For anyone old enough to drink, Portland is a great place to catch a wide assortment of live music on any given night of the week. With a diverse array of venues catering to various tastes and genres, it isn’t difficult to discover something worth delving into and pass an evening immersed in the spell of musical expression, so long as you can afford the cover.
The situation is entirely different for anyone born less than 21 years ago. Although a few clubs (Satyricon, Backspace, Roseland Theater, Crystal Ballroom, Hawthorne Theater) are equipped with provisions for all ages access, by and large Portland teens and 20 year olds are left standing outside. It’s a seriously unfortunate circumstance for a band’s young fans, considering they are often exuberantly enthusiastic and generally quite willing to spend money on CDs, t-shirts and other merch. The OLCC’s restrictions on all ages access haven’t encouraged an inclusive atmosphere, but if anyone thinks local youth have been content to sigh and resign themselves to waiting it out until their 21st birthday rolls around, they’d be completely wrong.
A vibrant and diverse underground all ages scene is happening in basements and living rooms across the city, one almost entirely reliant on social networking, the internet, and word-of-mouth promotion. Nondescript residences during the day transform into clubs at night. Spaces such as the Wail, the Green House, the Artistery, and Abyssal Behemoth play regular host to well-attended shows, featuring an impressively broad array of local and touring acts from the lesser known to the internationally popular. Admission to the unofficial circuit is often free (or a passing of the proverbial hat for touring acts) and everyone, regardless of age, is welcome.
Between August of 2008 and October 2009, the Blood Bank was one such club in SE Portland, eventually meeting its demise on account of a three-day festival that drew the serious ire of neighbors and alerted the landlady. The Blood Bank was a venue that started out modestly, picked up steam, and went out with a bang. Hoping for a view into the sub-radar world of Portland’s under-21, DIY venue scene, OMN sat down with Bryan Weller, a 22-year-old Seattle transplant, PSU student, and primary Blood Bank organizer to find out what goes into running an all ages venue in a suburban residential living room.
Bryan Weller
OMN: What initially inspired you to start hosting shows in your home?
BW: It seemed like the thing to do. At the time I was playing my own music and felt really down on venues because it was a money oriented sort of thing. It doesn’t really seem to matter what it sounds like as long as it makes money; if it sounds good but doesn’t make any money, who gives a shit? And that seems counter-artistic. It seems like a big contributor to why there’s such shit in the mainstream. Going from that, trying to get bands both big and small sometimes on the same bill seemed like the best thing to do if I wasn’t playing my own music.
OMN: How did you promote shows at the Blood Bank?
BW: MySpace, flyers…the more things picked up steam, the more word just got around. Bigger bands started playing more regularly, so if the band puts up a thing saying they’re playing a house show and it’s in-between playing two venues that are paying, then you know that’s good press for the house show because people don’t have to pay. But it leads to other certain kinds of problems.
OMN: What kind of problems?
BW: Over time I got to know a few bookers at venues and they talked about when a band plays a free house show it has bad implications for when the band is playing a venue before or after, because their guarantee is made, their contract is made, and if a booker knows a band is playing a free show, the booker knows they’re going to lose money. Things can happen like the booker’s gonna back away from their contract or back away from the band. It’s not good for a lot of people involved. It can backfire for the music itself and that’s obviously not what I want.
OMN: Did you ever feel a sense of animosity from venue organizers on account of that?
BW: Not animosity, I just had to be careful not to step on people’s toes or make sure the band wasn’t gonna advertise it. ‘Cause if it’s just word of mouth, a fair amount of people will still come. It’s a weird thing because doing it from the angle with the house is sort of in contempt of venues.
OMN: Is this way of thinking consciously political? Some manifestation of punk ethos?
BW: I don’t think people pay attention to labels like “punk.” At my most idealistic, I’d say money doesn’t belong with music at all. I know there’s a lot of people who want to make a living or think their stuff is so good they should make a living. Maybe they’re right, but I guess if I had my way, one would be in one corner and the other would be in its own. Just because it’s so possible to do all this without money being involved, and money’s a factor that drags it down.
OMN: You never profited off the shows?
BW: No, they were always free. We never paid bands or made guarantees. It’s just more of a different business model which is free of business. It’s free of any monetary aspect to the process of organization and hosting.
