The members of Gradience

Gary

Guitar, bass, ukelele, vocals

Gary has eclectic musical tastes, resulting from early training in the school orchestra and inspired by the more obscure songs of the Beatles, Queen, and Elton John, ELO, etc. "Old jazz and early rock are good too. Heck, even country has gotten more listenable over the last 10 years!"

Gary has worked with several local bands, including D'Illusion.

Gary displays an unseemly interest in theme music from old TV shows and movies.

Martin

Violin, guitar, slide guitar, bass, vocals

Martin had ten years of classical training on violin in his youth. While living in Germany, he developed an interest in bluegrass and ended up forming a band with a coworker. Visits to the US honed his skills and broadened his tastes.

After moving to the US (Atlanta) Martin joined a Middle Eastern group. The stylistic change was interesting, and the belly dancers "were not so ugly either." While in Atlanta, Martin had the privilege of studying rock fiddling with Allen Sloan of Dixie Dregs (and Miami Philharmonic) fame.

Martin kept changing gears. His next stop was an Atlanta rock band named High Touch, followed by prog-rock band Bosch. In the early 90's, he came full circle, back to bluegrass and country-rock "hippy style," in Those Big Belt Buckles

In the late 90's, he formed an eclectic rock band called Please, Not Now. (The name "The Shoplifters" did not survive a band vote).

Mike

Drums, keyboards, harmonica, bass clarinet, vocals

Mike picked up drumming in high school. He's been at it ever since. His influences are Robert Wyatt, Michael Giles, Bill Bruford, Nick Mason, Tony Williams, Jon Fishman, and Carter Beauford. He has an Associate degree in Vocational Music from Portland Community College, class of 1987.

Mike is a long-time member of D'Illusion and a some-time player with Dumpster. For two years he worked and performed with Obscured by Clouds. In 2002, he formed Scareberry with David.

Mike plays open-armed, matched grip. Mike's kit is set up left-handed: hi-hat right, toms left. He points out that one side benefit of his lefty kit is that "other drummers are not so tempted to try it out." When he is not hitting things with sticks, he amuses himself with his collection of peculiar musical instruments (which includes a working, partially disassembled piano).

Stephen

Bass, guitar, vocals

Stephen grew up with classical music, playing cello and piano. His mother was a concert pianist who had dark suspicions about improvisation and lack of musical structure -- this explains why he didn't get much exposure to popular music until he left home for college. (He's since made up for lost time, and has a solid appreciation for jazz, folk, blues, funk, and anything else with a serious groove.)

He took up bass guitar during a hitch in the military, because "it had a scale length roughly the same as a cello, and it was loud."

Stephen somehow managed to let twenty years go by between "real" bands -- he was last seen gigging in a country band in the Bay Area, sometime in the late 70s -- but he hasn't been idle. He has a self-built project studio, and has been creating under the name Hexalypse. He is presently tracking and mixing material for a concept album.

To refresh his interpersonal skills, he sometimes helps others with audio recording and sound reinforcement. He is proud to have been the "official recording engineer" for Netochka.

David

Guitarist and vocalist emeritus

Over the last few years, David's been involved, in one way or another, with a cross-section of Portland's independent music scene. Concurrent with his time in Gradience, he was working and performing with an early incarnation of Almost Milwaukie. His Portland portfolio also includes Scareberry and Netochka.

After helping to form Gradience, and nurturing it into a viable band, David decided to develop in other musical directions. He left the band in June of 2004, although he remains involved with their musical journey as a supporter and consultant.

Since leaving Gradience, he has been performing in improvisational ensembles and as a solo act.