I had with my band, as well as The Violent Psalms beardos. I don’t feel like I got to know them better as people in the traditional way of becoming friends, it was something else. Going on tour with another band lets you see them in an entirely unique light. I’m not sure what the word for it is, but speaking for myself, I feel there is a bond between the 7 of us now, that couldn’t have happened any other way.

Seeing a band night after night, their music sneaks its way inside your soul. Now those wilting, well-crafted tunes are the soundtrack of my subconscious. All day they are playing over and over in my head. At times I think this is what its like being a dirty hippie who follows Phish, except my Phish is these three bearded dudes, singing about some really sad stuff. Never did I find myself spinning with my arms raised or taping into someone’s mellow. I wasn’t even wearing my tie-dye socks (I didn’t even pack them)… Wait, it’s nothing like following Phish. It’s more like having that single CD in your car and just letting it play every single day, as you make the one hour commute to a job that is killing you. You don’t realize it at first, but slowly the noise peels back the layers of your mind, and you notice that there’s something about this band, there’s something meaningful here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT_n-ut2EPU

Today's featured act has what I consider to be the best name in all of Portland (not all of the world, though, beaten only by Baby Ghosts). It's Bubble Cats, which is not just a fun name to say, but also a fun image to picture and a fun pair of sound effects to make. Pop! Meow!

Bubble Cats were introduced to me with last year's Mews, Purr, and Hiss, a collection of three short EP-type releases. It's a body of tracks that'll take you by storm, filled with fast-paced, guitar-heavy, garage rock, with most tunes clocking in at under three minutes. For what it's worth, "Solidarity" is my favorite track off of that collection. As far as newer tunes go, Bubble Cats recently released "Blame Deflector" (an almost dub-inspired tune, reminiscent of stuff like "Guns of Brixton") and "Sayonara" (which you can read more about below).

In the next couple months, Bubble Cats are keeping busy. They'll be in the studio tracking some new tunes before taking off on a tour of California with Violent Psalms in October. You can prepare for that by hitting up Bubble Cats' Bandcamp page and snagging some of their tunes. As always, keep up with Bubble Cats on Facebook for the most recent updates, and follow them on Twitter @bubble_cats.

GB! AUG2014 Mixtape by Bubble Cats

Composed almost exclusively of acoustic guitar and synth pad, the first 45 seconds of "Sayonara" are quite a departure from the traditional Bubble Cats sound. It opens up sounding almost like a theme to an old school RPG, but then in comes a piercing, wavering guitar line, and suddenly we're back. The rising progression used in the chorus is definitely my favorite part of the tune. The vocal performance is massive and quite dramatic, and while the lyrical content is pretty depressing, the whole mood of the tune doesn't really feel that depressing, but rather rebellious. The tune wraps up with some virtuosic guitar work, and then before you know it, everything is over.