BILLIONAIRE BACHELORS
By Wink Lewis
God bless the die-hard rockers. The Billionaire Bachelors are indeed
working and shaking the ground on which they stomp. This is a group
of five credible dudes with ample positive attitudes, drive and direction.
All have professional careers to offset the not-so-lucrative careers
as working musicians.
According to the boys, this year has been a relatively successful one
since they landed the newest addition...a whale of a drummer, Charlie
Swift. He also sings lead and back up. He jams, slams, has a great meter
and uses tasteful dynamics. The band has been a well-working congress
of rock for the last two years; but the addition of Swift seems to have
put a new spin on their direction.
All five of these guys have a natural sense of calm urgency about them;
the kind you might see in an attorney like John Cage, better known as
the "Biscuit" (from the wonderfully popular Monday night TV
smash Aly McBeal) when he's creating a jury diversion. It's something
you can't put your finger on at the time, but you know the masters of
the art are carefully and strategically manipulating you.
All five musicians are 30-somethings and older with long musical histories
on the South and Northwest borders. Combining their musical curtains
of artillery, there are over 40 bands and hundreds of songs they have
ground through to get where they are. All of them are extremely proficient
in their chosen instruments. Three of them sing lead, as well as back
up.
Larry Morgan plays king pin/ring leader to the fab five. He sings lead
and back up, plays rhythm ax and is the band's percussionist. Morgan
hails from southern California, but moved to Portland for the action
some 20 years ago and still feels like it was the smart choice. He grew
up in a musically gifted family, did the church choir gig, won a few
awards as a kid for his singing talents and has never looked back. Morgan
has worked for Myers Container for 23 years.
Pete Peterson takes on the role of keyboards and back up vocals. He
hails form Oakland, Calif., and started playing piano at the age of
6. As high school rolled around, he found himself playing trumpet which
took him on tour to Europe with a 15-piece jazz band. Peterson owned
Trax Recording Studio, a local shop here in town for ten years but got
burned out on it for a number of different reasons. He's played in lots
of local bands, one called Recess with Morgen. Peterson has worked as
a postal carrier for the last 21 years.
J.J. Janeway hails from Indianapolis, Ind.; graduated from Purdue University
and has played the bass and sung for the last 20 years. He also spent
11 years between Los Angeles and San Francisco working the clubs. He
feels like cover bands are taking the backseat to DJs and original bands.
Janeway went as far as to say that rock is dead because it has been
taken over by hip hop. Janeway met the Billionaire Bachelors through
the Nickel Ads Classified two years ago and works a 9-5 as an
inventory specialist.
Jon Lamoreaux plays a mean lead guitar and sings lead/back up vocals.
He's the only original born-and-raised webfoot. He spent a couple years
in college but wasn't interested in the school curriculum and didn't
see it as his way out. Lamoreaux also works in the postal industry but
unlike Peterson, who delivers the mail, Lamoreaux works in the training
department in an office and out of the elements. Peterson is 42 and
played the same music in the same clubs since he was 16 years old. Lamoreaux
says, "With these guys, all five of us are on the same track and
I know it sounds funny but we don't fight." And that is one of
the reasons it's one of the best bands he's played in.
Charlie Swift plays drums/sings as second vocalist and back ups. He
hails from Klamath Falls, Ore. and graduated from OIT with a degree
in Mechanical Engineering. Swift is 36 years old and got his first drum
set when he was 11. His career as an environmental cleanup man has moved
him around a lot. In fact, he says, "Mine was one of the first
bands to rehearse in the Hush rehearsal studios in Seattle back when
it was just this big open warehouse." He says his friends call
him the human jukebox because he knows and can play so many songs. Swift
has been around.
Summation: This band kicks butt. Watch for a CD to come out some time
next year. It should be worth the wait. For more information or booking
schedule on the Billionaire Bachelors, call Morgan at 503-481-2980.
Catch them at Dr. Feelgood's in Aloha Dec 1-2; Pub 181 Dec. 22-23, 29-30
and New Year's Eve Dec. 31.
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