After a decade playing his way through Bend’s punk scene, Andy McCumber is appearing at his final show tonight at Players Bar and Grill with both of his bands, No Cash Value and Hands on Throat.
He first began playing in Bend with No Cash Value in 2000 after moving to the region from eastern Oregon and then joined Hands on Throat about three and a half years ago. During that time, his bands made their names nearly permanent on the Players marquee and also opened shows for national touring acts, including Against Me! and Long Beach Dub All Stars.
At the end of the month, McCumber and his wife will move to Northern California, where he’s taken a job in masonry, signaling – in a way – the end of an era for punk rock in Bend. But looking back, McCumber is appreciative of the punk and hardcore scene he found here.
“When I first moved here, I wasn’t aware that there were this many bands,” says McCumber, “You can’t throw a rock in this town without hitting a guitarist or a drummer.”
While playing with two well-known local bands, McCumber also plays solo, venturing far from the sort of sound you’d heard when he’s fronting his punk acts to play country music. He’s also played in a honky-tonk band, gigging in rural areas.
Of course, Bend’s punk community doesn’t plan on letting McCumber escape town without a party, which is why No Cash Value and Hands on Throat will be joined by Tuck and Roll, Caustic Soda and likely some other characters from the scene tonight at Players. The show kicks off at 9pm – and here’s what McCumber has to say about it:
“You can expect the general mayhem, man. The beer will be flowing and people will be jumping on stage and all that good stuff,” he says.
