Right out of college I chased my dream of making it big as a lifelong musician and for five years I shared that dream with my brothers in The Strangers, playing almost 1,000 shows in 17 states plus Canada from 1990-95. The band put out five albums (three of which I was on) and captured more than 100 of our live shows on tape. These five albums and a curated selection of live gigs and other recordings will make their way to streaming services this summer, starting with these two, now:
The Strangers’ first album “Dreams of the Land” was where it all began, when U of O students Allen Bush, Bart Ferguson and Chris McDowell parlayed their success as a student trio playing the bars, frats and parties of University of Oregon (and of course the Dublin Pub) into a session at Don Ross Productions to record a tape of all original material.
Released in June 1989, Dreams of the Land unveiled nine acoustic folk-based original compositions featuring lush two-part vocal harmonies, gorgeous acoustic strumming and socially conscious subject matter. Many of these songs like Call Me Crazy, Headlines Bleeding, Pass it On, Letter to Marie and The Poisoning would be live staples for many years even once I joined the band and we went full electric 5-piece. Now on streaming services for the first time, enjoy Dreams of the Land here (and anywhere else you stream music).
Also available today is a 13-song bootleg of the electric band at Hood River’s River City Saloon, from April 1994. At this point the electric band of me, Allen, Bart, Ned Failing and Henry Smith had played 614 shows since Henry’s debut as permanent bassist on March 14, 1991.
At this first of two nights at the River City, The Strangers heard here were probably as far away from a folky acoustic trio as we would ever get, with Allen songs like Set You Up and Sweet Lorraine juxtaposed with Bart/Allen staples (at the time) Don’t Get Comfortable, Symptoms and Kitchen in prime form, with Henry’s Mad Dog and my tunes Walkin’ and Reason also appearing on this gig. Bask in the magic here (and anywhere you stream music).
These are the first in a series of the band’s entire catalog plus curated live bootlegs, demos and home recordings coming to streaming over the summer. Watch this space for more releases and in the meantime enjoy the music and the memories!
Live at River City Saloon - April 14, 1994
