With some scattered pops, a few beeps and some nice kicked-up reverb woven throughout their songwriting, Climber’s alternative-pop melodies offer Stumptown a nice selection of tunes not often found in the underground rock scene.
For five years Portland’s Climber has been producing music in search of an edgier and more groundbreaking sound, whilst working through some “personnel changes” and a slight on-and-off again relationship with its constituents.
The band consists of Dean Ivester on guitar, Eric Lemiere playing drums, Kyle Lockwood manning the bass, keys and cello, and Michael Nelson on piano and vocals. After tracking the group down, Nelson was able to answer a few questions for the Vanguard about global warming, songwriting and what it’s like to be big in Japan.
Richard D. Oxley: In your view, what is the style and sound of Climber’s music? Michael Nelson: Poppy electronic-ish rock.
RO: Where did the band name come from? MN: I think Dean knew some little kid, the child of some acquaintance, and he asked this little person what his cat’s name was. The child responded, “Climber,” in a pretty funny voice. Apparently the cat liked to climb things like maybe sofas or curtains.
You know how cats can be. Along the way, people have read all sorts of transcendent imagery or inspirational ideology into the name, and they’ve all been wrong. That’s the beauty of the name. The real story is useless, but the name still intrigues at least some people.
RO: With three previous releases under your belt, are there any plans for future albums? MN: Yes. We’re beginning to whittle down a track list for our next album. Its release is imminent, but unknown, just like the cataclysmic effects of global warming.
RO: Are there any groups or artists that you consider influences? MN: Yes, there are many. Arcade Fire, Talking Heads, Radiohead, Gorillaz and Caves all come to mind immediately.
RO: How do you write songs? Is there a process? MN: My songwriting process usually just involves me plucking at a guitar or messing around with a keyboard or piano for a while. But sometimes a beat or a “feel” will come to me and I’ll try to reproduce it; it almost never works, that is, I can never get the real thing to measure up to that initial moment of inspiration. Once a song is in a decent form, I’ll show it to the guys and we’ll re-arrange it or work it out together. It’s very typical I think.
RO: Are there any significant moments in Climber’s history that the band is proud of? MN: We’re very proud of playing with She Wants Revenge, OK-Go and Mutemath. We’re also proud of playing a very good show in Fresno, Calif. When we licensed our album, I Dream in Autoplay, in Japan, we were thrilled. Now if we could go play there we’d be even more thrilled.
RO: What is the story behind getting I Dream in Autoplay licensed in Japan? MN: I really don’t know who alerted Japan to Climber’s existence. I think it was probably an Internet development. We licensed the album this year to Fabtone Records and it’s being sold in record stores and through the label’s online distribution.
It’s pretty awesome to see the record in Japanese, and there were a handful of magazine ads and promos that looked pretty sweet. I don’t know how many people are hearing Climber in Japan, but we’ve heard from friends visiting there that the tunes are being played in stores. It’s awesome.
RO: How do you feel about the scene in Portland? Where does Climber fit in the Portland music scene? MN: I love the scene, at least, I love the bands we know. We’ve had a fantastic time playing around the past few years. I think we fit into the better kempt, mid-to-upper-20s-aged clubs because of our sound. We don’t really jump too often or shout much, and we don’t fit in many basements very well, so we’re drawn to places where people expect our sort of mildness.
RO: Are there any challenges, hurdles, etc. that you have faced so far in Climber’s music career? MN: Losing our first keyboard player and songwriter was tough, and losing our drummer last year was awful. Both these things waylaid us terribly. Also, due to the realities of life and having to pay for things like food and shelter, we’ve had to cut back on some of the impulsiveness we used to feel toward playing all the time and driving around the West Coast. But really, we’re writing music we enjoy and are getting along just fine.
Climberw/ The Sea Caves, Apple WarOct. 25, 10 p.m.$10, 21-plus