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By Brian Blair
from Salem Monthly, Section Music / Nightlife
Posted on Tue Oct 30, 2007 at 06:25:35 PM PDT
Musicians avoid discussing the business side of making music, as if acknowledging this dark side of the industry will give it power. Most often, when pressed on the subject, they'll offer some variation on the classic "I make music for the sake of art and not for the money." While that's a noble stance -- and most likely true -- costly studio time and new equipment require that someone focus on finances.While some may view this as a ... well, quandary, the members of Quandry believe that advancing the group's music requires them treating the band as a business. The threesome is so serious about their stance that they put all money earned through shows and merchandise sales back into the band fund.
"So far, it is a nonprofit organization," says vocalist/bassist keyboardist Nate Allbritton.
According to Allbritton all revenue is used to cover expenses and the members don't even take merchandise for themselves. If a member wants a T-shirt or a hat, they have to pay for it just as the fans do.
"We're artists trying to be businessmen," says guitarist Guy Holland. "And that's a challenge."
Quandry's origins go back to when the three members were in high school and playing the occasional house party. Eventually, though, the group ran its course and the members went in different directions. Allbritton delved into hip hop music and became a self-professed "music whore." Holland worked with various artists (including auditioning for Limp Bizkit and being one of four finalists in Oregon) and drummer Scott Miles retired from performing.
When the three were asked to perform at a friend's wedding in 2004, they agreed and quickly found they enjoyed working together. Those rehearsals led to the trio writing new material and soon the band was moving forward with renewed energy.
The group ushered in 2006 by releasing its debut EP, "Penumbra." Response to the set was positive and fans locked on to the disc's lead-off track, "Angry Lips." In the months that followed, the group increased its base by playing on stages from Eugene's W.O.W. Hall to Portland's Roseland Theater.
The trio returned to the studio in March and began work on its follow-up, "Five Senses of Phantasm." Allbritton says that while the album isn't exactly a concept album, all the songs do have a similar reference point.
"The album was based on looking at something and seeing both sides of it -- the good and the bad," says Allbritton, who also uses terms like "mirage" and "deception" in regard to the album's subject matter.
When asked if the material comes from events in his own life, Allbritton laughs and says that it's based on his observations of other people's trials and tribulations.
Released last August, an occasion that was marked with a show at Portland's Aladdin Theater, the nine-track EP moved the group to that proverbial next level. One of the perks of that has been that Portland's rock station, KUFO, has given "Switchface" some spins.
"That song was just kind of having fun, when we put it together," says Allbritton.
"It was like a circus kind of song," Miles adds. "I was like, `This is kind of goofy.'"
After the group's upcoming show at the IKE Box, the members say they'll take some time off to focus on shopping the EP to labels for a possible recording contract. To date, the band has released two EPs and has yet to offer a regular length CD. For the business-minded group, that fits right into the plan.
"We don't want to release a full-length until someone else backs it," says Miles. "Until someone else pays for it."
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