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Israel Nebeker speaks on inspiration, loss and community
Blind Pilot’s new
album ‘And Then
Like Lions’ comes
out Aug. 12
mentor in songwriting. We
had an ongoing conversation
about the creative process,
and we would get really
excited to talk for long
sessions about it.” He also
appreciates singer-songwrit-
By DWIGHT CASWELL
ers like Neutral Milk Hotel,
For some of us, ideas
Joanna Newsom and Bob
come as pictures; for others
Dylan for their ability to ind
they take literary form. For
“a universal core in a deeply
Blind Pilot co-founder Israel personal sentiment.”
Nebeker, ideas may come as
Blind Pilot’s new album,
song, “usually in a dream, or out Aug. 12, does exactly
a hike, or
that, cap-
a random
turing grief,
‘I WANTED TO
moment in
MAKE AN ALBUM loss, sense
the day.”
of place and
THAT WAS AN
“A
INVITATION INTO community
line and
— universal
CONVERSATION themes — in
a melody
ABOUT LOSS,
will come
a personal
intertwined,
way, as in
FROM A
without
the single
PERSPECTIVE
explanation
“Umpqua
THAT IT’S NOT
of its mean-
in
NEARLY SO HARD Rushing,”
ing,” he
which loss,
IF WE EXPERIENCE memory
says, “and
I’ll have to
IT TOGETHER.’ and longing
work to ig-
mingle in
ure out what it means. The
the waters and forest of the
lyrics are there to be found,
Umpqua.
but it is hard to ind them.”
Nebeker also mentions
The indie-rock musician’s the influence of favor-
father, the late painter Royal ite writers like the beat
Nebeker, was “my biggest
novelist and poet Jack
Why Sugar Plum,
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8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19
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Liberty Theater
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Astoria
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PHOTO BY DWIGHT CASWELL
Israel Nebeker, who grew up
in Gearhart, is the co-founder
of Oregon indie-rock band
Blind Pilot.
Kerouac and the icono-
clastic Charles Bukowski,
whom many remember
for his aphorism, “An
intellectual says a simple
thing in a hard way. An
artist says a hard thing in
a simple way.” In writers
like Kerouac and Bukows-
ki, Nebeker says he found,
“these strange gestures of
writing. They were not on
solid ground. They wrote
on an emotional level.”
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The songs in “And Then
Like Lions,” Blind Pilot’s
new album, are, “strung
together through themes
of loss and courage, and
the idea of looking at loss
from all angles, not just
the sorrow and grief, but
also from the perspective
it gives you in life and
closeness to community
and family.”
About three years ago,
Nebeker lost an import-
ant relationship. At the
same time, his father was
diagnosed with the cancer
that would take his life. “I
went through a chapter of
my life where those were
the things coming to me. I
hadn’t really experienced
loss in that way before,” he
says.
He found it strange that
he had no vocabulary for it.
“Our culture doesn’t
have a good vocabulary for
loss, especially death. It’s
not easy for us to share,”
he says.
In the course of expe-
riencing loss and learning
to speak of it, Nebeker
achieved a perspective that
pervades the third Blind
Pilot album: “I wanted to
make an album that was an
invitation into conversation
about loss, from a perspec-
tive that it’s not nearly so
hard if we experience it
together.”
Nebeker first found a
sense of community in
Gearhart, where he grew
up, writing his first songs
as a teen to sing to friends
around bonfires on Little
Beach. “‘And Then Like
Lions,’” he says, “is about
what it means to be with
each other, and place, and
home.”
It’s been five years since
the last Blind Pilot album,
in part due to the losses
that led to “And Then Like
Lions.” Nebeker scrapped
some of the first ideas he
had, and band members
needed time to work on
personal and family issues.
Now, though, the band’s
fall tour and Astoria CD
release concerts Aug. 19
and 20 approach, and Blind
Pilot is eager to be back
touring.
“We’re rehearsing a lot,
figuring out how to play
the songs live,” Nebeker
says. “We recorded them to
the album, and now it’s a
different story.”
Blind Pilot has been
around eight years. “I’m
incredibly fortunate to
make a living doing it,”
says Nebeker. “It’s super
fun but a lot of work.”
More important than
longevity or work, though,
is the opportunity he has to
relate to the community, say-
ing, “It’s astonishing to ind
I can write something that
other people can relate to.”
Well over a thousand
people will be at the Liber-
ty Theater in a week’s time.
None of them will feel
astonished. They’ll feel
connected.
Buy buttons, support Astor Street Opry
ASTORIA —The Astor Street
Opry Company announces the
13th annual Miss Vivian and
Macie Contest. Sponsored by
NAPA Auto Parts of Warren-
ton, this fun contest is running
now through Aug. 26. The
winners will be announced
Aug. 27 at the irst intermis-
sion of the show.
This is how it works:
Local bars and hair salons
choose an in-house represen-
tative to compete as one of
two characters from ASOC’s
original musical melodrama
“Shanghaied In Astoria,” now
running at the ASOC Play-
house. Each representative
has a button with their name
on it. The basic goal is pretty
simple — sell the buttons for
as much as they can get, with
a recommended minimum
of $2. Proceeds help ASOC
keep the lights on. To top it
off, each contestant will put
together a basket to be rafled
off throughout the completion
at the show Aug. 27.
This truly is an election
that can be bought. And the
fun part is, whoever raises the
most cash for ASOC will be
awarded the coveted title of
Miss Vivian or Miss Macie
2016, complete with prizes
and bragging rights.
This season’s contestants
are: For Miss Vivian: Paula at
the Wet Dog Café & Brewery,
Sarah at The Chart Room,
Rebecca at WineKraft, Tieler
at Port of Call, Terry at Merry
Time Bar & Grill, Cathy at
the The Big O Saloon, and
Alaina at Finns Fish House.
Competing for Miss Macie
are: Betsy at HYGGE, Ronell
at Aura Salon, and Ashley and
Patricia at The Shop for Guys
and Dolls.
The 32nd season of
“Shanghaied In Astoria” is
halfway through its season.
The musical melodrama
continues at 7 p.m. ev-
ery Thursday, Friday and
Saturday through Sept 10.
Sundays matinees are 2 p.m.
Aug. 14 and Sept. 4. The
ASOC Playhouse is located
at 129 W. Bond St. For more
information, visit astorstree-
toprycompany.com or call
503-325-6104.