<\/p>\n
Summer\u2019s not over just yet. Sallie and Weezy Ford are launching their band The Barbaras\u2019 second record, Rollercoasters<\/i>, on Sept. 19 at The Showdown Saloon. The Barbaras is built of many genres, including country, folk and swing. The album\u2019s release show, presented by Pickathon, features opening act Jesco Payne & the Painkillers. <\/p>\n
The Fords migrated separately from Asheville, N.C., to Portland, which they consider a kindred city to their hometown\u2014both cities are progressive and artistic, surrounded by vast nature. Sallie arrived in 2006, and Weezy followed in 2012. Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside was one of the early 2010s\u2019 most popular Portland bands (they once played on Late Show With David Letterman<\/i>). The group broke up in 2013, and reunited briefly in 2018. Weezy Ford, meanwhile, established a respected solo career with albums like Sugarcane<\/i> and In the Movement<\/i>. By 2016, the pair had formed a band together after exploring separate music careers. <\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t really love touring,\u201d Sallie told WW<\/i> on a Friday afternoon, \u201cBut I still wanted to play music, so I started The Barbaras with my sister, Weezy. It seemed like a fun project to do for the passion of it.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI think Portland is unique,\u201d Weezy adds, \u201cin the way that everyone supports each other when you go out to a country show\u2014everyone from the scene is there and it\u2019s definitely the sweetest little scene that I\u2019ve been a part of thus far.\u201d<\/p>\n
Portland may not be Nashville, but The Barbaras\u2019 founders say country music thrives in the City of Roses. \u201cIt\u2019s cool that there\u2019s a lot of genre-mixing in the music scene,\u201d Sallie Ford says. \u201cI do think it\u2019s cool that country is definitely popular right now, but I do see a lot of bills that are multi-genre.\u201d<\/p>\n
Touring has been on the docket for the duo\u2019s band whose members consist of lead guitarist Jeff Munger (The Sound Outside), steel guitarist James Greenan (Cedar Shakes), bassist Mark Robertson (Harlowe), and drummer Sam Brewer (The Naked Mole Rats). They have spent this year performing at Pacific Northwest festivals, such as Boise\u2019s Treefort Music Fest, Pendleton\u2019s Jackalope Jamboree, and Astoria\u2019s Festival of the Dark Arts. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think we are a unique blend of many genres,\u201d Weezy Ford says. \u201cWe have a lot of different things going on, but we were inspired by girl groups of the \u201960s like The Dixie Cups, and then also midcentury crooner country like Patsy Cline and Skeeter Davis. There are a few songs on the record that are a little more surfy, rock and roll, and we\u2019ve got quite a few that are Western swing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRollercoasters<\/i> speaks to the highs and lows of life, dating, relationships and emotions,\u201d Sallie adds.<\/p>\n
While much of the album was inspired by the Ford family\u2019s unique style of humor, other songs were written by the entire ensemble. Guest musicians Haven Multz Matthews (The Silver Triplets) and Buddy Weeks (Jenny Don\u2019t and the Spurs) also lent their talents to the new record. Bob Reynolds (Mitch and the Melody Makers) played percussion on the album and filled a big role in the collaborative songwriting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like each song has its own little hidden special moments\u2014a cool weird harmony, strange key sounds\/percussion,\u201d Munger says via email. \u201cMark\u2019s bass parts going from mild mannered to Pet Sounds on acid and back again in seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Barbaras recorded Rollercoasters<\/i> at the Fords\u2019 Corbett studio Littlepage Recording. Robertson mixed, engineered and mastered the album, recording it unconventionally on a reel-to-reel tape machine. This recording medium preceded the cassette tape, and the audibly old-fashioned method pairs charmingly with The Barbaras\u2019 vintage-inspired country sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cMark makes analog studio equipment from the midcentury for a living, so we have all this analog gear that goes through compressors and preamps that he built,\u201d Weezy Ford explains. \u201cWe use a reel-to-reel tape machine and then transfer it digitally. I think it\u2019s pretty unique.\u201d <\/p>\n
Rollercoasters<\/i> features tracks like the lightheartedly feel-good, doo-woppy tune \u201cJohnny.\u201d \u201cBoyfriend Heaven\u201d transports listeners to the sunny sounds of the \u201950s, while \u201cHey Stranger\u201d pokes fun at the complexities of being enamored while proudly independent. The lyrics \u201cOh shit, goddamn\/I\u2019ve got terrible taste in men,\u201d in the aptly titled song \u201cTerrible Taste\u201d offer listeners a reminder of the musicians\u2019 modern era despite their throwback sound. <\/p>\n
The Barbaras employ blood harmonies\u2014a close-harmony style commonly found in classic country, popularized by family acts like The Louvin Brothers and Everly Brothers. The fact the crooners are siblings allows for this distinctive, harmonic blend. Seemingly mind-reading communication guides The Barbaras\u2019 performances. The sisters\u2019 artistry shines through not only in their music, but at their merch table. Munger and Sallie Ford are graphic designers who created Rollercoasters<\/i>\u2019 album artwork and merch designs. A carnival motif hints at the colorful, playful sound of the record. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think there is a fun reckless energy with this record that feels honest and vulnerable at the same time,\u201d Robertson says via email. \u201cThe idea of embrace [of] imperfection, celebration in failure, and navigating the only way you know how.\u201d<\/p>\n
SEE IT:<\/b> The Barbaras and Jesco Payne & the Painkillers at The Showdown Saloon, 1195 SE Powell Blvd., showdownpdx.com<\/a>. 8 pm Friday, Sept. 19. $20.01. 21+.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n