@@http://www.oregonlive.com/music/index.ssf/2012/01/portland_rock_trio_rags_ribbon.html@@Little band, big dreams — you’ve heard the story before. But what about a little band who plays like a big band — even for a crowd of 20? That’s what audiences at Luckey’s Bar witnessed Wednesday night as Portland-based group Rags & Ribbons played an 11-song set on their first-ever tour.@@http://luckeysclub.com/@@
Don’t be mistaken, this “little” band recently released their first full-length album and just sold out one of their first shows of the tour, playing to hundreds of people at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland.@@http://www.dougfirlounge.com/@@
But the group is just getting started, insist its members, and has just finished up a miniature northwest tour in order to gain experience and get their music out to more people.@@odd construction@@
Floating guitar lines mixed with swirls of classically influenced piano, three-part vocal harmonies and an always-driving bass drum at the show, the trio played to the bar backed by a colorful and interactive light display, creating a sincere but admittedly showy atmosphere.
“I don’t think people expect to go on a weeknight to some random bar on some small tour and see this big, orchestral rock thing,” said guitarist and vocalist Ben Weyerhaeuser@@http://www.reverbnation.com/ragsribbons@@ of their setup. Pianist and vocalist Jon Hicks@@same link@@ agreed, commenting, “It’s a little more theatrical than I think people are expecting.”
Rags & Ribbons, which comprises of Weyerhaeuser, Hicks and drummer Chris Neff@@same link@@, formed three years ago and originally started off as a pop/soft-rock group before settling into their current sound, a piano-infused alternative rock. Weyerhaeser and Hicks met during college when both became involved in jazz choirs and an a cappella group at Willamette University. Upon graduation in 2007, the two moved to Portland where they later met Neff — who gained experience as a drummer in high school and by touring for a year with his previous band — through craigslist.
Since then, the trio has put out an EP titled “Galaxy Farm,”@@http://ragsandribbons.bandcamp.com/album/the-galaxy-farm-ep@@ and self-released their first full-length effort, “The Glass Masses,”@@http://www.amazon.com/The-Glass-Masses/dp/B005XJ6H3W@@ all while working separate jobs and playing local shows around Portland.
“It’s so fun with the tour, playing every night and just being in music-mode where we’re not juggling other jobs or things back home. That’s really a gift that we’re very excited to be taking part of,” Weyerhaeuser said of their first touring experience.
All three of the band members hope to one day be able to work only as musicians, but in the meantime want to get their music out to as many listeners as possible.
Hicks in particular, who graduated with a degree in musical composition, hopes to bring more classically influenced music to other people.
Hicks commented, “Between the three of us, we just have a wealth of art to share with people, and my primary goal is just to get that communicated with our audience and have a shared experience with them.”
The group attributes Hicks’ musical composition background as a big piece of their music, but each member works on writing songs and lyrics, falling almost evenly between the three in a collaborative effort.
Although their current collaborative efforts have led packed and sold-out shows and other “tangible” measurements of success like record sales, the three try to concentrate more on other aspects of music and performing.
“As a practical business, you want to focus on those kind of goals, as tangible things … but I genuinely feel like we are focused on some of those deeper or profound emotional, inspiring things for people that we perform for,” Weyerhaeuser said.
Next up, the trio hopes to expand on their multimedia foundation, further incorporating lights and graphic design into their show in an interactive way. The group also plans to continue touring this March in the South by Southwest festival. They will be returning to Eugene next month on Feb. 28 to play at Cozmic Pizza.@@http://www.cozmicpizza.com/calendar/@@