What's Your Pleasure?

In 1974, Portland was a much funkier place. Though still primarily a rock town, one of the most popular and successful groups to emerge in that era was Pleasure, a nine-piece, jazz-tinged disco-soul ensemble made up of childhood friends from Northeast Portland. The band had a record deal before many of its members were out of high school, a strong regional following and, by the end of the decade, a national hit single, the bass-thumping groover "Glide," which took them across the country, opening for the likes of Cameo and Kool & the Gang.

Guitarist Marlon McClain helped form Pleasure in the early '70s. After the group disbanded in 1981, McClain went on to play with the Dazz Band and produce records for a host of Portland artists, including Nu Shooz and Curtis Salgado. McClain, 59, now lives in Los Angeles, but much like Don Cornelius when the U-Krew (another '80s act McClain produced) appeared on Soul Train, we wanted to know: What was it like getting funky in Portland?

WW: What venues were available for a band like Pleasure back then?

Marlon McClain: The main place we performed at was called the Downstairs Lounge on Union Avenue [now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard]. That was the place where most people found out about the band. How we got our record deal was the saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. came and saw us there, and he loved the band so much he talked about us wherever he went, and he told Wayne Henderson, the leader of the Jazz Crusaders, about us. That's how we got into the business.

Was there a lot of competition? 

There were always lots of bands. Our biggest competition at that time was a group called the Gangsters, another group made up of people from the neighborhood. We always kept our focus on trying to become known around the country. Once we got Wayne Henderson interested, we really focused on getting out and touring.

What were Portland crowds like?

I think because we played colleges early in our career, we always had a mixed audience. The group was a mixed group, plus we played a little bit of jazz, rock and R&B. Because of that, we had a wide audience.

Did you play on a lot of mixed-genre bills?

That was a really healthy period for music, only because you could go down to the Paramount [now Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall] and see an artist like Billy Cobham, and the Average White Band would be opening. You just don't see that cross-pollination of acts performing together anymore.

Were you treated like celebrities around Portland?

I wouldn't say celebrities. The band was an earthy band, so I don't think the guys even looked at it like that. Portland, as a whole, embraced the group. You had people who were really proud of the group coming from the neighborhood. Portland raised us in a lot of ways.

Did you know "Glide" would be a hit?

That was a song the bass player, Nathaniel Phillips, brought to the band, and as soon as we heard it, we said, "That's a great song." It was funky, it was technical, and it was just really different. The whole concept of what the band was all about came together on that Future Now record. It sounds really tight and in your face, and that was part of the group growing into that particular moment.

Does it surprise you that Portland has now become such a magnet for artists?

It's always been a great place. People there always tend to have good attitudes. Portland has always been a progressive city, so it doesn't surprise me at all. 

MORE: Marlon McClain's most recent solo album, TBC, is out now.

WWeek 2015