Blues, Rock 'n' Roll, Ready for Battle | The Source Weekly - Bend

Blues, Rock 'n' Roll, Ready for Battle

Midwest mayhem is sure to ensue between The Yawpers and The 4onthefloor

Denver and Minneapolis are set to collide in a clash of who can bring Bend the best blues-fueled, rip-roaring rock-out the Midwest has to offer. Starting in Seattle, the Central Oregon stop will mark the third show of a co-headlining tour featuring Colorado's The Yawpers and Minnesota's The 4onthefloor–and each party is talking a big game in advance of this duel of honest American bands.

Touring and recording, recording and touring (and repeating), The 4onthefloor is the kind of band whose creative juices flow both onstage and off, backstage and in the backyard. Consistently going All In—same as the title of their third full-length record released last year—the four-piece's setup features four bass drums. Yes, that's four kick drums, one at the feet of each member, that allow them to "throw pretty damn great parties that involve rock 'n' roll in 4/4 time," which also just so happens to be the time signature used in all of their gritty, bluesy tunes. "It's a primal beat," states frontman Gabriel Douglas. And when "those drums get humming, it's like nothing else on this earth."

Full of fire and steadily stomping forward, The 4onthefloor simply four guys who "put their hearts, their minds, and their livelihoods on the line in the name of rock 'n' roll," Douglas says. "Good times can still be found anywhere in this country, and now they are coming to Bend."

Meanwhile, The Yawpers have readied themselves in the recording studio, just wrapping up sessions for a future release, yet continue to support their second full-length record, "American Man," also released in 2015. Vacillating between folksy ballads and frenetic rock, the album highlights the band's compelling versatility, from a hoedown reminiscent of Charlie Daniels' "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," to blazing patches of overdriven acoustic and slide guitars with hints of psychedelia. A three-piece blitz of punk-tinged Americana, the guys are "always excited to bring the record to the stage, and act the fool," drummer Noah Shomberg says. Expect "a lot of expectorant, sweat and tears of self-contempt (from us)," he jokes.

High off a month of working on new music, the guys are equally excited to "continue as the derelict road dogs we always have been," until the record drops. "I'd suggest hydrating before the show," Shomberg advises.

Point being, both bands bring a fierce howl and strong sense of their musical roots, prompting Shomberg to prophesize that although, "This will be our first tour together, I'm sure we'll get on famously."

In the end, it's not really a competition because everyone's a winner—especially you if you get your butt down to the Volcanic. And you better because the bands actually have high expectations for you: "Our buds in Larry and His Flask have told us even grander tales of the wit and the mayhem of the locals," Douglas tells. "We are ready to witness and to indulge."

The Yawpers and The 4onthefloor

Thursday, Oct. 13, 9pm

Volcanic Theatre Pub,

70 SW Century Dr., Bend

Tickets at bendticket.com

$10 adv., $12 door