The Oily Bloodmen

The Oily Bloodmen were a hardcore punk/funk band from Portland Oregon, between the years 1984 and 1992. An ever-changing cast of support players backed founding members Rich Rosemus and Dale Moerer in the course of a slow, gradual rise through the ranks of the highly-competitive Portland underground music scene. In the twenty years since their split the Oily Bloodmen have attained near legendary status.

History

In 1984, bassist Charley Nims responded to a flyer posted by guitarist/songwriter Dale Moerer outside of Toody and Fred Cole’s Captain Whizeagle’s music store. Simply enough, the note read “Guitar player wants to start band.” Moerer and Nims were soon joined by Bud Croeni, former drummer for the seminal Portland punk band the Cleavers, and by newcomer, vocalist/lyricist Rich Rosemus. The Oily Bloodmen were born.

The derivation of band’s name generated much early speculation. Initially, it was thought that “oily bloodmen” was a reference to sinister comic book characters or possibly to the use of tar heroin. But it was Rosemus who coined the name, an innocent allusion to “greasy politicians.” For the first few years of their existence, the Oily Bloodmen primarily performed their “trash rock shit” (as Rosemus called it) at local house parties.

Eventually, Croeni left the fold, replaced by drummer John McEntire. In 1986, with the new recruit fully integrated, the Oily Bloodmen recorded “Skull Duggery” and “Secret Town” for the City of Thorns compilation produced by Mystic Records in California. At about that time, the Bloodmen began to make their first forays into the Portland club scene, with gigs at the Pine Street Theater and Satyricon, serving as openers for better-known local acts.

The following year the band again entered the studio, recording their first album, Old Men Have to Talk Tough. In the fall of 1987, John McEntire left the band to pursue his education at Oberlin College, though he would later play with bands such as Tortoise and The Sea and Cake. McEntire was replaced by Dean Johnson the original drummer for Poison Idea.

With the lineup once again intact, the Oily Bloodmen returned to the studio in 1988 to record their second album, Telephone Wire, at Sound Impressions studio. At that point the band was becoming a fixture in the Portland underground music scene. Their forceful sound and intense performances were notorious among discerning quarters, garnering for the Bloodmen a devoted fanbase.

However, the evolution of the band continued in 1989. After five years, founding bassist Charley Nims left the band to play for Poison Idea under the name Myrtle Tickner. He was replaced by Dave Dillinger. The band also added a second guitar player, Chris Warner. Warner only played a few events before leaving. He was supplanted by Seth Perry as the second guitarist in the band. Shortly thereafter, Dillinger departed as well, to join with Chris Newman and Napalm Beach.

By 1990, Steve Casmano, who had gained renown as bassist with legendary Portland acts such as Sado Nation and the Jackals, had replaced Dillinger. At about the same time, Dean Johnson left the drummer’s chair. He was replaced by Roby Dale Williams. With the addition of a second guitarist and a new rhythm section, the Oily Bloodmen began to move toward a heavier metal/rock sound. They went back into the studio, recording “Radio Song” and “Diamond Burning,” tracks that eventually became their only vinyl 45 single, released on the Audio Addict label.

“Sugar, Option Sugar” from the same session appeared on Satyricon…the Album from Juggler Records. Later in 1990, the Bloodmen tracked the song “Whiskey” at Schizophonic Records’ studios in Salem, Oregon as part of that label’s I-5 Killers Volume 1 compilation. The band’s higher visibility and the success of their harder new sound was evidenced by their frequent status as headliners on weekend night bills at Satyricon, and as openers for bands such as the Afghan Whigs, GWAR and (pre-Geffen) Nirvana.

In the Fall of 1991, the rhythm section metamorphosed yet again, with Casmano and Williams leaving. Following the dissolution of the Obituaries, bassist Regina LaRocca joined the Bloodmen (the only woman ever to play in the band), while also playing bass in Ex-Obituary Rob Landoll’s new group, M-99. In addition, ace drummer Butch Schnackenberg (the Electric Ballroom, Radio Silents) joined the fold. This incarnation of the Oily Bloodmen made a memorable in-studio appearance on KBOO radio, while nabbing a prime slot at the 7th Annual Mayor’s Ball at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

Shortly thereafter, second guitarist Seth Perry left the band to join Big Daddy Meatstraw. He was replaced by Joe St. Onge in what was to be the final lineup for the Oily Bloodmen. With the addition of the new members their sound grew darker and more introspective. They journeyed to Newburg, Oregon to the celebrated DogFish Studios, where they recorded several songs—what were to be the last tracks the Oily Bloodmen would ever commit to tape. The music from those sessions was never released.

In the summer of 1992, after eight years in the Portland underground music scene, founders and songwriting partners vocalist Rich Rosemus and guitarist Dale Moerer disbanded the Oily Bloodmen. They never re-grouped.

In Memoriam

In November 1998, Dale Moerer died of an apparent drug overdose. In December 2001, Rich Rosemus died of an apparent drug overdose. In February 2008, Steve Casmano died of liver cancer.

Quotes

The Oily Bloodmen were purveyors of a thick, metal-tinged sound, led by impassioned vocalist Rich Rosemus, with Jackals graduate Steve Casmano as bassist, and Roby Williams as drummer—while Dale Moerer and Seth Perry were the guitarists. Together they made a name for themselves in the competitive underground music scene.

S.P. Clarke The History of Portland Rock

Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love first locked eyes on each other at eleven in the evening on a Friday Jan 12, 1990, and within 30 seconds tussling on the floor. The setting was the Satyricon, a small dimly lit nightclub in Portland, Oregon. Kurt was there for a Nirvana gig. Courtney had come with a friend who was dating a band member of the opening band, the wonderfully named Oily Bloodmen.

Charles Cross Heavier Than Heaven

In a lot of ways though, the music of the Oily Bloodmen was a fitting soundtrack to the turbulence many of us felt in the 1980's. Some got through it, some are still going through it, and some lost the battle, or maybe it was a battle some of us didn't want to win in the first place, who knows?

Monica Nelson - Obituaries

The Oily Bloodmen

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