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07/18/2024

Getting Big with Forty Feet Tall: On Alliteration, Unconventional Inspirations, Billie Eilish’s Instagram Story, and Fernet Branca Shots

By TOBIAS WISNER // One of Portland’s premier rising bands, Forty Feet Tall, sit down to discuss their upcoming new singles, an exciting new album in the works, crushing live shows, and how their multifaceted influences help in growing feet, yards, and miles past the Portland scene.

“Here we fuckin’ go…” I thought to myself as I stepped off the 77 bus onto NE Broadway this past April, headed to Portland institution known as the Rose & Thistle Public House - affectionately referred to as “The RAT” by regulars and those hip to alternate local bar names.

It would be my first time at the place. I had never had any other reason to go there from my apartment across the river in NW Portland, but this visit was special. I was there to interview one of the biggest bands one could still call local in the scene - Forty Feet Tall - and promptly ordered and crushed a High Life to try and stave off my starstrucked-ness, slightly less than incredulous that they had agreed to an interview in the first place. This was for good reason, as the band and I have some history - albeit history they’re probably not even aware of.

Of all the bands, of all the places in the city to see them, Forty Feet Tall was my “first” so to speak. I’d shown up at the legendary Doug Fir Lounge off E Burnside ready to catch a different legendary Portland act - The Shivas - at what was once (in my view) the best venue in town back in 2022, unaware that Forty Feet Tall was the opener that night.

As I walked in alone into the log-cabin-chic bar section and made my way downstairs to the auditorium after a gin and tonic, I was ready to experience some good old fashioned Rock n’ Roll as the band took the stage. By the time their set ended, I was suddenly aware of what makes Forty Feet Tall one of my bands to watch, as well as what makes the Portland scene so special. They did nothing short of blow my mind in the most Punk Rock way possible, and I came away grateful to be in a city where I could catch a killer Rock show like the one I saw that fateful night.

Back then I was just some dude at a concert, however, today was the day I had the chance to talk to the band in an official capacity as a writer. It’s crazy to think about all that has happened to both me and the band since then, but thanks to my excitement and a little liquid courage, I was ready for my Almost Famous moment.

The Background

Shortened to ‘Forty Feet’ by fans and frequent concert-goers, the band consists of almost lifelong buddies Cole Gann (lead vocals, guitar) and Jack Sehres (lead guitar), alongside Brett Marquette (bass) and Ian Kelley (drums). The foursome has roots in the Los Angeles and San Francisco scenes dating back to when Cole and Jack were in high school and college, and Brett joined the band in 2017 once they settled in Portland. Ian joined later in 2018 to flesh out the band’s rhythm section, and from there the rest is both history and current events as their star continues to rise.

As far as the name goes, Cole would fill me in later in our conversation: “I had been listening to a lot of The Dead Weather - Jack White’s offshoot where he plays drums - and they have a song called ‘60 Feet Tall.’ I thought that was cool, but we wanted to go for alliteration and ‘50 Feet Tall’ was taken, so… that’s kinda it,” he said with a laugh.

“Yeah, it’s really not that deep to be honest,” said Brett with another laugh. “Our biggest concern is usually the fact that ‘forty’ is spelled out. The first time we played a festival they actually got it wrong and used the number 40. We run into that less now though.”

In my view the band is deserving of you getting their name right. In terms of sound, the band fuses Alt-rock, Grunge, Post-punk, and angular guitar work with a tight, talented rhythm section thanks to Brett and Ian. Brimming with confidence, Forty Feet Tall has Cole to thank for the energy they bring to live sets as his screams and wild vocal performances bring him from the stage to the mosh pit with the mic in some cases, and Jack’s chops on guitar are immediately apparent in the unconventional and transgressive melodies the band conjures alongside a killer stage presence from all four members.

I had gotten one of the big U-shaped tables up on the back patio and let the band know I was there. I’d been through the rigamarole at this point with people being slightly behind schedule in getting every band member there in one place, but in walked the band in its entirety, holding draft beers and looking around for where I was. After a wave and some brief introductions, I got my gear ready (a highly technical Voice Memos app on my phone plus a notebook) and we dove in.

