chris glaab plays the bass and saxophone. rich boles plays the classical guitar and xylophone. nick o'donnell plays the strat, tele, and 12 string guitars and bass. kevin van geem plays the drums. everybody sings, but rich sings mostest of all. la la.
Influences
black eyes, phoenix, kronos quartet, double dragon, reigning sound, folo graf, tom waits, wilco, fugazi, luis bonfa, the roots, radiohead, pharoah sanders, beefheart, zappa, laurindo almeida, paco de lucia, the jamons, joe henderson, guitar wolf, the churchgoers, the body English, water for paul, yo la tengo, pinback, sun ra, pj harvey, black flag, elliot smith, the bad plus, wes montgomery, brad mehldau, bill evans, joe pass, sonny rollins, morphine, blatz (& filth), smog or bill callahan, 3 mile pilot, the LA four, broken social scene, the clash, nation of ulysses, the pogues, cornelius, willie nelson, kool keith.
Sounds Like
The Wheel Reinvented.
"On its new album, “Ballyhoo,” local art-rock combo A Cautionary Tale has once again created a genre-defying album that’s arty without being pretentious; dreamy but muscular; disorienting but totally accessible. This time around, the songs are a little poppier, and the disparate elements and influences blend together even more seamlessly than before. If you’re looking for something to tickle your brain and your eardrums while causing you to tap your toes, A Cautionary Tale should be right up your alley." Barbara Mitchell - Portland Tribune
Like an iPod set to shuffle, Portland quartet A Cautionary Tale leaps between genres to a point where, if you weren’t paying attention, you’d think that multiple bands were performing. As it is, it’s hard not to pay attention as the band bounds between styles and evokes everything from Radiohead to Morphine, Rodrigo y Gabriela, jazz greats and hard rock. Like a non-metallic System of a Down, it’s all seamless—and with the kind of skill and whimsy that makes it impossible to resist. AP KRYZA. Willamette Week 11/19/08.
A Cautionary Tale has been getting radio play and mentions and we'd like to thank the following DJ's and stations: 94.7 FM KNRK, KPSU, and OPB's In House with Jeremy Petersen and opbmusic.org.
"'Gleefully unmarketable' is how A Cautionary Tale's own website describes the madcap quartet. That’s pretty damn accurate, and also a glorious endorsement. The band slaps together enough influences to create a virtual anthology of the past 40 years of music. Lounge jazz gives away to maniacal forays into punkish electricity; saxophones wail over split-time beats before descending into hard rock and melodic musical breakdowns laced with classical guitar. It's a remarkable monsoon of musicianship—a relentless sonic sucker punch that leaves you salivating for more." —AP Kryza, Willamette Week, September 19, 2007
“On the local front, A Cautionary Tale brings major chops to the table in creating an unlikely stew of flamenco-leaning, jazz-toned indie rock.” —Jeremy Petersen, In House, Oregon Public Broadcasting, September 21, 2007
“We dig this band’s laid back, progressive lounge sound and highly recommend you check them out . . .”—Northwest Noise
“This band’s dark, foreboding melodies are the warnings its name implies, and the fulfillment of its own prophecies. Their range is startling, covering the haunting and the rocking.” —A&E, The Oregonian
“‘Indie rock’ has grown to encompass such a wide diversity of sounds that it’s almost useless as a description. Local art-rockers A Cautionary Tale liven things up with the addition of instruments like saxophone and xylophone, creating music that’s at once hypnotic and complex. While members boast impressive credentials and backgrounds in jazz and flamenco, the resulting creative output is more akin to the mesmerizing sounds of bands like Morphine and Pinback, and equally accessible.” —Barbara Mitchell, Portland Tribune
“Too bad for A Cautionary Tale that they missed the lounge resurgence of the mid ‘90s, as their skillful blend of bossa nova, cocktail jazz, and indie ballads would make any tiki head salivate. . . . Their debut album, Let New Days Dawn, [is] a sophisticated pop music bounty, adorned with xylophones and smooth flamenco guitar licks. . . . Overall a damned impressive piece of work, boys!” —Josh Blanchard, Portland Mercury
“A Cautionary Tale is made up of Chris Glaab (bass, sax), Rich Boles (classical guitar, xylophone), Nick O'Donnell (bass, jazz guitar), Kevin van Geem (drums), with each member handling vocals. The local combo cites acts like Pinback, Pharaoh Sanders, and Black Eyes as influences, and their sound is somewhere in the midst of said heavyweights with a little loungey, Latin flavor to sweeten the deal. Much like the Black Heart Procession's salsa-fied Amore del Tropico, when these locals are on, their mix of indierock and world music is downright intoxicating.” —Jason Pearson, Portland Mercury
Adventurous debut album from Portland, OR favorites involving an intricate classical/flamenco guitar premise, skittish breakbeats, tasteful jazz guitar monologues, cunning bass lines, crooning vocals and saxophone, creating a darkly unique indie rock mood. Visceral Impulse.
A Cautionare Tale, is a great honor has your presence in our
page. Here is our brasilian's good vibrations sounds:
“O Maquinista do Tempo”:
Here is one bossa-nova made by us
called "Um bilhete pra Moraes", a tribute to Moraes Moreira and Novos
Baianos, brasilian group from 70's, great friends of João Gilberto,Bebel
Gilberto e Tom Zé:
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Haha! Come see Almost Dark play LIVE at the old Town Lounge, the new
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Thanks for the add. Keep yo head up and stay grinding check out my music because your hit can make us # 1. Tell your friends about Mayja League Records get at your boy.
TUESDAY 8/11/09: MARK TWAIN INDIANS, THE VALLEY ARENA, OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN
“[SMART ROCK] Don’t let the riffage scare you. The Valley Arena’s new disc, We Died, finds the SoCal crew engaging in hard rock as smart as it is heavy: Tricky post-hardcore guitar licks are there to buoy cleverly jingoistic turns of phrase. Fans of bass-heavy ‘90s indie rock like Jawbox and Seaweed ought to dig the group’s smartly aggressive aesthetic, which grows in spurts with each release. And you thought nobody was making worthwhile rock ’n’ roll anymore. Psshh.” - CASEY JARMAN, The Willamette Week
Hey! So tonight, 9/20, 8:00pm: I'm playing a free show at the White
Eagle on N Russell & Interstate (one block off the
albina/mississippi yellow line MAX stop). I'll be opening for a great
modern jazz group called the Potential Urge... you should come!!!
Online Now!
