New to the Northwest

With one EP called Archipelago under its belt and a new album on the way, Strange Holiday has made the most of its four-month career here in the Portland music scene. With shows at Ella Street Social Club and Holocene on the horizon, the band is gaining recognition for its efforts that started as a solo project from lead singer, guitarist and keyboard player Alison Ables.

“I started playing music in San Diego many years ago and toured with various bands,” Ables said. “I decided to come to Portland a couple years ago to finally start my own project. So I started making a record, I made an EP…and I basically just started playing music with some people. We’ve been playing around town for maybe four months now.”

The band initially became Soft Fruit and included Ables, Ben Simpson and Andrew Grosse, but the band later changed its name to Strange Holiday after adding Kevin Davis on guitar and Jess Robert W on Drums.

With Ables taking the lead, the band has released an EP which reflects Ables’ style based on a high amount of performance experience. As the band continues to write a new album, expect a slight transition in sound as Strange Holiday takes advantage of each member’s creativity and experience.

“Right now, since we are a brand new band, we basically just have an EP…that was done in my home studio,” Ables said. “I did pretty much most of the song writing…It was pretty much done by me but our next record should be a full collaboration between all the members.”
Tomorrow night Strange Holiday will be playing with People Under the Sun, another Portland band who will actually be joined on stage by Ables. She met People Under the Sun recently and agreed to collaborate with the group after enjoying the sound that this former Tacoma, Wash. band brings.
“I’m very much looking forward to People Under the Sun,” Ables said. “I’m actually going to be playing guitar for them…we maybe met like two months ago and I think they are an amazing band and they are also new to Portland.”

Tomorrow night’s show will be one of the first opportunities for many Portland music fans to catch a glimpse of Strange Holiday. Without a lot of experience in the Northwest under the band’s belt, the next two shows are events that the band members are excited for.

“We are really looking forward to this show coming up at Holocene on June 6,” Ables said. “We are going to be playing with Born Ruffians. And we are also looking forward to recording some of our new LP, which is in the works right now and should be probably getting tracked in the next five months or so.”

Strange Holiday is hoping that its trek north was worthwhile as it comes into new show opportunities and album production. Tomorrow’s show at Ella Street Social Club is a can’t-miss opportunity for Northwest indie music fans.

Portland has created a performance environment that Strange Holiday has enjoyed, and now it is time for local fans to seek that same enjoyment from new bands Strange Holiday and People Under the Sun.