bodhi: Press

Like the garage rock bastard child of the Cramps and Joy Division, Bodhi lurks in the darkest corners of the Portland music scene, putting out some of the hippest-sounding garage rock you could imagine and crooning their way through the drizzly days. Their vocals ooze with swagger, drawling over clunky synths, over-the-top organ bits, and cymbal-riddled drums. A little sarcastic and at times a little rockabilly, the group has managed to piece together a beautiful conglomeration of borrowed sounds, spun them into a grungy musical cloth, and put out something unique and special. Whole and organic, their music stands out as something authentic among the hordes. TPK

It's been a long time coming, but Bodhi's first album Secondhand Runner is finally out, and reportedly the band already has enough material for a follow-up EP. But let's not get ahead of ourselves—in the meantime, the Portland band's debut is a stunner. Secondhand Runner is a PDX garage record that shows the band's New York City roots, putting emphasis on streetwalkin' cool above all else. Bodhi goes from pogo-ing bomp to slow 'n' stoney bliss-out, using the familiar tools of Iggy Pop's deranged, half-sung vocals, the Castaways' cheesed-out organ, and Gary Numan's chunky synths. "Bystander" is just a slight bit rockabilly, and "Calmness on the Beat" even shows some tendencies toward morning-after coke-disco, Giorgio Moroder-style, until shivering distorted guitars fill up the glossy track. Bodhi have found a perfect marriage of garage and glam, and are actually winning the hard-odds gamble that attitude trumps all else. NED LANNAMANN

4:45 – The PA system is playing Bodhi’s “Nadine” as they walk onto the outdoor stage. How Spinal Tap! I share a hug and good laugh with drummer Erin Ansley.

4:50 – “PDX Pop Now muthfuckers!” yells Ansley from behind her kit. I think someone’s amped to play today.

5:05 – A girl walks past me carrying a bag of Lucky Charms. My stomach growls. And I don’t see a rainbow.

5:14 – Bodhi’s Brian Carr mangles the fuck out of his guitar during its last song, and Ansley throws her drum kit to the side. It’s a good reminder that between all the hushed-folk and slinky electronics, people still rock out in this city.

[RELOCATED GARAGE ROCK] Sometimes it takes a band a while to find a home. Whether working out the right sound, juggling unfortunate members, or finding a cheap place to live, the right location can make a band—or cause it to pack up and move across the county. For local garage-rock trio Bodhi, a change of scenery wasn’t just logical, it was necessary.

“We were pretty much running from gentrification,” says drummer Erin Ansley of the band’s three-pronged move from New York to California to Portland. “It’s the same old story. When condos start going up in the Lower East Side, you know you’re in trouble.”

Luckily, the change came at just the right time for the band, as well as the pocketbook. Fed up with members who “weren’t really motivated to do anything at all,” 32-year-old songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Brian Carr started playing with onetime band manager Ansley after they both relocated to PDX in 2006—writing songs that blew everything the old Bodhi did out of the Hudson River. Despite playing its first show less than a year ago, the trio—rounded out by guitarist Bob Pounding—has forged a distinctive, stomping and gritty version of garage rock.

Though it still hasn’t released a proper record (the band aims to self-record its debut this month after recruiting a fourth member), Bodhi managed to land a track on the recently released PDX Pop Now! compilation—and “Nadine” might be the gem of the entire 40-song record. Emerging from behind a layer of tape hiss, it’s a wonderfully catchy slice of garage-pop bliss, building from a rolling drum fill into a guitar-and-Farfisa organ breakdown that’s guaranteed to have your foot tapping in seconds.

Carr, whose voice recalls Jack White doing his best Mick Jagger, says he doesn’t plan to give the band’s records away; but Bodhi (named after either Patrick Swayze’s character in surf-action flick Point Break or the miscreants in Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums) has wholeheartedly embraced Portland’s alternative venues—preferring to play house parties over scarcely attended bars. “We’re just all about trying to play for free,” says Ansley, sipping from a cup of red wine in the band’s Southeast backyard. “I don’t want to go fucking pay $8 to even see someone I really like. If someone’s never heard us, what’s the motivation when $8 is like three slices of pizza?” Take our word for it: “Nadine” is motivation enough.