Gavin Wahl-Stephens

The local bars around Portland, Oregon are the places to find Gavin Wahl-Stephens playing his music. A local from the beginning he is making his way into a music scene with much to offer to its fans. Gavin's first CD offers honest songwriting and a variety of tones. Playing guitar sparingly as a teenager, he devoted most of his time to baseball, which brought him into college. Although he graduated University of Oregon, in Cultural Anthropology, the vast majority of studying was not books, but records.

Playing guitar sparingly as a teenager, he devoted most of his time to baseball, which brought him into college. Although he graduated University of Oregon, in Cultural Anthropology, the vast majority of studying was not books, but records. After attending the Waterfront Blues Festival in 2003, blues became the driving style of his playing and he worked hard to capture the feel of what he heard, and not just the licks. The first shows he play were at the dorm coffee shops and the local blues jams.

After graduation he began writing his own songs, some of which appear on this first self-titled album. Described as a love-hate relationship, Eugene, Oregon inspired ongs like "Taylor's" (named for the campus-edge bar that was destination of many nights with friends) and "Good Thing." The music Gavin is writing now comes from his take on the blues, from all he has learned from them and what he holds within. Gavin's first album has a consistent positive sentiment that doesn't hold back anything from the listener.