march 19. 2004 • ju s t OUt 37
MUSIC
eatingout
In good company
R e n ie s
Theresa Demarest left music to save her sanity.
She came back for the same reason.
by
^
R oll on D own
Theresa Demarest •
Joshua Records
dare you to listen to
Portland singer/
songwriter Theresa
Demarest’s eighth CD,
Roll on Down, in a had
mood.
The album features
an eclectic menu: jazz-
flavored songs with
dashes of folk, a few
pinches of pop and
hints of genre-defying musical mysteries thrown
in. G<xxl Company— Demarest’s longtime
band— contributes to this diverse and
refreshing musical blend.
Demarest shines brightest on her pure jazz
tunes. Standout track “ Pm Flyin’,” written
for her partner of 15 years, will have you
bobbing your head and tapping your toes. If
you need a folk fix, just take a listen to the
title track about motorcycle riding on the
open road.
“Odd Things," somewhat of a protest song
about life, cannot be categorized. And this,
combined with l^emarest’s simple yet profound
lyrics, is what makes her music great.
Listen to Roll on Down and watch your spirit
roll on down the pathway to a hope-filled,
peaceful new state.
I
—JBjn
That phone call inspired her to
write “Jonnie D & Me,” a song
featured on Roll on Down. The
title track was also inspired by
her road trip.
“I’m just doing the best
I can,” Demarest confides,
“and I hope it comes out
in my music. T h at’s the
place where 1 hope people get
who I am .”
ca fe
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J a m ie B o l y a r d
• wo years ago Portland lesbian musician
Theresa Demarest put down her guitar
and gave up music. The do-it-yourself
singer/songwriter was burned out.
“1 reached a point where 1 had to stop or 1
was going to go nuts,” she admits. “That was
hard— really hard— because it’s in my blood.
It’s why I’m on the planet. It’s how I live and
breathe. It’s my vehicle for connecting with
the universe.”
The universe welcomes Demarest hack this
year With her eighth album, Roll on Doom, from
Joshua Records, her own label.
Demarest, whose music is a combination of
folk and jazz with a little pop and blues sprin
kled in, feels this one is her best project so far.
She recorded and has been performing live
with her band, GtxxJ Company, made up of
some of Portland’s finest musicians, including
Grammy-nominated pianist Janice Scroggins,
vocalist Linda Hombuckle, guitarist Tim Ellis,
the talented Renato Caranto on sax and Thera
Memory on horns.
G ixk J Company is no doubt one reason
Demarest is so excited about Roll on Down.
“These guys, I’ve been with them for 10 years
almost, and they’re wonderful. They’re wonder
ful musicians,” she exclaims.
When Demarest stopped doing music, she
jumped on her Honda 1800cc VTX Retro and
headed south for California. She drove her
bike around the Golden State for a year.
“One day I got a call from my nephew, who
I hadn’t seen since he was a little boy,” Dema
rest explains. “He had fond memories of m e....
He called me out of the blue, and we talked for
hours and laughed.”
eatingout
Theresa
Demarest
comes back
to music
with Roll
on Down
D
emarest is one busy woman. In
addition to promoting her
newest release, she is in
the process of producing
Keiko’s Legacy Tour, an
educational music and
multimedia show that
highlights the journey of
Keiko, the recently
deceased orea star. Keiko
was the second longest liv
ing captive male orea in his
tory and the first to swim free
following his captivity.
“By not taking care of our
oceans, we’re not taking care
of ourselves,” Demarest asserts.
“Keiko’s legacy is about survival
of our planet.”
The singer’s involvement
with Keiko began when she vis
ited the whale at the Oregon
Coast Aquarium from 1996 to
1998. She felt a special connection
and immediately began writing
“Keiko’s Dream," an instrumental tune
featuring some amazing whale-like
sounds on guitar.
Soon thereafter, Demarest pro
duced the C D Keiko’s
Dream, recorded live
at Portland Center for the
only had six months to live. That was 14
Performing Arts. She then
years ago.
began collaborating u'ith the
“It’s a scary thing to he told you’re not going
Free Willy-Keiko Foundation
to be on the planet in six months. And, frankly,
presenting Keiko’s Dream
I don’t know why I’m still here," she confesses.
Tour, a program that com
“But, I’ll tell you, I started doing wrhat I wanted
bines music, arts and science
to do It helped me get the courage to do what I
to raise awareness about
needed to do.... So I started doing my music,
Keiko’s expe
which is one of the primary
rience. She
fix:uses of my life force."
T m just doing
has spent a
Demarest’s life is kind of
considerable
like her music— you just
the best I can, can’t
part of the
put it in a box. She’s a
past few years presenting this
former nun, a former critical
and I hope it
concert in schools and com
care nurse, a mother and a
comes out in
munities throughout the
lesbian in a 15-year relation
Northwest.
ship
with her partner, Nola.
m y music.
When Keiko died last
“And we haven’t even got
December, Demarest and the
That's the place ten started yet!" she adds.
foundation went to work
With a new C D to pro
where I hope
updating the show. Along with
mote and a national tour to
her music, it will include a sci
produce, Demarest has many
people get
ence presentation and video
opportunities to keep on
who I am."
f<x)tage of Keiko swimming in
doing what she loves. “I have
the (xrean.
—Theresa Demarest hope. I have exciting proj
“To be able to rake your
ects to he involved in, and I
music and have it have a high
have a lot of personal satis
faction in my life.” J H
er purpose,” she beams, “what kind of a con
nection is that?’
Visit T heresa D emarest . a»ui get updates on
And Demarest is a woman in touch with
her higher purpose. In the ’80s she survived
Keiko’s Legacy Tour at www.theresacd.com.
a bout of cancer only to have it return five
years later. The second time she was told she
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