GATHERED AROUND a table in the noisy Slingshot Lounge, the members of local post-rock band Down Gown appear bonded and respectful as they listen and encourage each other in conversation. This cooperative atmosphere seems to reflect the thoughtful focus of the Portland band’s songwriting.
“There’s definitely a lot of respect and understanding,” says drummer/vocalist Adam Draper. “And there’s that passing of the buck kind of thing, too.”
Draper, Will Hattman (vocals/guitar), Dave Blunk (guitar), and Ben Munat (bass) cross at least one generation (the band ranges in age from mid-30s to early 50s), but come together in Down Gown to bridge Portland’s scruffy music scene’s past and present. Munat booked the legendary (and now defunct) venue Satyricon from 1993-1999, and the work of his short-lived early-’90s group Thrillhammer is canon for countless Portland bands. Blunk had a long tenure in the revered Thirty Ought Six in the mid-’90s, while Hattman and Draper have both been in multiple bands (separately) since around 2002.
“Being considered young at 36 is a fucking joke,” says Hattman. “In rock music terms, that is retired. You’re done at 36.”