A Patchwork of Quality Musicianship

I don’t always like asking about musical influences. The fact is usually that a band wants to sound like themselves and not somebody else, so I usually ask instead about their backgrounds as musicians which usually leads to much more interesting answers. Each member of Forty Feet Tall’s history with music was no exception.

For one, the beyond talented drummer in Ian actually comes from Gospel roots, inspired by the church musicians he saw while begrudgingly attending Sunday services. He explains with a smirk: “Yeah, played drums for about 10 minutes before these guys found me.”

“Never had a lesson either!” Cole chided with a laugh.

Ian laughed back: “Yup, no lessons, but in all seriousness, I actually come from a church-playing background and have been playing for quite some time. I don’t take any of the spiritual stuff to heart anymore, but seeing some of those musicians growing up was crazy inspiring. It led to me playing on my floor or bed with whatever I could fashion a drum stick out of, and now we’re here.”

Ian’s come-up Dave Grohl-style isn’t immediately apparent if you see him play. The drummer oozes talent and is an integral part of what makes Forty Feet Tall fun to watch. Known for putting his shirt over his head at weird angles and playing anyway, the band has a strong backbone with him behind the kit, accentuating highly technical fills with blast-beats and fast eighth notes on the hi-hat that brings them into a new sphere when it comes to lots of bands doing it in Portland right now. The rest of the band’s backgrounds are equally far-reaching and interesting.

Brett was the next to chime in at the question: “Yeah, I went to this weird art school where they encouraged us to play with whatever we wanted. Initially it was guitar, then I wanted to play drums but no one could take how loud that shit was. Eventually I had teachers tell me to pick up a bass and I’ve been playing ever since.”

The spotlight turned to Jack: “I actually grew up a classical piano player - I’ll say “encouraged” by my mom at the time. Pretty soon down the road I wanted to play guitar and get good at that, and my mom was supportive as long as I stuck with piano saying I’d thank her. It sucks to admit, but I actually still thank her to this day, goddammit.”

“Doesn’t it suck when your parents are right?” I said, to which the band laughed in agreement. Jack replied “Yeah it’s not fun. But seriously, it’s only helped with my guitar playing and has a lot to do with the melodic ideas we have now.”

He is indeed correct. I described Jack’s lead work as ‘angular’ earlier - but it’s so much more than that. It invokes Josh Homme’s distinct style a la Queens of the Stone Age the way it seems like notes in the scale are strategically being left out yet rhythmically in-line, and melodically it complements the work of Brett and Ian perfectly on top of Cole’s rhythm guitar.

Cole was next: “So, I actually grew up a Jazz player. I played in various ensembles in middle and high school, but Jazz was my main thing for like, awhile. I played in bands here and there and even had some cosmic Punk Rock moment where I considered just giving up everything since I’d been doing it so long, but having Jack and the boys around me kept me going. It led to the early iterations of the band in LA, but this version is the best we’ve ever been.”

I couldn’t agree more with Cole’s sentiment here. Back earlier this year when I showed up at a show of theirs at Lollipop Shoppe in an attempt to get the very interview I was running - they doubled down on established bangers like “BOIL,” “On & On & On,” “Nic Cage,” and “Sleep Walking” to great reactions from the crowd, and debuted a bunch of new material that in my mind showcased the bands progression since I had last caught them live.

I brought up how much I had liked that set, and the band was quick to efface praise in the name of downplaying material they said they were still working out the kinks of. However, it’s their upcoming new single - “Isochronism” - that has me especially hyped for what the band does next.

The New Shit

Jack was kind enough to email me an early look at the track, and I’m telling you all now to be on the lookout for it when it drops tomorrow, July 19th. It sees the Forty Feet Tall you might know and love become harder, better, faster, and stronger - taking an anthemic tone with killer backing vocals, solid rhythm guitar work, and expert drum-playing on the part of Ian that delivers in a big way. What I appreciate about it is the band’s fearlessness in experimenting with new tropes, but staying true to the out-there, Punk-y, Grunge-y sound that has gotten them to where they are now.

With a new new single dropping this August 15th with a full LP in the works, the band has been nothing if not busy crafting new material to debut.

