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This page is a tribute to Drunk At Abi’s, one of the best bands to ever emerge in Portland. Please note that the band has no plans to get back together, and this page is simply for old fans to listen to their music, and for new fans to discover what DAA was all about. Do not send emails to the band, as they will not respond.
For nearly five years, Drunk At Abi’s reigned as one of Portland’s most popular bands along with such legendary groups as Sweaty Nipples, Hitting Birth, Pond, Crackerbash, Heatmiser and Hazel.
Drunk At Abi’s started in January of 1989 when vocalist JR Pella and guitarist Von Porter had a bit too much to drink at a party hosted by their mutual friend Abi Lawrence, and began performing together. They soon recruited Mike Flick on bass and then Tom Peterson on drums, and Drunk At Abi’s was officially formed. Ray Gruen would soon replace Mike Flick, and the band would quickly grow in popularity.
Playing lives shows at such Portland venues as Satyricon, X-Ray Café, La Luna and the Melody Ballroom, DAA became known for their powerful live performances that were fueled by JR Pella’s manic stage presence. Mixing equally parts hard rock and soul, DAA drew comparisons to bands like Fishbone, Red Hot Chili Pepper and Faith No More. At the same time, they possessed their own unique sound that was an amalgam of an eclectic body of influences ranging from AC/DC to Stevie Wonder.
At the height of DAA’s popularity they opened for national acts like Rage Against the Machine and The Dead Milkmen. In 1992 the band release the four-song EP entitled Hi!, which managed to wonderfully capture the raw engery of their lives shows. In 1993, as the Seattle music scene was exploding on a massive national scale, Drunk At Abi’s recorded their first full-length album, Worm in the Apple. Although there was major label interest in the band at the time, DAA sadly broke up shortly after the release of Worm in the Apple.
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