Quick & Easy Boys Talk

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Quick & Easy Boys talk touring, writing and concrete

photo credit: Alex Steininger

Quick & Easy Boys
Sept. 26, 5:30 p.m.
Howler’s Coyote Cafe

Think quick and easy boys.

Now, get your mind out of the gutter and put an eclectic punk-rock band in the previous image’s place.

The Quick & Easy Boys are “a power-trio from Portland, Ore., that creates its own brand of rock ’n’ roll by mixing together honky-tonk, funk and a DIY punk attitude,” according to its MySpace page.

And if anyone wants to even try to fathom what its sound is like, its MySpace also suggests imagining “the Minutemen, Funkadelic and Willie Nelson rolled into one.”

The band members themselves first came together as a couple of young guys just looking for something to do together.

“We all started off playing in different bands in Eugene, Ore., where we met going to college,” Michael Goetz said in an e-mail interview.

The three band members were all around age 24 at the time, added Goetz.

“As we were all supporters of local music, we would [frequently] cross paths, and we finally formed the Quick and Easy Boys as [a sort of] collaboration,” Goetz said.

Since that day in 2005, The Quick & Easy Boys kept in line with its moniker and quickly made a name for itself in Eugene, Ore. Eventually the group traveled together to Portland and began building a fan base there, as well.

“It was nice already being in other bands as far as getting our name out,” Goetz said. “We all had different groups of friends that were brought to the table.”
These days, those first performance areas still hold a strong allure for the band because of fan loyalty.

“We have the largest pull in Portland, Hood River, Eugene [and] some other surrounding areas. Denver [and] Flagstaff [ Ariz.] are pretty good as well, but we love the home turf. On the road it seems to be pretty consistent,” Goetz said.

These days band players Jimmy Russell, Sean Badders and Goetz each have stage names, as well. Russel becomes guitarist Elvis O’Reilly. Badders is bass player Bon Shatsters. And Goetz himself is drummer Uncle T. Wankster. Each band member functions as a vocalist.

The 2008 release of the band’s album Bad Decisions With Good People has left people raving about its unique and vibrant sound.

“The album is kind of a funny story,” Goetz said. “There was a different drummer originally, but after he got a woman and became increasingly hard to get ahold of, the band contacted [me] to help get the album done. And since that moment, [I] became the new drummer.”

For the band, recording the album was not a fancy task.

“It was a very low budget, basement record and was kind of thrown by the wayside and not really pushed,” Goetz said. “Since then ... [the album has received] some attention, and [we] are currently working on another with a bit more push behind the it.”

The Quick & Easy Boys are currently on a headlining U.S. tour — a change from merely performing as an opening act for other bands.

When asked about what sort of insanity has happened on the band’s tour, Goetz wasn’t sure how to react.

“That’s kind of a loaded question, and we usually roll by the motto what happens on the road stays on the road,” Goetz said.

“But other than that, I would say the craziest and most unfortunate moment was in Denver. We had been partying with Lewis Black all night and hopped in a cab to go home when we were broad-sided by a drunk driver. [We] spent the night in the ER. The drummer suffered some pretty severe wounds and was out for about four months.”

And what if the band didn’t have music to keep it occupied?

“If we weren’t performing, we would probably be crying and holding each other, planning our next move,” Goetz said.

“The world is a scary place, but we’ve recently heard that the mortuary business is always crackin’, that and concrete,” he added.

“We are definitely happy with the progress we’ve been making. We would love to eventually go abroad, and that’s something we are looking into,” he said. “Playing music, traveling and meeting colorful people is our passion, so if we’re accomplishing that, we are happy.”