Artist Profile - Loch Lomond (Portland, OR; Winter, 2010)

A quick Google search of the name Loch Lomond reveals many a detailed description of the infamous loch in Scotland, along with tales of why a Celtic folk song would come to share its name. Romantic anecdotes of Bonnie Prince Charlie and captured soldiers accompany the meaning of the song’s lyrics, and it all unknowingly helps define the sound that comes from Portland’s band of the same name.

Loch Lomond, a visceral quintet of folk-pop musicians that has evolved into the finely honed group they are today, stands as one of the city’s most diverse of bands. Current members Ritchie Young, Jade Eckler, Jason Leonard, Dave Depper, and Scott Magee play a variety of roles, frequently trading off vocal and instrumental duties. The group had started as a solo project for Young in 2003, but has since featured a number of outstanding musicians, and distinguished itself with gorgeous melodies, haunting rhythms, and a stage presence that leaves your eyes, mind, and ears transfixed.

Young spent part of his earlier years of music with Portland rock group The Standard, touring with them along the East Coast and then settling in North Carolina, where they hoped to establish themselves. After a short time there, Young’s taste in the band’s sound began to drift, and he was inspired to head back to the Northwest to develop his own kind of music.

His experience with that group was not extraneous; Young cites The Standard’s coastal tour for teaching him what the average music fan was looking for, namely that simple songwriting will always remain a key ingredient. One listen of any song from Loch Lomond’s catalog shows the lesson paid off sweetly.

Madly driven to launch a solo project, Young spent the next few years piecing together his music and lyrics with friends throughout Portland. This included former bandmate Rob Oberdorfer from The Standard, who helped put together Loch Lomond’s first release, When We Were Mountains, released on local label In Music We Trust Records.

“It was the first and only label I sent it off to, and I told them to just put it on the table with The Standard records to see what would happen, and it was great to see that we ended up selling some,” Young says.

Following this, Loch Lomond became something of a whirlwind of musicians, featuring as many as nine members, and it helped instill in the band the multi-faceted and eccentric sound it continues to develop today. Lament for Children and Paper the Walls were released through Hush Records in 2006 and 2007, respectively, and these helped establish the band in the Portland music scene considerably.

By the summer of 2008, playing alongside the talented likes of Laura Gibson and Nick Jaina, Loch Lomond was nearly selling out venues as large as the Aladdin Theatre. Young says the band’s elation was at its highest, and they all felt that, “This is as big as it gets!” But things were about to get even bigger.

After being impressed with a Loch Lomond show one night, fellow Portlander Colin Meloy, frontman for The Decemberists, asked Ritchie and the band if they would like to go on tour with them. Jumping at the opportunity, Young’s band soon found themselves experiencing exposure they’d never seen before.

“Our comfort zone at that point was the upstairs of the Funky Church, where 70 people would be packed in,” Young says. “Then we played our first show [with The Decemberists], which had something like 3,000 people, and it was such a huge jump-up—it was crazy.”

Touring with such a well-known band gave Loch Lomond quite a bit of insight into the goods and bads of popularity. Young says he’s been happy to watch Meloy’s band evolve into a bit more of a pop band, once fame struck them, because it’s worked so well for them. Also good to see, he says, was the way in which the modesty of The Decemberists had not been altered, and that none of their band had developed any kind of an ego.

Young and the rest of Loch Lomond definitely witnessed moments on the road that would reveal how notoriety as a band could lead to a shift in the group’s actions and attitude, however.

“One night we played a giant airplane hangar in upstate New York that was the size of a city,” Young says. “It was 4,000 people plus, and they were absolutely silent for every song we were playing. It was such a huge, weird feeling. I can understand why bands get those audiences, and then totally sell out or change their music. Because it’s less about the music and more about them.”

Wrapping up their part of the tour in December of 2008, Loch Lomond came back into town with deadset ambition. Two five-song EPs were produced in 2009, with the first, Trumpets for Paper Children, being released as a free download. Night Bats, a sweeping ensemble of lush melodies and entrancing lyrics, followed, and it’s an artistic piece of dynamite. “Spine (MMIX),” a sped-up tune that shows no remorse towards love, is Young’s songwriting at its best. Refusing to disclose if the song is about a personal experience, Young says he learned long ago that it’s better to leave such a thing a mystery.

“If I were to tell you what my meaning behind the music was, it would destroy your implication of the lyrics, and that would be way less romantic,” he says.

The history of Portland’s Loch Lomond has been as colorful and vibrant as the Scottish loch itself, but it’s reassuring that the current lineup of members seems concrete, and likely not to be changing any time in the near future. Speaking on the way they’re expanding their sound outside of the chamber folk box, Young is noticeably excited about where the group is heading.

“I don’t even want to be called a folk band,” he says. “I want to step in a different direction, be a little bit louder, have a little bit more energy. I think what we really try to do is be a quiet band that gets a lot of energy from the people.”

On that note, Young maintains a calm and collected attitude amidst the chaos of today’s many music scenes, resting much of the band’s fate on that of their fans.

“There’s no music industry in Portland, not like there is in Los Angeles, or New York, so it’s a great place. You just have to show confidence out there, because when you walk on the stage, people need to be able to feel that you care about what you’re doing, and that’s what will keep them listening.”

Some Related Entries:

Venue Profile - The Woods (Portland, OR; Fall, 2009)

Pickathon X Indie Roots Music Festival: Sunday - Pendarvis Farm (Happy Valley, OR; Aug. 3, 2008)

The Decemberists + Shaky Hands - The Moore Theatre (Seattle, WA; Jan. 30, 2008)

The Builders and The Butchers - “Salvation is a Deep Dark Well” - Buy It

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