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You are the music...
“You are the music... while the music lasts.”
When you tell someone that you are in a band or that you play music, it is inevitable that you will be met with the question, "Who do you sound like?" in a matter of moments. That question never made sense, because for me it was not a matter of "who" but rather a matter of "why." That was always the crux and the drive behind any choice I make musically.
Listeners and artists alike can answer that question differently, but the key element to every response is the story. Every good protagonist has an origin story, and that is always what fascinates me the most. I have always considered myself more of a storyteller and songwriter than a musician. For me music is this outlet where I take everything I am feeling in a given moment or period of my life and shake it up, and what comes out is a song.
That being said, that makes it each song very personal and something that is very difficult to let people experience. It is the physical manifestation of all the secrets, and desires, and highs, and lows, brought to life in a swirling colors and sounds.
Music is simultaneously a place refuge and peril. If there is someone, anyone out there that can connect with that song, that feeling that I am feeling, then I am reminded that I am not alone. It makes all the pain and joy and everything feel like it really matters.
For me it is not about who I sound like. I have influences sure, but at the end of the day I sound like myself. It is about the music and the self. I am the music, and I am trying like hell to make it last.
To be continued…
"You are the music, while the music lasts." ~ T.S. Eliot
Rock Bottom: A Retrospective
Frontman Chris Parr reflects on the band's first foray into live performances in the Open Mic Series hosted by Mountain Air Studios back in the summer and early fall of 2012. The legendary and iconic Rock Bottom shows marked a huge leap for the lads and set the stage for the band to rock onto the Portland music scene.
In the Summer of 2012 we decided to take the show on the road. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. What ended up happening is something that I won't ever forget.
That first show was just amazing. We played two songs: one original and one cover. At that point the only real original we thought we could play was a semi-freshly penned tune called "Drive." Little did we know at the time, but this track would go on to become a sort of anthem and calling card for The Almas, and it all started here at these open mic shows. We also busted out "I Wanna Be Like You" from Disney's The Jungle Book, which really put us over the top. The element of surprise with a jazzy and rollicking version of a quirky song really caught the crowd's attention and helped push us into the winner's circle that week.
The next show was an epic 8 song stunner where we were the featured artist and we got to appear twice throughout the night. We had a good mix of covers and originals this time around and even had a costume change half way through. Woodman and the RB crew didn't know what to think of us, but we made sure everyone had a good time.
The semi-finals was a scary scene and they put us on last because they knew we were the ones to beat. We also proved we could bring a crowd as over 60 people packed into the bar area to come see us. Some guests even had to sit upstairs because there was no room. Surprising them out of the gate with Devendra Banhart's weirdo track "Chinese Children" we continued to gain confidence and we sailed into the finals. "Nobody But Me" was performed for the first time live and we really grew a lot during this show.
Anyone who attended the finals will recall that it was a bit of a shit show. Being the lead singer, band leader, and principal songwriter, I was super nervous and anxious to the point where I was almost not able to go on. I was sick to my stomach and puking at the house before we even made it downtown. Anders and Trev and I proceeded to get pretty sloshed as we had to wait once again til after midnight to go on. You gotta remember that this was a Monday night in the fall and people had to work the next day. We felt a bit slighted and sabotaged being put on so late. It all fell apart at the seams, but we still managed to finish in a close second.
It was hard because we had had so much success right away from that first show that we didn't know what to do when the pressure was turned up. That being said, we needed that early failure to help us move forward. After we fell off at the Rock Bottom Finals, we used that as motivation to help us crush our Christmas show at The Mac & Cheesery a couple months later. Riding that high gave us the confidence to put on our own show at TikkiFest that involved so much more planning and many more theatrics than anything we had done before. We hosted a real festival in our own backyard with TikkiFest and had over 100 people attend. That gave me the confidence to go on and perform by myself. And looking back, I wouldn't change a damn thing. Those were some of the most fun moments of my life, those trips downtown, all of us together, listening to Graceland and getting amped up to play. I will always treasure these times.
