“With this album, I have a team in the States for the first time in like 15 years… Rough Trade dropped me in 2012, and I haven’t really had support in the States since then, so with this tour, it really feels like, ‘Okay, we’re giving it another shot!’ but I don’t know how it’s going to go,” says Portland, Oregon folk singer/songwriter Alela Diane, who is currently between runs of her first full-scale North American headlining tour in well over a decade (and her first with a band in just as long), whose next leg will commence next Wednesday, September 9th, at our very own Kung Fu Necktie. In fact, the last time I spoke with Diane — all the way back in June of 2013, when she dropped her fourth LP, About Farewell (her “divorce record”) — she told me pretty emphatically that she didn’t have plans to do any Stateside touring for the foreseeable future.
This May Alela Diane dropped Who’s Keeping Time?, her seventh full-length and first for Fluff & Gravy Records, a Portland musical institution and also home to our phriend (and Alela’s) Anna Tivel, who actually appears on 6 of Who’s Keeping Time?’s 11 tracks. The album itself is a sort of celebration of the music of Portland that has its origins following the death of folk legend (and Diane’s friend and mentor) Michael Hurley. After performing in a tribute show for Hurley, Alela was prompted to re-immerse herself in the local music scene. The album was recorded with a handful of mainstays in the scene, including co-producer Sam Weber, drummer Danny Austin-Manning, and bassist Sebastian Owens, who recorded the LP live in less than five days from the attic of Diane’s 1892 Victorian home (where she first penned the songs). Along with Anna Tivel, the album also features contributions from Lucius’ Peter Lalish and fellow Oregonians AC Sapphire and Kati Claborn and Luke Ydstie of Blind Pilot.
“It has a West Coast/California vibe. It’s less orchestrated and formal than some of my more recent albums. It’s more like my 2009 record, To Be Still, with a band, rootsy sounds, and recorded live,” says Alela Diane of her latest full-length, which has been earning a lot of noteworthy praise. “Like all of Alela Diane’s albums, Who’s Keeping Time? puts a spellbinding update on the era of folk rock that artists like Michael Hurley were originally part of,” wrote BrooklynVegan of the LP. And Diane says that live audiences have been digging her latest sounds, as well, having already done two live runs both here and overseas, respectively.
“I think people are really into the record, both overseas and in the States. People seem really stoked. I mean, I nearly sold out my record release show here in Portland, with 300 people… I’ve been to Europe twice already and both trips were super sweet. The Paris show was definitely a highlight. It’s a whole different scale over there. Like, we did 1,100 tickets and packed Paris, France!”
In addition to the passing of Michael Hurley, Alela tells me there was another more practical matter that allowed her to re-enter Portland’s music scene: “For the past 12 years, I had been pretty disengaged with the local scene because I was raising a family, so I never went out. I knew there was cool stuff happening, but I was never part of it. So, about a year ago I made a concentrated effort to start playing and going to shows again.” “Now that my kids are a little more grown, you’re just in this different position. They’re 9 and 12 now and it feels like such a freakin’ relief to have them be a little older,” she jokes. And she tells me, much to her delight, that many within the scene (along with some touring artists) actually recognized and remembered her: “It feels good to feel like I’m a part of something locally… It’s really great to re-engage and support other artists.”
One of those touring artists that Alela Diane met on a night out was our longtime phriend Alexa Rose (who we first met when she was on tour with Mipso in 2021): “She’s great! I met her briefly when she was on tour with Lou Hazel in Portland. It was one of those nights when I was like, ‘I should go out!’ Her new record is beautiful. I got it on vinyl at the show and introduced myself to her, and she knew who I was! I’ve realized I am loosely on people’s radar.” Alexa Rose will actually be providing support for Alela Diane on her upcoming East Coast run, which kicks off right here at Kung Fu Necktie. And Alela tells me she hopes that Alexa will also be up for joining her trio (herself, drummer, and upright bassist) to sing some harmonies during her headlining set.
“I don’t do a ton of research on the venues and stuff ahead of time; I just really stay in the moment when I’m on tour,” says Diane, who has recently played a fairly wide variety of settings, from galleries and listening rooms to spaces like Kung Fu Necktie. But I remember in 2013, when discussing About Farewell, she told me, “I don’t want to play in dive bars, especially these songs, which are very delicate and need a certain kind of space,” so I’m curious if that’s held true, considering she’ll be playing our definitive dive bar (which I’ve often described as, “looking and feeling like a brothel in a Rob Zombie movie”), but Alela tells me that with her current band and recent music, she’s more than up for playing those kinds of venues.
“Because I have the drummer and the standup bass player, those settings are totally fine for us. When I’m solo, it’s cooler to play alternative venues or DIY venues. Like, for the past decade, whenever I play Portland, I would always choose this place called The Old Church… But I do think that this album works in those black box rock rooms, and if more people come out, it definitely makes it a lot easier… I really hope we can fill some of the rooms on the East Coast. It is a great show, so I hope it goes well!”
*Get your tickets here.
