Blitzen Trapper In First-Ever HumCo Show Tomorrow

The Parson Red Heads back up their Portland-based country rock

Humboldt Sentinel
12/2/08
By Sentinel Staff

Alt-rock anthems and heartfelt folk mix together at a doubleheader coming up Wednesday at the Red Fox Tavern.

Appearing for the first time in Humboldt County, this teeming Portland, Oregon-based country-rock clan is on tour in support of their new album, “Furr.”

According to the band’s promo pack, the Trapper's six members began playing together long, long ago, in a time of great rains. At first, though, it was only by happenstance: two boys accidentally beating out a rhythm together on the slide at the neighborhood playground; adolescent dreams coinciding, colliding with guitars; the song of the woodtit and sparrow recorded and embellished with banjo for a science fair; a chance meeting on a haunted mountain in the Deep South. None of the group yet realized that they were Blitzen Trapper, nor would they for many years. But they recognized something in each other -- Love? Hair? -- that inexorably drew them together. By early 2000, this mysterious force had virtually bound the clan as one.

”Now the songs in those days used to burst forth from their heads like an explosion of birds, which then had to be hunted down and captured in nets of magnetic tape,” their release stated. “One evening on the slopes of the famous volcano, Mount Hood, as the group chased through the primeval forest and falling dusk for a song that had so far eluded them, something magical happened. Stumbling into a clearing in the wood, they came upon a shabby black drum kit, a star of eleven points emblazoned on its head, ferocious as a grizzly. Three microphone stands stood silhouetted against the gloom like the massive antlers of a buried beast. Surely this was a trick! But no, here was an old Silvertone amp; there a beat-up Rhodes. There were organs and couches and lamps and posters and a P-bass—in short, everything necessary for a band to comfortably create great rock music.”

”So they switched on the lights and warmed up the tubes and began to play, intentionally and together as a sextet for the first time. And the woodland creatures crept out to hear them, the elk and faun and marmot and grey squirrel and spider.”

”And the creatures were delighted.”

This was still several years before the group finally became self-conscious of their identity as Blitzen Trapper, but from that night forth they have likewise delighted audiences of all ages, socioeconomic groups, and species with their unique musical blend of Zane Grey, darjeeling tea, candy-wrappers, and Choose Your Own Adventure. You can listen to sample tracks from their latest release at www.blitzentrapper.net, or check them out on MySpace.

Opening for BT are The Parson Red Heads, a throw-back to 60s pop with a hint of modern indie/folk music. The rattling of multiple tambourines, guitar solos, dance-able rhythms, masterfully used feedback, and four part harmonies combine to create a sound that is both unique, modern, yet somehow classic and familiar. To tune in to their waves, visit www.theparsonredheads.com.

The show gets started at 10:00 p.m. with $12 tickets at the door, or $10 if you’re smart enough to get them in advance, at the Red Fox Tavern, 415 Fifth Street in Downtown Eureka. As always, only those 21 and over can get in the Red Fox!