Scotland Barr & the Slow Drags

Where the collective unconscious meets a dusty west coast reality, Scotland Barr and the Slow Drags live, write and play. Gritty songs float between an old school 60s/70s songwriter aesthetic and a contemporary alt-country Americana furnace blast. Their songs burn with a slight literary edge, they take you somewhere, but they don't just drop you off, they bring you home again too, even if home is no place you want to be.

The group was started in 2004 originally as a studio project but quickly evolved into a full time band. Though led by singer/songwriter Scotland Barr, the Slow Drags are tight as a sonic whole, capable of subtle interplay, complex harmonies and a sonic attack that will soothe you and disturb you at the same time. The band is comprised of west coast music veteran Mickey Featherstone on bass (Chiva Knevil, Fun Box and Sketchy Ted), Chris Hubbard on keys/vocals (Donkey Hottie), Bryan Daste on pedal steel, Zach Hinkelman on lead guitar (Purusa), and Nick Kostenborder on drums. [Former Slow Drags guitarists Charley Adams and Jon Itkin, as well as drummer Matt Nicely, deserve special recognition for their tours of duty. We wish them the best!]

Their new full length CD "LEGIONNAIRES DISEASE" was recorded and produced by Rob Stroup (Baseboard Heaters and the Imprints) at 8 Ball Studios in Portland OR. It was released in September of 2005. The CD hosts a barrel full of Portland's best Musicians including Steve Wilkinson (Gravel Pit and Mission 5), Rachel Taylor Brown, Marilee Horde (Golden Delicious), Derek Brown (A.C. Cotton, Stephen Ashbrook and James Low), Rich Landar (Richmond Fontaine and King Black Acid), Skip Von Kuske (Vagabond Opera), Chris Robley (the Sort Ofs and the Imprints), and Portland's undisputed king of one man bands, Pug Bernhardt.