OMN: What about touring band’s expenses? Did you ever pass the hat around?
BW: Sure, there were times when necessity would have it that way and that’s perfectly reasonable I’d say.
OMN: How frequently were shows hosted at the Blood Bank?
BW: Starting out it was a lot less than it ended up: once a month maybe, and then twice a month optimistically. Last summer though it was about one a weekend, which for that particular house was maybe overdoing it.
OMN: When did shows end? Did you follow noise ordinances?
BW: The noise ordinance is at 10:00 p.m. and a lot of time shows started at 10:00 p.m. In Portland, the youth come out really late. If you advertise at 8:00 p.m., you can count on people being there at 10:00 p.m. There was a while around the winter and spring of 2009 where we’d just sort of push to see how late it would go, to see if the next day there’d be a complaint and I think we got to 1:30 a.m. or something, which is pretty late, but we aimed for midnight or 12:30 a.m. at the latest on average.
OMN: What kind of relationship did you have with your neighbors? Did they often complain about the noise?
BW: They almost never would approach me personally. Just one neighbor would come out of her house. But yeah, there’d be e-mail communiques. In the beginning, we tried really clearly to say we’re having an event and I remember a lot of them, some of the ones that were complaining later were like ‘Yeah, great.’ And I think their later complaints were, ‘You only told us a few shows, but it’s been a year now.’”
OMN: Ever have problem with the OLCC or police?
BW: No. I never thought about it until my neighbor started complaining. I never thought about the drinking and what the repercussions of that might be.
OMN: Were there ever any problems with broken or stolen stuff?
BW: Not awful problems. The bathroom’s always kind of a situation. I don’t ever recall the water bill ever being a problem but the toilet paper dispenser gets broken off the wall or there’s bottles everywhere. There’s a mess to clean up afterward every time.
OMN: How did you find bands to play the space?
BW: Later on they’d approach us by referral from other bands who already performed at the Blood Bank, or else find us through a Google search or through pc-pdx.com. It was just sort of a ball that got rolling. People would find out about it.
OMN: Did the Blood Bank cater to a certain kind of band?
BW: I prefer indie rock or indie in general but we had metal and folk and stuff like that, but it was generally sort of up that alley. I didn’t really go looking.
OMN: Who were some of the more recognized or popular acts that performed?
BW: Wampire, Blue Skies for Black Hearts, Reporter [scheduled to play the Sound Judgment Festival at the Blood Bank, but unable do so after police shut down the show, played the following day instead at the Green House], Church, and Israel Nebeker from Blind Pilot did a solo set. All you have to do is ask, which was a good starting point, see what happens. You’ve nothing to lose just by asking. I think almost any band would play a house show, if they’re sort of local enough or have enough local pride. I feel like most bands that paid their dues and got their start at a low place, given the right time and the right place, and maybe the right cause if it’s a benefit or something would play a house.
Bird Announced Land playing at the Blood Bank
OMN: What was the best show ever hosted at the Blood Bank, in your opinion?
BW: The Sound Judgment Festival was pretty epic but I sort of feel like we did a one-two punch on St. Patrick’s Day. There was Somersault, Beat Beat Whisper, Firs of Prey, and like a week or two later we had Larians, Bird Announced Land, and Church. And those shows were sort of connected in a way because Church had a hand in both of them. They were both just really strong in music, really successful. You know, watching it and listening to it, I felt fulfilled in my role in it but also just being there.
OMN : Crowds are noticeably younger than at regular venues…
BW: Right, they’re 19 or 20.
OMN: Is this strictly a young person’s thing? Never trust anyone over 30?
BW: Definitely not. I don’t think anyone would look at it like that, but I’ve noticed older people will come and stick out like a sore thumb. But at the same time I think a lot of it’s fashion. If an older guy comes and he’s let himself go or looks like he came from work, then he’ll stick out. But if he comes and he looks like somehow he’s keeping up with all the trends or something then I think people would be all there for him. In a weird way I think it’s like that, but I would say everyone’s perfectly welcome. Also I think maybe when older people show up there’s the thought that it’s someone’s dad, or someone’s in trouble, or someone’s there to be supervised, which puts everyone on edge. I don’t know how to go around that.
