Gothic Theatre
Dolorean
Dolorean started over a plate of hash browns and a short stack of hotcakes in small-town Silverton, Oregon when two friends, Al James and Jay Clarke, met over breakfast before their workday started. James found himself recently graduated from Willamette University and working at a local elementary school. Clarke, fresh out of graduate school at Oregon State, was teaching writing to Catholic monks at a monastery tucked away in the Willamette Valley countryside. The two had met through James’ schoolmate Tim Putnam, who, along with Clarke and some other Portland musicians, were beginning to form a band called The Standard. In addition to Clarke’s keyboard freak-out leanings in The Standard, he was also drawn to the subtle playing of Heartbreaker Benmont Tench, the minimal piano compositions of Eric Satie, and the spirit-guided organ playing of Garth Hudson.
It was during this breakfast in 1999 that James suggested to Clarke that he play on some of his home recordings. During the following month Clarke added organ, piano, and Wurlitzer to the personal tapes. These sessions remain unreleased, but paved the way to the recording of Dolorean’s first EP, Sudden Oak. Ten songs were recorded by Robert Oberdorfer at his house in southeast Portland. The standout track, “22 Again,” combines Clarke’s gothic church organ wrapped around James’ cryptic messages to a lover, “I mask the facts perfectly, there’s a phantom knocking at my door/ Treat or trick I won’t let him in and dogs creak in the yard.” It also marks the first time James had experimented with open tunings on his acoustic guitar; apparently, sharing a house with guitarist Nemo Glassman was rubbing off on him. Northern Californian Glassman was a lifelong student of avant-blues recluse John Fahey and taught James many new blues and folk tunings.
In 2000, the EP was essential for securing shows, but the first ones were uneven affairs, with James often playing alone opening for bombastic punk bands. He gained confidence with each show and his honest folk music began to cut through the noisy crowds, demanding their attention. Clarke soon teamed up with him and they began playing as a duo. It was at these shows in art galleries, cafes, and in basements that Dolorean began to make an impression on the Portland music community.
Finally, after returning from a bus trip through Central America, James moved to Portland permanently in 2001 and set out to more firmly establish Dolorean in Portland’s club scene. An early convert was Kevin Sampsell, owner of Future Tense Publishing, a small press that set up book tours and local poetry readings. He invited Dolorean to play at these intimate affairs and the bookish crowds received them with open arms. In the Portland Mercury Sampsell wrote: “They play music as personal as Cat Power and as textured as Portastatic, and they do it with majestic grace … discover them and rejoice.”
It was in these quieter settings that Dolorean found their foothold. They had North Carolina transplant (and ex-Nine Minute Snooze drummer) Ben Nugent softly brushing a backbeat, complementing James’ mellow finger picking and Clarke’s understated Wurlitzer electric piano playing. The songs were developing, too: James’ lyrics were evolving from romantic observations and coy wordplay to complex narrative threads and the exploration of the sorrows and joys in human relationships.
In December 2001, they decided it was time to record a proper studio album and sought the help of Jeff Saltzman. Saltzman was on a run of engineering and producing credits that included Stephen Malkmus, The Standard, No. 2 and others. Wanting to capture the spirit, feel, and spontaneity of the albums that they worshiped (The Band’s Music From Big Pink, Neil Young’s Harvest and Nick Drake’s Pink Moon), James, Clarke and Nugent set up live in Larry Crane’s Jackpot! Studio. The vocals, drums, acoustic guitar and piano were all recorded simultaneously, which required that some songs be played in full upward of 20 times in order to find the definitive version. These multiple takes wore everyone down emotionally and physically, but ultimately the heartache was worth it. In five days the sessions had produced enough tracks for an album, with a few songs to spare. They moved to Saltzman’s house to overdub piano, organ, cello arrangements and percussion, with Saltzman adding bass, mandolin, and electric guitar. Nugent returned to sing backing vocals and add percussion. The album, titled Not Exotic, was mixed at the house and mastered by Tony Lash whose work with Heatmiser, Sunset Valley, and Elliot Smith had already established him as one of the Northwest’s premiere engineers and mastering technicians.
During the ongoing recording of Not Exotic, in 2001 and 2002, Dolorean continued to play shows in all of the major clubs in Portland. They shared bills with a diverse range of bands including Soul-Junk, Tracker, Pinetop Seven, American Analog Set, Canyon, Sam Coomes of Quasi, My Morning Jacket and Damien Jurado. Upon completion, the CD-R copies of Not Exotic that circulated among Portland bands and bookers caused no small stir and steadily increased their following. In November of 2001 they added bassist James Adair (also ex-Nine Minute Snooze) to the Dolorean family. His unfaltering bass playing and vocal ability have made him an essential member of the band.
For 2003, the band has kept busy playing shows, rehearsing, and writing new material. Upcoming engagements include a bill with New York songwriter Nina Nastasia in July and a showcase in Willamette Week’s Music Northwest in September.
