What's Up! Magazine

The Anacortes-based band is releasing their third album, A Pageant’s End. Band members Christopher Rabbit (vocals/guitar), Kyle Holland (drums), Jesse Cohen (bass), and Lance Umble (guitar and vocals).

Hailing from Anacortes, The Oregon Donor has had an album mastered and ready for release for about a year. Not to say they’ve been sitting on their hands; the band has been touring around the Northwest and California, hoping to gain loyal fans in the process.

“Cost was kind of part of it, but mostly it was because we needed to start playing more shows to garner a fan base. That’s why there was a year-long gap between us recording it and it finally coming out,” explained lead singer and guitarist Christopher Rabbit. When prompted on the reason for his odd name, he claimed it was because rabbits are his power animal.

A Pageant’s End is The Oregon Donor’s third album and is set to release on Oct. 6. “This is our third record,” Chris said, “but it’s kind of like our formal debut because it’s the first one that’s not self-released.” The band was signed to Burning Building Recordings, The Lonely Forest’s record label, in October 2008 and immediately started working on the album. Originally, Burning Building released their second album, 2008’s Somethings, online and on iTunes.

Being signed was a matter of happenstance. Originally, Lance [guitarist and back-up vocalist] contacted Chris Travis, the founder of Burning Building Recordings, who invited the band to play on 107.7 The End doing an in-studio performance. After that, they were signed.

The Oregon Donor settled down to record Pageant in Orbit Studios, located in the middle of a snowy, 15 degree Pioneer Square in Seattle. They made the icy trek from band The Globes’ nearby house. “It was terrifying at night,” Jesse added, bringing up a couple stories of bums and crack dealers hiding out in the underground stairwell leading into the studio. “But, to make a long story short, no problems,” he joked.

Despite the long wait, the eccentric little band has a gem on their hands with A Pageant’s End. It’s a mix of 90’s alternative rock, math-rock, and a spoonful of post-rock. “Our sound on (the album) is an amalgamation of all our different influences,” Chris said. Inspiration for the album resided in bands such as Radiohead, Karate, +/-, and Sunny Day Real Estate. They also look to local bands and friends The Mission Orange, The Globes, and The Lonely Forest for additional support and inspiration.

The band’s goal is to connect with fans on tour and get people to just enjoy their music, not necessarily to make money. “It’s the kind of record that would grow on a patient listener, that it will be the kind of record that they’d want to talk about to their friends,” Chris said.

“We’re not trying to get on MTV, that’s for sure,” Jesse laughed.