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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 2015)
www.hoodrivernews.com P AIN Continued from Page A1 OPB’s Oregon Artbeat, and several high-quality videos are online that, according to Magee, “was a good way to let people see what we’re like.” The Pain’s sound was eerily similar to a compila- tion called the Atlantic Rhythm and Blues series, a multi-CD box set that cele- brates soul and R&B music. “That’s the sound we were going for, if we can hit that level, then I’m going to be very happy about it,” Magee said. Magee said the instrumen- tation for the band was some- thing he had in mind from the beginning, because he wanted to recreate the sound of 60s soul. So having horns and female backup singers, and a rhythm section with organ and piano was essen- tial. “The general picture was planned and then certain people fell into place later, as we started performing. And now we’ve been a solid line- up for well over a year,” Magee said. But this band did not want to get classified as a typical bar or wedding band, so Magee made sure when the setlist included cover songs, they are so obscure that they may sound like original music. “Our show is about one third original. Ural has a his- tory of writing and record- ing, for the most part in the mid 60s to the early 70s, when he was active in studios working with other collabo- rators, with people such as Mary Wells and Brenda Hol- loway. The covers are chosen very specifically to match the sound and power of what he can do with his own songs, but not make it sound like a typical cover band, so we don’t play hits,” Magee said. Magee said that since he’s a record collector and self-de- scribed “deep soul lover,” his record collection was used to find material that would suit Ural’s voice and the band’s classic sound. “Essentially, if you’ve Hood River News, Wednesday, February 11, 2015 never heard us before, you might not be able to tell the difference between the songs that are covers, or originals, and we’ve designed it that way,” Magee said. Ural Thomas’s best known record among collectors is called “Pain is the Name of Your Game.” His work histo- ry includes playing on the same circuit as James Brown and writing songs for artists like Hank Ballard. “It’s a song that’s collected in the soul world, and there’s people out there who know and love the song, especially in Europe, and England. He’s got a live LP that came out in the early 70s on the Revue label, and it was done in Seattle with a backing band of teenagers that were really talented players. He played a concert and they put it out on album, and it’s really kind of bizarre,” Magee said. “And then he’s got some stuff with the doo-wop band the Monterey’s, that he did even before all of this. He did a song called the “Push-Em Up,” and that’s really limited in number of copies, and I believe only came out on a 45. Ural wouldn’t be seen as a prolific artist, but definitely a collectable soul artist that fits in that niche of northern soul or deep soul,” Magee said. Magee said that he can only imagine what kind of energy Ural had when he was in his 20s, based on his high energy contributions to the band today. “He moved to the North- west when he was five, so he’s a Portlander, for sure. He’s never really stopped doing music, he’s just done things that has been either collaborations, or he hosts a jam at his house that he’s done every Sunday that’s been going on for 20 years. He’s stayed active, but for years he really didn’t have a name for himself on stage — you know, he would play in a Cajun band playing wash- board and singing, or he’s a guest artist with some kind of project. He’s always stayed engaged in music,” Magee said. Magee said the band is currently making a record and the process is going “re- A3 ‘Steelhead Revival’ shows at Festival of the Fly on Thursday Submitted photo URAL THOMAS AND THE PAIN play River City Saloon on Friday, Feb. 13. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door. Thomas’ first stint in music, decades back, had earned him opening gigs for Ste- vie Wonder and James Brown. He released a series of singles in the 1960’s, including “Pain is the Name of Your Game.” ally well.” “We’re going to record a number of Ural’s songs from his past. We’re not going to recreate the stuff that was done well, because it stands alone and it’s really good, but we’re not trying to one-up it or recreate it,” Magee said. “The new record should be done in about a year, and it’s being done completely live, without a computer, so it’s essentially we’re making records the way they used to be.” It was interesting to hear Magee talk about the band’s first practice with Ural about one year ago. “It was amazing. I had high hopes. So I assembled the whole band, telling them look, here’s a chance to be playing with someone on a level that we wouldn’t nor- mally be able to play with, so let’s learn his material really great, and knock him out, that was the point. So we played a couple of songs and the whole band kinda had chills, and then we all looked at each other and there wasn’t much more to do. It really was kind of an indication that it was going to be a real special thing,” Magee said. “His voice was incredible, and his musicality was fully there, he hadn’t lost any- thing. For him, I think he ex- perienced a backing sound that he hadn’t experienced in a long time, so he immediate- ly locked in,He has more en- ergy than any of us. He’s like a kid. You’ll see.” Hood River’s 6th annual “Festival of the Fly” returns Feb. 12 to Skylight Draft- house Theater, 107 Oak St.. The film “Steelhead Re- vival” will be shown, at 6 and 8:30 p.m. This is a fundraiser for restoration on the Hood and White Salmon rivers. Tickets cost $20 and in- clude 10 $1 raffle tickets. The raffle prizes are Sage One rod, Redington fly rod and reel combo, Sage fly reel, Sage fly rod, Special package from Full Sail, fishing trip with retired guide and steel- head guru John Garrett, and assorted fishing gear. A significant portion of the money raised by this event will go to stream restoration in honor of Glen Haack on both The Big White and the Hood River, via friendofthewhitesalmon.org sponsors are: Andrew’s Pizza & the Skylight Theater, Full Sail Brewing, Gorge Fly Shop, Food Service of Amer- ica, Shortt Supply, Kayak Shack, Gorge Surf Shop, Lemma Wine Company - Wearhouse , Skylight Draft- house Theater HOOD RIVER NEWS (ISSN 07465823) is published twice weekly, every Wednesday and Saturday. Subscription rates: $42 per year prepaid ($36 for senior citizens, 65 and over) in Hood River County and western Wasco County, Oregon; and Klickitat and Skamania counties,Washington. Elsewhere, $68 prepaid per year. Known office of pub- lication, 419 State Ave., Hood River, OR 97031-2031. Periodicals postage paid at Hood River, Oregon. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to HOOD RIVER NEWS, P.O. Box 390, Hood River, OR 97031-0103. 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