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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 19, 2000)
may 19. 2000 May 13-21 y S lé r* X Á on Limited édition /## < Day two for the Doug -U , “the only shop that comes to you” Poignant regional rocker Sarah Dougher releases her second, solo album 4235 SK Woodstock Blvd. • Portland. ÜK 97206 503 774-3531 - by Your fresh flow er professionals JACKSON’S FLOWERS 3804 N. E. San d y Blvd. P ortlan d, OR 97232 282-0657 • 1 (8 0 0 ) 303-0657 lo iiiiM . i t . w w w .JacksonsFlow ers.com Our Hands Hearts™ M o v e G I R L ’S N I G H T O U T ! LACE UP T H E H I G H - T O P S A N D L EAVE Y O U R P U M P S AT H O M E ! A L L T I C K E T S T I C K E T S IN S T A R T T H E AS L O W E R L O W AS 224-4400 1 1 ' in n o rt*o %ot j r B O W L $ ET K aty D avidson T he dim light inside Jackpot Studios beck ons me like a flashlight in a cave. I have been walking along Southeast Morrison Street in the dark for about 10 minutes— not for the sheer fun of it, mostly because I for got the precise directions. Finally, I stumble across the tell-tale mailbox label and quietly open the door. It is late January and I am going to visit Sarah Dougher (pronounced “doc-grrr”) while she records her new album, The Walls Ablaze. Dougher, a 32-year-old Oregon native, has spent the majority of her life in school and the majority of her free time playing in dyke rock hands and being an activist. About 10 years ago, Dougher graduated from Reed College in Portland, then went on to earn her Ph.D. in comparative literature and classics at the U ni versity of Texas in Austin. “I went to school for a really, really, really long time,” she says. “It was pretty much the main focus of my life up until about three years ago. And I’m never going back to school.” She currently plays keyboard and sings in two hands, the Crabs and Cadallaca. Last summer, she released a solo album called Day One on Olympia, Wash.- hased K Records. So last January, with a collec tion of newly composed songs to document, she brought her instruments and ideas to Port lander Larry Cranes domain, otherwise known as Jackpot. When I enter the studio, Dougher is in the far room, noodling on the piano. She’s prepar ing to record “What She’d Trade,” one of the two piano tracks she’ll put on the new album. She plays the rest of her songs on guitar. From inside the sound booth, I can hear a metronome beep like an Atari heartbeat— this noise is being sent directly into Dougher’s headphones in the next room so she can keep time while she plays. I quickly discover that I’ve walked in on Dougher and Crane trou bleshooting— the problem is that Dougher can’t hear the metronome and piano together in the headphones while she plays. Dougher’s remedy is to wrap a large cloth tightly around her head so the sound is more present. “What She’d Trade” sounds like a classic Dougher song; the chord progression is quirky, hut not hokey; the piano line sounds hesitantly hopeful. Dougher’s musical buddy, Jon Reuter, joins her on guitar for much of this album, just as he did on the previous one. Dougher says, "I think playing music is one of the most fun ways to hang out with other people.” On “What She’d Trade,” Reuter inter weaves a subtle guitar line into the piano work. There are many, many takes, but finally the basic piano and guitar tracks are recorded. I spend much of my time behind plate glass, lis tening to the session and speaking with Crane about recording techniques. 1 only stay to hear Dougher and Reuter record one song. It’s late and they’ve already laid the groundwork for four other songs, including a guest appearance on the drums by Janet Weiss, who plays with Sleater-Kinney and Quasi. Three and a half months later, Dougher’s finished C D is in my hands. The 12-song album— which is released by Mr. Lady, a les bian label based in North Carolina— is differ- ent from Day One, Dougher says, because the songs are interwoven more thematically and musically. “These songs are stronger,” she says. “On the last record, there were more things happen ing. There are fewer things happening on this one, hut 1 think it makes it better." The Walls Ablaze is certainly more lyrically simplistic than Dougher’s last record. (Day One’s liner notes resemble an epic novel.) Dougher pays more attention to musical acces sibility on the new release— the fast stings are hook-filled and consequently catchy, the slow stings are soothing and could maybe hold their own on VH1 (the old VH1, not the hip VH1). “No-Handed" is jangly and full-sounding, “The Scales” has a superinfectious chorus & la Liz Phair, and “The Ground Below” is sappy in an OK kind of way. “Mirror/Shield" is the most rocking song on The WaUs Ablaze and is also the album’s best-written. Compared to the thickness of Day One, Dougher’s new record offers a lot of breathing room. ■ S arah D ougher is currently touring the nation, and she will hold a record release party at the Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W. Burnside St. m Portland, at 9 p.m. June 10. For ticket informa - lion, call (503) 225-0047. K aty D avidson is a Just Out staff writer who may be reached at katy@justout.com.
