By Mary Owen
For Texas transplant Randy Hill, Oregon’s Granges are an “interesting concept.”
“A lot of the Grange hall buildings were built in the early 1900s and also have dance floors and stages used to hold community dances back-in-the-day,” Hill said. “I thought the buildings would be a great match for our music and the thought of holding community dances again really got me excited.”
The challenge, Hill said, will be to get people excited enough to “turn off the computer and TV and experience a little sample of life like it was before we had all the technology to distract us from the ‘real world.’”
Hill was so taken by Grange offerings, he and his band, the Oregon Valley Boys, put together a 2011 Grange Hall Tour of the Willamette Valley.
The live western swing concerts and dances are: Scotts Mills Grange, April 23; Silverton Grange, May 7; and Salem Saturday Market, June 18. The band performs on Earth Day at the Oregon Garden on April 16. Concert times are 7 p.m. preceded by a Grange-sponsored dinner at 6 p.m.
“The purpose of the tour is twofold,” Hill said. “One goal is to both help benefit and support the Willamette Valley’s Grange halls, which are vital to local traditions. At the same time, we want to bid farewell and good riddance to the ‘Great Recession’ of the past few years.”
Admission for each concert is $5, children 12 and under free. Dinners will be available for purchase at each Grange, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Grange.
Members of the band hail from towns in and around the Willamette Valley.
“When my wife, Dawn, and I moved here seven years ago, I felt it was the right time and place to start a band, which I had envisioned in the back of my mind for a number of years,” Hill said. “I wanted to put together a band that would play Western swing music, a genre that fellow Texan Bob Wills created back in the 1930s, a blend of jazz, blues and hillbilly music. I grew up listening to some of this music via some old 78 rpm records that were handed down to me by my parents.”
Scotts Mills Grange, April 23, 7 p.m.
Silverton Grange, May 7, p.m.
Tickets: $5 general, under 13 free
The name Oregon Valley Boys had a historic sounding ring to it, Hill said.
“And it would also create a sort of ‘state pride’ associated with the band,” he added. “I found the various members through a variety of places, and we have grown into a group of close friends and family.”
The Oregon Valley Boys consists of Hill on drums and lead vocals, Vicki White on guitar and lead vocals, Chuck Zendner on bass, Paz Reingans on lead guitar, Paul Saunders on guitar, and Loren Depping on pedal steel. The band cut its first CD last year, with the title tune, “All Roads Lead to Howell Prairie.”
“We really enjoy playing together,” Hill said. “We like to see people of all age enjoying the music, from little kids to older folks.”
For information and a schedule, visit www.oregonvalleyboys.com.