And now here we are 4 years later. We will continue to improve and have some good performances and some not so good performances. I have am sure that we will eventually play some live gigs again in the future, but maybe we'll just do it for fun and keep it to ourselves and our personal enjoyment. But I look back at those first shows and can't help but smile. The Almas rocked that venue harder than anyone before us. And it ultimately helped us grow as musicians and friends.
They say, once you hit rock bottom, there is nowhere to go but up. The friends we made, the people who took time out of their day to come see us, I have absolutely no regrets about our time there. The performances still stand up and I can never thank you all enough for helping me take my first steps into performing. You made me feel like a real rock star, and for that I am eternally grateful. Thank you Rock Bottom, I'll remember you always.
Up to Parr
When all is said and done, it is ultimately up to Parr to decide where to take the Almas. He may still not know where he's going, but he is damn happy to be alive.
Chris Parr has always wanted to be in a band. Whether he was bopping along to The Beatles' "Nowhere Man" and The Beach Boys "Barbara Ann" as a babe, or enlisting his siblings to join his family group The Parr Four, he has always had a musical vision for how his life would play out. Cue the strings maestro.
Flash forward a couple decades and not much has changed. Parr has been the primary songwriter and leader of The Almas since founding the group with pal Trevor Fuentes in late high school. Although he still has had no formal musical training he has always had a penchant for lyrics and melody.
Throughout his secondary school years he would write new lyrics to existing songs. He was fortunate to become good friends with guitarist Fuentes on the bus to school in 9th grade which exposed him to an early love of pop punk. And in college he had another stroke of luck when he was paired with multi-instrumentalist/jazz bassist Anders Ericson in his dorm at the University of Oregon.
These early chance meetings turned out to be extremely beneficial to Chris, as they instilled in him a belief that making music was a possibility, and that he had the talent and drive to make it happen. He may not be the most seasoned or classically trained musician in the bunch, but what he lacks in technical skill he more than makes up for in heart and creative passion. He often turned to music during moments of trouble in his life, and it was in these trying times that he developed a knack for finding a clever lyric and a sonic vision well beyond his years and experience.
During Almas shows at Rock Bottom and The Mac & Cheesery, to solo stints at weddings and parties and Bob Dylan tributes, to orchestrating a homemade music festival in his backyard, it is safe to say that music will always have a strong place in Parr's life. Although he hasn't been writing as much lately, the ideas are still there. The wheels are still turning. There is no greater sense of satisfaction in his life, than finishing a song and expressing himself in music and words.
When all is said and done, it is ultimately up to Parr to decide where to take The Almas next. He may still not know where he's going, but he is damn happy to be alive. And with his love of music and friends, you can bet you will continue seeing more from The Almas and Chris Parr in the future. Remember the name. If you don't know him by now, you surely will.
The Return of Randall Richardson
Almas jack of all trades and percussion pro, Randy Richardson makes his triumphant return home from China on March 7, 2016.
The ides of March are indeed upon us, and they are bringing with them a familiar face: Almas jack of all trades and all around hype man Randy Richardson.
And boy is the professional percussionist excited to be coming back the USA. After a couple years honing his chops, drawing influences, and finding himself in Luoyang, China, Richardson is set to make his triumphant return across the pond in mid-March. A road trip up the West Coast from California is due in short order. He is set to arrive home in Portland, Oregon on the 17th.
With his return comes the air of a changed man. In fact a lot of things have changed recently for Randy. A couple of years half way around the world will do that to you. Since his last stint in the States he has settled down with his lovely wife Sabrina, played drums with a local Chinese group, traveled around Southeast Asia and became a mainstay teaching English at the Joy Children's Language School in the Henan province.
But the more things seem to change, the more they stay the same. In conversations, he is still the same fun-loving goofball that we last saw playing tambourines and bongoes at bonfires and Almas shows. When asked about how he felt about his return he said "It's gonna be sick... So glad I'm getting back to the states."
And just maybe his return will bring some renewed energy to the Almas as well. They are known to take these influences and life events in stride and use them as inspiration for creating new music.
Ever the fiery hype man, "You ready to jam out?," Randy prods knowingly. As if he had to ask. The Almas are back.