Grey skies ahead

Painted Grey has spent the last nine months trimming their sound, evolving gradually from their folksy Montana roots to their current position on the cusp of Portland’s music world. The lovechild of lead guitarist Andrew Tewson, vocalist/keyboardist Deanna Walten and lead singer/rhythm guitarist Caleb Roloff, Painted Grey have relentlessly sought top-notch musicians to round out their crew.

“We’re not super trendy,” Roloff says. “We all have a certain style of music we really enjoy playing. So it’s challenging finding musicians who are as serious about it and at the same time really talented.”

Such a package was recently snagged with bass player Dusty Richards and drummer Wylie Foster, formerly of turbo-rock sensation Powder. The quintet is a compilation of gifted musicians, each with individual experience and drive, who work in impressively complimentary ways. Each song is full-bodied, with the different instrumental melodies balancing poignantly with the rhythm section and effectively enhancing rather than distracting from the vocal qualities.

“I think for a couple songs I’ve written, it’s almost like I’ve taken a true story, then made a movie about it, then turned it into a song,” says Roloff. “Not in a sense of making it more elaborate than it was, but making it slightly different, emotionally driven.”

This romanticizing of life adds to the band’s mass appeal. Inspired by blockbuster bands like Coldplay, Blind Pilot, Rogue Wave and Death Cab for Cutie, each with a similar sense of sentiment, Painted Grey are setting their aims high, with a heavy focus on sharing their somewhat medicinal formula with an emotionally scarred or particularly sentimental public.

“Music is probably the greatest self-outlet one can have,” explains Roloff. “It’s probably one of the coolest experiences when you write something that helps you for a period of time, then you talk to someone else and they’re like, ‘That song really means a lot to me.'”

Last December, just months after their inception, Painted Grey released a self-titled EP with the help of Stephan Hawkes. They are aiming for a spring 2010 full-album release, and in the meantime intend to focus their efforts on crafting songs with staying power and building a Portland presence.

“I think that the next step, becoming recognized in Portland, is very challenging,” Roloff admits. “It’s kind of an insider’s club … The reason being, there are a huge number of bands from Portland that are amazing.”

True as that may be, Portland music aficionados are extremely trustworthy in nurturing talent, as are local venues. And with their charisma, curb appeal and optimist approach, it won’t be long before Painted Grey are joining the ranks of respected local performers. This weekend they share the stage with several impressive PDX acts—Violet Isle, Russell Stafford, The Seatbelt Tragedy and The Standoffs.

Nevertheless, the band is taking it step by step. Roloff explains their first stepping-stone toward self-identified success.

“Everybody in the band just loves music and we’d really like to make a career that way,” Roloff says. “We want to be able to quit our day jobs; Lord knows I don’t want to be serving crappy food for the rest of my life.”

With what little time it’s had, this band has done a stand-up job of creating an attractive and affective body of work, while marketing it appropriately for their style and charm.

The name itself, Painted Grey, is apropos in evoking a feeling of artistically spun nostalgia; commanding, catchy and classic with a formidable sense of romance. The name also, of course, pays homage to the archetypal skies of the city it plans to conquer. Painted Grey may be traditionally ear catching in their inspirations, reverence and musical methods, but in a city where unique is often reliant upon a band’s brand of eyewear, old-school convention and genuine talent may be the only novel thing we have left.