Five minutes before I walked up to the green house on Southeast Belmont, it was sunny. By the time I knock on the door, it was hailing. It seems right. After all, I’m here to meet the members of the band, The Rainy States–possibly the most aptly named Portland musicians out there.
Bassist Benjamin Johnson and drummer Kevin Van Geem welcome me at the door. Betsy Johnson, vocalist for the group and Ben’s younger sister, comes in a bit later with a mug of something warm. We’re waiting for the band’s guitarist, Kevin Morgan.
“Kevin’s perpetually late to everything,” says Ben, to which Van Geem replies with a laugh. “It’s because he’s creative.”
The group has that light-hearted, playfully sarcastic and mildly self-deprecating sense of humor that causes instant ease. It fits their quiet, endearing indie rock.
And though The Rainy States have only been together as a band since January 2007, they treat each other like it’s been forever. Of course in some ways it has. Upon moving to Canby from Michigan, the Johnsons met Morgan, and have been friends since. Van Geem came into the picture when he met Ben Johnson in the music program at Portland State. All of them have been involved in music since high school.
Yet their experience hasn’t eroded any of their endearing qualities. Their first album, the recently completed In Basement Air, is a perfect example. Van Geem and Ben Johnson recorded the album in the house on Belmont, where Ben and Betsy live.
“There were a lot of frustrated days and nights,” according to Van Geem, who also told of the difficulties and learning process of working digitally for the first time.
Ben Johnson said, “It sounds like a group’s first album, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.” He’s referring to occasional rough bits, such as volume issues and the background street noises that sometimes show up.
Despite the imperfections, the band is still proud of their work.
“We were ambitious for a first album,” Ben Johnson said. And they were, especially for a self-produced effort, in which they included live string players (who worked for whiskey) and all real sounds.
The result of the band’s toil is successful–and telling of future success. While there are elements of their influences, such as Rilo Kiley, it is a different sound entirely. Betsy Johnson’s vocals leave you trying to figure out what it is she reminds you of, only to come to the conclusion that it’s impossible–the only thing you can pin down is that she sounds fantastic, and unlike anyone else.
The Rainy States’ music does the same thing. While you might hear some of the echoes of classic rock greats such as Tom Petty in their songs, the overall sound is unique to the band. At times the music is so subtle that it feels as if you are listening to something acoustic and unplugged–at others it jumps out and demands your attention.
On stage, this band won’t be jumping around for your attention.
“As a whole, our band is getting more comfortable on stage,” said Morgan, to which Ben Johnson added with a laugh, “we’re not a bantering group. Between songs is bad for us.”
That somewhat uncomfortable and awkward space is not a reflection of an unprofessional attitude or lack of energy, the band wants to make a career out of music.
“We look at the band as our desired career,” says Van Geem. To that end, the group gives each venue the same level of consideration, effort and respect.
Despite the deadpan and hilarious assertion that, “We take ourselves very seriously, we don’t have any funny stories,” less a breath later Van Geem revealed he likes venues “where we can be loud so no one hears my embarrassing vocal noises”.
Ben Johnson added another quirky tale of a convention-center performance where, “This lady who had to have been in her 50s dropped down and started booty clapping,” to their music.
Like in their conversations, in music each member of The Rainy States feeds off each other.
“There’s not anybody in this band whose sole talent is their instrument,” Morgan said. “We try to be as collaborative as possible,” added Van Geem.