Logo
ISSUE #34.09 • MUSIC •
[MUSIC]

Ohioan & Native Kin Friday & Sunday, Jan. 11 & 13

Share: | Permalink
Email | Print | Rate It! | 0 comments
Recently in "Music"

November 18th, 2009
Clublist Spotlight • A Better ’Stache0 comments

November 18th, 2009
CD Reviews: MarchFourth Marching Band, Curious Hands0 comments

November 18th, 2009
Meth Teeth Sunday, Nov. 22 | Making the best of this bummer called life.0 comments

November 18th, 2009
Primer: Girls0 comments

November 18th, 2009
Sparkle And Fade | The rise and fall of Everclear and The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies.0 comments

November 11th, 2009
CD Review: The Dimes | The King Can Drink the Harbor Dry (Pet Marmoset Records)2 comments

November 11th, 2009
Finn Riggins, Friday, Nov. 13 | Finn Riggins ditched the big yellow bus, but it’s not about to ditch its home state of Idaho.0 comments

November 11th, 2009
Kelly Blair Bauman Monday, Nov. 16 | Kelly Blair Bauman sees Portland burning, and he’s got the midlife-crisis folk to soundtrack the destruction.0 comments

November 11th, 2009
Primer: Saul Williams0 comments

November 11th, 2009
Living The Dream | Portland’s Dirtnap Records just stumbled into its 10th year.2 comments


BY CASEY JARMAN | 503-243-2122

[January 9th, 2008]

[REVOLUTION ROCK] Ohioan & Native Kin was born in a hair salon in Pearl, Ill. After a visit to the Midwest in 2005, O. Ryne Warner shrugged off his return flight to Portland in favor of a long walk. “I just wanted to get some dirt under my nails,” he says from his rehearsal space, its orange walls decorated with album art and chunks of an American flag that once served as van curtains.

So Warner walked—guitar in tow—out of Chicago. When he got to the small town of Pearl (via various modes of vagabond-style transportation), a stylist came out of his salon waving a $20 bill at the then long-haired Warner. “I thought he was gonna bribe me—‘Look at the hippie! Let’s fucking cut his hair!’ But no, he asked me to play in his salon.” Warner played “She’ll be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain” for the shop’s clientele of cheerleaders and old ladies.

The simple folk tunes Warner played that day are a far cry from Ohioan & Native Kin. The band’s debut, Being of the Good River, features rich, emotive playing from an ensemble that includes Shaky Hands drummer Colin Anderson, Au’s Mark Kaylor, Evolutionary Jass Band bassist Bob Jones and all-around ass-kicker Lauren K. Newman (who performs as LKN). Its songs are thick with modal, oft-meditative horn parts, as influenced by jazz releases of the ’60s and ’70s (Charles Mingus’ The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady and John Coltrane’s Impressions made Warner yearn for a horn section in the first place) as they are by Woody Guthrie.













icon Story continues below

advertisement

advertisement

Of course, Guthrie’s there, too: On “Clean Water,” Warner’s wail meets what sounds like a New Orleans funeral procession for a powerful but folk-simple exchange: “Do you want to be free?” the Ohio native (hence the name) asks his band in song. “Yeah!” they scream, in harmony. “Then you’re already free,” he calls back.

In concert, Ohioan’s lyrical themes take shape in a profoundly natural fashion: Whoever wants to be in the band, Warner says, is in the band provided they bring instruments or voices. And behind the merch table, he prefers trading albums for meaningful promises or home-cooked meals to accepting cash. “I’m convinced that this music is going to contribute to us completely dismantling this horrible fucking culture,” Warner says, cross-legged on the rehearsal room floor. “That’s why I do it.” After a pause, his tone lightens. “And to make people feel good.”

SEE IT: Ohioan & Native Kin plays Friday, Jan. 11, with Alan Singley and Church at PSU’s Modern Age. 8 pm. Cover. All ages. Also Sunday, Jan. 13, at Valentine’s. 9 pm. Free. 21+.

 

Rate This Story
5 average/1 vote

 
read all 0 comments | add your comment
 

RECENT COMMENTS ON “Ohioan & Native Kin Friday & Sunday, Jan. 11 & 13”

 
 
 





Ad

Ad

Ad

Sponsored Links: WW Personals
Musician's Market
Snowboard Jackets
Legal Tips
Camping Gear


Recently in Willamette Week
December 31st 1969Washington State | The Canada of Oregon has it all—a Stonehenge replica, a longboarder's concrete wet dream and dark, damp underground lava caves. Vive les rocks.
December 31st 1969Oregon's Outer Edges | Crater Lake. Hell's Canyon. Wallowa and Steens mountain ranges. Hell, yeah.
December 31st 1969Central Oregon/High Desert | No rain, plenty of snow, obsidian flows and great local beer. The folks from the real eastside know how to unbend outside.
December 31st 1969Great Cascades/Columbia Gorge | With plenty of room to roam—and hot springs for your weary feet—it's the place to ramble and relax for the weekend.
December 31st 1969Willamette Valley | Monks, tracks, tubing and wine make the fertile strip a virile place to play.
December 31st 1969Stumptown | Tons of public parks, an extinct volcano and nude beach volleyball to keep you jolly. Get out and collect those merit badges, without leaving the city.
December 31st 1969The Coast | The beaches are public. You own them. Go play—hike in the old-growth forests.
December 31st 1969Cycle Tour 101: Your on-bike guide to Highway 101 | To ride the greatest bike route in Oregon, you need to get out of Portland.
December 31st 1969Doggin' It | What happens when a Portland running club jogs with pooches from the pound?
December 31st 1969Over the Edge | Sam Drevo will paddle yr ass.