A few weeks ago, while hundreds of fans lined up around the block at Portland’s Mt Tabor Theater to see Del The Funky Homosapien, I was fortunate enough to be inside to catch the opening act, Portland locals Eddie Valiant. The house was already filling up by the time DJ Zone began to warm up the stage with some choice cuts. He was joined by a drummer and three vocalists, and it looked like we were in for a typical underground rap act.Eddie Valiant is anything but typical. Max Graves (a rapper), David Mann (a singer), and Scotty Del (a vocalist who does both), belt out personal anthems and pop harmonies, while DJ Zone lays down beats that blur the lines between indie rock and hip hop, and Chase Pingree’s drums never stop carrying the momentum.
Graves’ rap voice speaks in stacatto bursts of confident poetry, like the hard truth smashing though the mundane. His stage presence is strength personified, power in the flux of restraint and release. David Mann’s vocals sing from the other side of the spectrum, reaching deep for emotive tones that ride the melody like a trip down the rabbit hole. He illustrates his lyrics with his actions, and comments on their meaning with his eyes. Scotty balances the combination, with a raw flow and singing voice that belie the truth in verses of everyday struggle for personal growth. From his words to his actions on stage its clear that this is not a front, this is his heart laid out in unapolagetic terms.
The production moves from hardcore hip hop to melodic indie rock and even into alt-pop territory. Bolstered by the live drums it had a huge portion of the crowd dancing by the end of their set, no small feat for an unknown opener in a huge, cold room. Every member of the group contributes parts to the music, so their mashup of sounds is a true reflection of the identities of the group.
I got a copy of their new EP from David, and bumped it on my ride home. It held the same huge energy of their set, and had me nodding to the shifting dynamic between the members of the group. It just came out this month on Taxidermy Records, and has already garnered a good bit of interest. With a mixtape download coming out in June, and a bunch of shows coming up over the next few months, he said the group is looking forward to a summer full of more awesome times, and I am stoked to see where it takes them.
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