“We’re real excited about these,” said Brett when I expressed my gratitude at being granted an early listen. “It’s definitely a logical progression of what we’ve been doing, and the rest of the stuff we’re working on is also crazy exciting for us. I haven’t really been a part of a project that’s meshed this well, and that I think translates to recording as well as live shows.”

The band certainly crushes live shows. It’s here where I’d like to let everyone know that you should catch these guys if they’re in town, and they just so happen to be playing the Mission Theater to celebrate the “Ischromism” release this Friday, tomorrow, on July 19th. The energy from the lead vocals is a selling point for this show in and of itself. 

I alluded to this earlier - but Cole is known for bringing the mic into the crowd and participating in the mosh at high moments of their set - screaming and dancing with the audience in a way that makes any venue feel like an intimate house show. After coming off multiple shows with exploding Garage Punk band Wine Lips out of Canada - the band has further cemented itself as one to pay attention to if you appreciate guys who can rock out and singers who can wail with the best of them.

An Unlikely, Unexpected Feature

As if their notoriety wasn’t increasing enough, the band actually landed (or was handed by the Gods above, either one) a crazy bit of a boost from a luminary in the music industry - Billie freakin’ Eilish - who posted an old (like 2014 old) song of theirs on her Instagram story much to the band’s surprise. 

Cole explains: “Yeah that was pretty wild. Of all the songs she picked like a slow jam off our first album. We’re not mad about it at all, and if anything we’ve used it as an opportunity to bring in new fans and show them what we do more often.”

It’s hard to quantify the value of this kind of mention. It’s like if goddam Kendrick Lamar propped up an up and coming rapper, and not dissimilar to Lana Del Rey pointing her millions of Instagram followers toward a random Punk Rock band out of city she’d never been to. However, in my mind things happen for a reason, and this type of thing only comes to a band who is deserving of the recognition.

Forty Feet Tall is one of these bands, and their humanity and down to earth-ness is immediately apparent if you get the chance to talk to them at a merch table. With more shows to look out for on the way and in gearing up for new releases, this band is one worth paying attention to.

Cue “Shots” by Lil Jon

Like I said, these guys are just a pleasure to talk to in the first place, and were nothing but nice, kind, and polite when answering all my questions, which I couldn’t include all of, unfortunately, in the interests of keeping this article somewhat brief (though I think I’ve already failed at that). Upon the interview’s conclusion and as I hit pause on my recording, Ian immediately shot me a look: “Yo Tobias, you want a shot, dude?”

Now, I was working, technically, but my philosophy is Bourdain-esque when it comes to being offered free libations - it would be rude to refuse, right? Who am I to reject an offering of friendship and conviviality? Ian’s initial offering was of the whiskey variety, but in the moment I was feeling a shot of Fernet Branca in a harkening back to my old bar days. His eyes immediately lit up, and I’m proud to say that I’ve now shared a shot of the polarizing liqueur with a band I really like. We shot it back, made faces at each other, and the band promptly shook my hand one at a time before leaving to practice.

Long Story Long

I’ve caught these guys multiple times. I’ve seen them tear up Lollipop Shoppe, cover Parquet Courts at The Fixin’ To, play an Audiotree set, stage dive, and turn casual show watchers into fans. They have the authenticity and chops to extend beyond Portland undoubtedly - and each member of the band confirmed that sentiment.

“It’s been a privilege to come up in Portland. We obviously have our eyes set farther than that, but this city has been kind to us in the coolest ways. There’s like a slipstream right now that’s coming from this scene and being pushed into more conversations I feel like, and we’re stoked to be a part of it.” said Cole to a response of collective nods from everyone else.

On top of being a group of nice guys, Forty Feet Tall is deserving of the recognition they’re sure to get in 2024. They should be on your radar as they are mine, and be sure to listen to their single dropping tomorrow and catch that show at the Mission Theater, it’ll be worth your while. The continued fandom I’ve garnered with them has made my music journey in this city worth it as well. 

Get excited about these guys, because I sure as hell am, and as far as my Almost Famous moment goes, it’s hard for me to not feel giddy about like William Miller. They didn’t treat me like “the enemy,” and they’ll treat your ears to something special too, I guarantee it.

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