Sometimes the quintessential blend of horns, pop and warm-you-up lyrics is exactly what Portlanders need to fight the imminent threat of seasonal affective disorder. This year you can save money on anti-depressants as The Pink Widower offers the remedy on their much-anticipated debut album, The Enchanted Realm of The Pink Widower, to be released Oct. 14.
With rave reviews from Willamette Week, Portland Mercury, and Bella (the alto sax player’s pet pooch) The Pink Widower is well on its way to becoming a “psychedelic/reggae/pop” staple, and Portland may be the beginning. This fall they are sharing their music’s crisp, upbeat tone on a tour of the Northwest. Lead singer Jed Allan, formerly of Six Foot Sloth, defines their sound.
“It is melodic pop music,” he says. “You can’t deny that it’s pop. It’s very listenable, very melodic. Besides that, it’s also cryptic, and rhythmic. It’s got all the ‘ic’ you can ever ask for. It’s pop-ic.”
The band started when Allan needed musicians to perfect and perform his song concepts.
“I turned to close friends and people I had played in bands with in the past,” he says.
Allan chose wisely, incorporating a wide range of talents, interesting personalities and what-the-hell-is-that instrumentation into the group. Besides singing, Allan plays guitar and keyboard. Nate Lumbard, a second-generation musician, plays the baritone sax. Former Portland State student Toussaint Perrault plays trombone, trumpet and sings lead for another up-and-coming local band, Babydollar$, which features several crossover members of The Pink Widower.
Currently finishing up a tour in Europe, Larry Yes plays bass and Amanda Mason Wiles plays alto sax. Gilles, the surname-less drummer and producer, recorded the album from his home. He, alongside his band mates, worships music as an essential part of life, the effects of which can be heard on the album.
“If I had one arm I’d still play,” Gilles says. “If I had one leg I’d still play.”
The members admit The Pink Widower is a collaborative side project for most of them, though one could never tell by the intricacy of the music, attention to detail, and richness of the album’s quirks and character. Almost all of the members are part of multiple local bands, making it difficult to designate time for practicing, production and touring.
“We’ve played as a seven-piece full-on rock band at one club, and then the next week we’ll play as guy with guitar singing and three people playing hand drums at Valentine’s,” Allan elaborates.
The hard work and scheduling follies are already starting to pay off, suggesting this may not be a side project for long. The Enchanted Realm of the Pink Widower is being released through North Pole records, and the band’s down to earth outlook, jolly riffs and quick wit is winning potential fans over faster than you can say the album title. Still, Allan maintains somewhat humble intentions.
“The longer you play rock in underground and indie bands, the more you learn to adjust your goals so that you can remain positive,” Allan says. “And we’ve set our goal at playing really well.”
He joked about the band’s intentions specifically related to the album.
“[We want to] get rid of a lot of them,” he says. “Either by selling or giving them away. With the difficulty in the market right now, it’s kind of hard to gauge what it’s worth. It was pretty strong against gold, pretty strong against hash.”
This is not your average indie band. Rather than begging for attention, the songs exude relatable emotion, and wait patiently to be acknowledged. The members are sharp, talented and passionate-driven without forgetting why they’re doing what they do in the first place.
This band takes itself just seriously enough. When asked about his idea of success, Lumbard’s response was immediate: “When I increase the size of my horn every three months,” he says.
Perrault, on the other hand, has a different goal.
“I want my face on the side of a Triscuits box.”
To which Allan added, “He wants to go Triscuit. Basically, we want to take this album multi-grain.”
For a band with such excess of personality, it is impressive that their songs are such a direct reflection of that character: positive, unexpected, fresh and completely irresistible.
The Pink WidowerSomeday Lounge w/ Plants, Portland Cello Project and Winebirds October 17, 9 p.m.$721-plusThe Enchanted Realm of the Pink Widower available at Anthem and Mississippi Records Oct. 14www.myspace.com/pinkwidower