What Is Omby Amby?
Omby Amby is a rock and roll project hand-crafted with love by singer/songwriter/producer Jason Logan in the mossy enclave of Portland OR. It is named after the pacifist general who guards the queen of the Emerald City in L. Frank Baum’s famous Oz books.
Jason spent his early years writing, playing, recording and touring. Growing up in Minneapolis, MN (basically the Midwestern version of Portland) gave him ample room to explore and grow as a young artist. A cassette EP led to a 7” single, which led to a deal with Twin/Tone Records, infamous home to early work from Soul Asylum, The Replacements, The Mekons, Ween, The Jayhawks, and other rock icons. The band was called Beyond Zebra, and they released two full length CDs on the label during the magical, grungy early nineties.
The Austin Chronicle, The Minnesota Daily, and CMJ had good things to say about the band and Logan’s songwriting. They toured relentlessly, playing festivals such as SxSW in Austin and CMJ in New York. They could be seen at First Avenue/7th Street Entry, Emo’s, The Metro, the 930 Club and The Bottleneck. At Mabel’s in Champaign Illinois, Logan nearly ended his career prematurely by falling from the 4-foot stage after tripping over a power cord. At CBGB the band took the stage at 1 a.m., playing their guts out to a bartender and a gaggle of roaches, while outside the club some professionals permanently removed the entire contents of their van. Adventures were had, rock was played, beer was swilled, and teeth were cut.
Meanwhile, the band’s publicity and record sales suffered as they were lost between the cracks during the Restless Records acquisition of Twin/Tone, and despite Logan’s continued optimism and hard work, Beyond Zebra splintered. Although the band was gone, the strength of the songs remained.
Logan released one self-produced CD in 2000. The album illustrated an evolutionary leap, drawing on more melodic, vulnerable songs that pushed away from the overloaded hard rock sound Beyond Zebra was known for. Brien Lilja (Slim Dunlap, Rank Strangers, Draghounds) supplied the rich, driving drums and Eric Heywood (Son Volt, Freakwater, Joe Henry, The Pretenders) adds a beautiful weeping pedal steel. Logan plays the remainder of the instruments himself, laying down sharp harmonies and well placed riffs to complement the distilled, open voice that leads the songs. The record was not promoted and was received with little acclaim, but fans drew some flattering comparisons — The Faces, Big Star, and Tom Petty among others.
After that, Logan took a long hiatus from writing, recording and touring. During the break, he started a family, moved a couple times, and worked hard to find a sense of balance in his life. Eventually he began studying meditation at the Minnesota Zen Center, and began a mindfulness practice which he continues today in Portland.
The single The Way It Makes Me Feel is first of a bunch of new songs Omby Amby will release over the next year. It evokes a lot of the ’70s and ’80s rock and roll that Logan has enjoyed in his brief time on earth — music that also made a lot of other people feel real good when they heard it. It has a nice variety of genuinely filthy electric guitars, making lightning for that dirty bathwater storm. Harmonies rise and fall precariously on the waves of a beat that says “look ma, no hands!” — and some thought-provoking lyrics explore an unapologetic look into the fish-eye image of a rear-view mirror. There may be occasional run-on sentences too. Hopefully you’ll be feeling too good to notice. That’s the general idea.
-Staff
