A&E

Broadway Calls gains inspiration from Green Day, pop

Jon Fuccillo
The Advocate

The Portland band Broadway Calls brings to the music scene a hip, upbeat tempo, with fast-paced musical skills and catchy lyrics with only three members.

The “pop punk” group played at Satyricon in downtown Portland Oct. 12, a venue that can hold up to a couple hundred people.  There were probably 50 or 60-plus people on hand but with Broadway Calls running the show, it felt as if there were over a thousand people going wild and singing right beside the group, following along with every song. 

The group produced more energy than any other group I have seen in the past 10 years.  They decided to play in front of the stage to get the crowd involved.  This concept of caring so much about their fans was amazing.  And just when I thought the group was running out of ideas to make this night better, they played a cover of Green Day’s “Jawbreaker” and the crowd went wild.

What seemed more appropriate than anything was that the group decided to end the night by playing their hit song “Back to Oregon.”  The song brought tingles down my spine because everyone was waiting for this song all night.  It was fun watching the crowd screaming their lungs out and getting involved.  At the end of the show, the fans called for an encore and begged the three punkers to play more.  Instead of ending the night with a pumped up crowd wanting more, they decided to plug their amps back in and play a couple more fan request songs.

These three boys gained quicker success than any other Portland band I have followed.  It was with a snap of the fingers that these guys earned highly praised music reviews.  The band signed with Adeline Records, a record company co-run by Green Day’s front man Billie Joe Armstrong along with wife Adrienne Armstrong and pro skateboarder Jim Thiebaud.  The record label is located in Berkeley, Calif.

Ever since lead singer and guitarist Ty Vaughn can remember, he’s been inspired by Billie Joe Armstrong and Green Day.  “Billie Joe has been a huge inspiration to me since I was 12 years old,” said Vaughn.  “He’s an amazing songwriter and performer.  So when we found out that Adeline wanted to release our record, it was a huge moment.  We have the same manager and booking agent as Green Day.  Sometime I think about that and just shake my head in disbelief.”

Asked about the success the band has had, Vaughn said it’s all been so quick and different for him and the band, which has only been together for two and a half years. 

“Any success we’ve come by has been in small doses.  Every once in a while we’ll get lucky enough to open for one of our favorite bands, like Alkaline Trio or Bad Religion.  Or whenever we roll into a town, knowing that it’s going to be an awesome show that night, because we’ve been there before and had a great time. 

“As far as working toward the success, it seems pretty gradual, but I guess we’ve come pretty far for only being together for two and a half years,” said Vaughn.

Unlike most bands that call themselves “pop punk,” Vaughn thinks the scene is being run by fakes. 

“We call ourselves pop punk.  It’s a term that has kind of been abused lately by mainstream acts like Fall Out Boy, and The Academy Is . . .   There is nothing ‘punk’ about those bands,” said Vaughn

Vaughn is optimistic about their group being a part of the Portland music scene, admitting that the band has its biggest fan base in California.  “For our style of music, Portland isn’t that great.  We have a small group of friends that show up at every show, and make it really fun.  Portland is more of an indie rock town. 

“We do the best in California.  It’s so fun there.  We just had the chance to open for Rancid in San Francisco in front of 2,200 people.  That was amazing.  The biggest show we’ve played was in London at the Give It A Name Festival.  We were on stage that day, and played in front of 5,000 people.  By the end of the day there was 10,000 people in the arena.  Pretty massive thing to be a part of,” said Vaughn.

The group is on tour for the next month traveling the country, including an event Oct. 31 called The Fest in Gainesville, Fla. The three-day event will have more than 250 bands performing on eight stages.