Music

Party to the Max

Fun Fantasy Metal, in the Extreme

by Julianne Shepherd

Sat Feb 14, Vera Project, 8 pm, $7/$6 with club card (all ages).

When Nathan Backous was in middle school, Soundgarden let him down, and he made a decision that would change his life. "I remember seeing photos of Soundgarden after Louder Than Love came out," says Backous. "They looked so EXTREME! I thought they must be playing the heaviest, most insane stuff ever--but I was pretty let down when I heard the record. This is not to say that I don't like Soundgarden; it just didn't live up to the expectations the photos built. I've always wanted to be in a band that lives up to the expectations of the photos."

Years later, Backous began playing bass in a post-apocalyptic party-metal band called Jonny X and the Groadies. Vowing never to crush their fans' dreams the way Soundgarden crushed Backous' that day, the Groadies began decorating their intense power-metal with fantastical accoutrements such as strobe lights, lasers, a fog machine, goggles, spandex, and occasional nudity/occasional entourage of booty-in-the-air dancers. Nearly eight years later, the vibe is still party, and the expectations are still extreme.

Known for its brief, potent blasts of drum machine, pterodactyl-like vocals, and exaggerated, mad-scientist melodrama, the Portland quartet keeps it short and powerful, with sets averaging 9 to 14 1/2 minutes. Backous explains, "Pretty much since we've started, a great majority of our songs have been between 30 seconds and two and a half minutes. [Guitarist] Travis [West] composed the song 'Unmortal' that we've played a few times; it's just over 14 minutes long. While I am a fan of short, concise songs with no bullshit, I am really fond of 'Unmortal' and can see us writing longer songs in the future, possibly ranging into the four- to five-minute range. Oooh!"

editor@thestranger.com

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