The unheralded college rock band
the Dharma Bums
garnered a passionate cult of fans, especially in their hometown of
Portland, OR, but the group broke up just when the Pacific Northwest was
attracting media attention for its underground music scene. The Dharma
Bums were essentially a reunion of
the Watchmen, a band formed by
Jeremy Wilson (vocals),
Eric Lovre (guitar), and
Jim Talstra (bass) in high school. The Watchmen gained a following in Oregon by covering '50s rock and new wave hits from
Elvis Costello,
the Jam, and
Joe Jackson alongside their own tunes. However,
the Watchmen split up when
Lovre and
Talstra graduated from high school. In 1984,
Wilson started another group,
Perfect Circle. Unlike
the Watchmen,
Perfect Circle only performed original songs. A year later,
Perfect Circle shared a bill with
the Young Fresh Fellows at a club in Portland.
Wilson was introduced to producer
Conrad Uno and
the Young Fresh Fellows' frontman
Scott McCaughey;
his band was given an offer to record in Seattle, WA, but they
splintered before that could happen. After he graduated in 1986,
Wilson moved to Portland and asked
Lovre and
Talstra
if they wanted to jam. The trio recorded four songs in one evening at a
farmhouse. Originally calling themselves the Afterludes, they changed
it to
the Dharma Bums and added drummer
John Moen from
Perfect Circle. The group used money from sold-out gigs in Portland to visit Seattle and see if
Uno was still interested. The Dharma Bums' studio sessions with
Uno led to a contract with his label, PopLlama. In 1988, PopLlama released
the Dharma Bums'
first album, Haywire. "Boots of Leather" was a smash on college radio.
The band signed a deal with Frontier in 1989. The group recorded two
more albums and then disbanded in 1992.
Wilson formed
Pilot in 1993.
Tracklist
| 1 |
Pumpkinhead |
|
| 2 |
Higher |
|
| 3 |
Plunger |
|
| 4 |
Far From Gone |
|
| 5 |
20,000 Tears |
|
| 6 |
Stayed Up Late |
|
| 7 |
Time Together |
|
| 8 |
Pigweeds |
|
| 9 |
B-Sting |
|
| 10 |
You've Seen Fire |
|
| 11 |
This Horse Is |
|
| 12 |
Gold |
|
| 13 |
A Place To Be |
