According to a 2006 interview on LocalCut, the Crazy 8s are one of Sam Adams favorite local bands. He called them “loud, brassy and not pretentious.” But the future Mayor is not alone. The 8s have secured a place in Portland rock history (inducted in 2007 to the Oregon Music Hall of Fame), and the fact that the band will play on 8-8-2008 (get it?) just adds one more feather to an already crowded cap.

In addition to the performance at The Bite, the 8s are re-releasing Big Live Nut Pack on the same day (the history of which is, well, sorta crazy, as illustrated in the massive press release below). Good times for lovers of hectic, ska-punk-rock-funk (plus the kitchen sink)! The ever-DIY 8s sent us scans of an old WW article along with the press release for the show, which you can see below or read in its full glory at our Flickr page).

Go crazy!

2007 Oregon Music Hall of Fame inductees, the legendary Crazy 8s, return from rock n’ roll retirement in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the greatest day in Oregon Music History?.8-8-88 in which the guys celebrated the release of their live double lp/cd “Big Live Nut Pack” with a series of 8 performances throughout the Portland metropolitan area. “Big Live Nut Pack” went on to be acclaimed as one of, if not the, best live independent recordings ever to come out of the Pacific Northwest.

It is only fitting that Crazy 8s headline Friday night, 8-8-2008, at The Bite of Oregon, as the event also celebrates an anniversary-their 25th! Presented in conjunction with the Oregon Music hall of Fame, the performance honors “The Day of the 8s” as well as the release of a 20th Anniversary Edition of “Big Live Nut Pack”. The double cd on Secret Sound Recordings features all original tracks as well as 8 bonus cuts.

BACKGROUND:

Crazy 8s ruled the road from 1983 through 1993 as their legend as a ska/funk/rock/reggae outfit made them a college radio success. Touring endlessly, they employed a grassroots indie approach, borne out of a series of successful indie recordings which earned respectable positions on the College Media Journal, Gavin Report, and Tower Records Pulse charts. “Law and Order” sold over 20,000 copies and featured the track “Johnny Q.” which became an instant hit becoming the “Screamer of the Week” at Alternative Lrock powerhouse WLIR-New York. Rolling Stone named the 8s as one of “9 Bands to Watch” and locally the 8s had two songs , “Touchy Situation” and “Luv’ll Find You” go Top 20 at Z100 while being consistently featured on KINK radio’s “ Local Music Spotlight” and being named to KGON’s list of “The Top 920 Bands of All-Time”. All the while performing with acts including The Clash, The Neville Brothers, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oingo Boingo, The Violent Femmes, UB40, The English Beat and Steel Pulse to name a Lfew.

The Bite holds special memories for the 8s Manager Marc Baker?..”Some of our most memorable shows in Portland were at The Bite. Stage dives, crowd surfing and people as far as you could see?.it was awesome!” Fittingly, their last reunion was at The Bite of Oregon and they did not disappoint. “It’s great to have the chance to rock at The Bite one more time!”

TWENTY YEARS AGO

At the original release of “Big Live Nut Pack”, Crazy 8s performed 8 shows, the first 7 from a stage mounted on a 40’ semi flatbed. The mobile stage traveled throughout the metro area making stops at historic retail outlets including Tower Records, Music Millennium, Everybody’s Records and Rockport Records with Z100 running live remotes throughout the day while The Portland Police would arrive to check out the mess but the 8s would be already off to the next stop.  The final and wildest show was the performance held at Starry Night in front of a sold out frenzy of a crowd that featured warm-up Crazy 8s Muzak from a costumed Mr. Peanut as well as a volley of 1,000 bags of Hoody’s Peanuts and free backstage passes “that would get you absolutely nowhere”.

ALBUM DETAILS

Crazy 8s 20th Anniversary Edition of “Big Live Nut Pack” is being released the night of the show at The Bite of Oregon and is being distributed internationally by Burnside Distribution Corporation.

CRAZY 8S ARE

Todd Duncan-Vocals, Sax

Mike Regan-Bass

Danny Schauffler-Sax, Keyboards, Flute, etc?

Carl Smith-Percussion, Vocals

Tim Tubb-Trombone, Keyboards, Vocals

Marc Wanaka-Guitars, Wit

Rick Washington-Drums

Jeez, we used to put music on the cover:

Photos provided by the Crazy 8s.