OMN: Is the DIY venue scene in Portland growing?
BW: I think it’s a steady state. They say “no house is gonna last forever” and I think it’s true, and no venue will either. There’ll always be venues and there’ll always be houses. Another one will come up or someone will start it either from nothing or with all their resources, and it’ll just keep going. There’ll always be a balance so long as there’s this environment where there are people playing, there are people hosting, [and] there’s an audience.
OMN: What do you think the impact would be on the DIY scene be if attendance at regular venues were legalized for the under-21 crowd?
BW: There’s still the aspect of it being free [some houses charge or recommend a donation]. You know people see shows in living rooms and basements and really enjoy them, and bands that do the same, that play them, I’m sure they would know there’s no replacement for that. If suddenly places with stages that are up to your neck were suddenly accessible to everyone, that’s not the natural replacement. I think it would still go on, I would still do it.
OMN: What finally caused you to close up shop with the Blood Bank?
BW: Sound Judgment was really the final straw. It was the last show. A neighbor that had been complaining told my landlady. I’d left on doorsteps a letter saying what I was doing, that I wanted them to voice any dissent so I could take it into consideration, and I guess one of the neighbors handed that off to my landlady after Sound Judgment and told her that “250 people” were there [actual attendance was closer to 130]. So my landlady was pissed about 250 people, to her knowledge, being on the property, that it violated all sorts of codes and that it put her in potential legal danger. She said, “I can’t stop you from having private parties, but that means you know everyone you invited personally. And you’re sort of taking your own risk when you’re pissing neighbors off with bands. I won’t stop you from having bands.”
But I decided I didn’t wanna mess around with that anymore. My landlady put the kibosh on stuff and she had a pretty valid point. I went through a month or two of feeling like my neighbors were complaining but I was working hard to assuage their specific complaints. My landlady had a pretty valid point that I couldn’t really get around, which is when there’s 50 or 60 people, and I only know 10 of them, and everyone’s drinking, and there’s no proper fire escape or certain codes are being broken… after that, it’s not worth it. I’d have to invest more energy than it’s probably worth at that house, so….
OMN: Do you have plans to revive the Blood Bank later at some other place?
BW: Hoping at the very least the next place I live will be a place I can do this kind of stuff. My lease is up in July.
OMN: So if people want to find out about these kinds of shows, what specific resources they should check out?
BW: As far as finding houses, www.pc-pdx.com is the go-to. Sometimes Google searches for “DIY house scene in Portland,” but you know pc-pdx is just solid. It’s a wiki that anyone can add to.
OMN: Any advice to those who might like to start their own venue?
BW: Everyone who’s interested in it should give it a shot, like start their own thing. It’s easy. I was surprised how much I could squeeze out of that house. It’s just a living room, but you take any space and you could probably squeeze something out of it if you have the time and the patience and the persistence.
OMN: If the Blood Bank had an epitaph, what would it be?
BW: “It was totally worth it.”
If you’re looking for a good time on a Saturday night, then follow the ever-infectious Pop-Punk duo (now trio) Japanther. They showed Satyricon an extremely good time last Saturday playing their undeniably catchy tunes with abandon to an all-ages crowd.
Also sharing the crowd that night were potential Pop darlings Wampire. While not as exciting as Japanther, Wampire still put on a good, danceable show. The single “Orchard” put a smile on just about everyone’s faces. Wampire sounds like a cross between The Arcade Fire and Beach House: kind of loud but also kind of doped up. If the night were about ten degrees hotter, Wampire would’ve sounded like a refreshing beverage. But since it was cold, Japanther was the band to all looked toward for the jump that would get the blood flowing.
The comedy award of the night definitely went to Hip-Hop duo Thuggage. As much as Emerson Valentine Lyon and Caws Pobi could make you laugh with their less than serious lyrics, you couldn’t help but notice that the beats and melodies were spot on. While they are obviously comedians, they are also obviously very good musicians who have taken the time to study their craft. People found themselves dancing and laughing with good cause: Thuggage puts on a great show. If Jemaine and Bret from Flight of the Concords took their Hip-Hop outfit seriously then Thuggage is what you’d get.
In over two decades of hard living and hard luck, New Orleans’ 
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