SLO LIFE Jun/Jul 2017

UPCOMING SHOWS
6/22 . Barrels in the Plaza . 4:00 p.m.
7/7 . SLO Concerts in the Plaza . 5:30 p.m.
7/12 . Solvang Concerts in the Park . 5:00 p.m.
7/25 . CA Mid-State Fair . 7:00 p.m.
K
irk Nordby and music
partner Nick Motil
came together in early
spring of 2014 when
they performed solo
acoustic sets at one of
Steve Key’s Songwriters
at Play showcases.
Explains Nordby,
“After our sets, Nick
just flat-out asked if
I’d be willing to hang out and play music with him.
At the time, we both were in transitional places as
new residents of the area with only a small handful of
friends between us.”
The two began to develop their identity as Bear
Market Riot at the Monday night Baywood/Los Osos
Farmers’ Market. Motil brought a suitcase drum he
made out of an antique leather hatbox that enhanced
their acoustic sound, and the pair became regulars on
the scene. “That was the beginning of it. We had our
orange tip bucket out and would make forty bucks and
some cucumbers. Better yet, we made friends with the
locals, and their encouragement, as well as our own
recognition that we were blending our sounds well
together, kept us going,” says Nordby.
Nordby, who hails originally from Bainbridge Island,
Washington, relocated to the Central Coast in
2011 after traveling through San Luis Obispo with
Olympia-based band, Baker London. “I have a very
supportive family, so I took the leap of faith. I became
a line cook under Chef Chris Kobayashi at Artisan in
Paso Robles and was trying to stretch my legs in the
local music scene when I met Motil.” Motil grew up in
the rural Midwest and toured as a singer-songwriter
in his twenties before moving to Pismo Beach with his
wife. “By now, we both have golden handcuffs locked
to this area,” admits Nordby.
Plaza, and we’re playing this year, too. It’s a really big deal—we’re so amped.”
Nordby and Motil are also amped to celebrate the vinyl release of their first
full-length album, Power-Folk Americana, this June, which was produced and
mastered with funding they secured through a successful Kickstarter campaign.
Nordby shares, “The network Nick and I have developed in SLO County worked
for us: our community held us up, and it was amazing.”
Nordby continues, “We have elected to grow here on the Central Coast, to
continue to build our local fan base, and it’s paying off. We bring our own songs
to the table and have fun with them when we perform, but we also play covers
in different tempos, keys, or time signatures, and people just let loose.” Among
their most popular covers are Simon and Garfunkel’s “Cecilia” as a waltz and a
bluegrass version of R. Kelly’s “Ignition (Remix).”
Collaboratively writing new music is now at the forefront for Nordby and Motil,
music reflective of a more adult place that captures the intricacies of everyday life.
And Nordby recently added the baritone to the list of instruments he can play,
so the power portion of Bear Market Riot’s power-folk sound has expanded. He
explains, “The baritone is strung four steps below a regular acoustic guitar, and we
have been pushing that tone through an amplifier to generate a bass tone, so on
top of our step drum and guitars, we now have the bass.” As well, Motil added a
foot tambourine to the mix, “So we have gain and grit: vocals, harmonica, bass,
drums, tambourine, and guitars,” says Nordby. Or, as the band’s website describes
it, Bear Market Riot is “two bearded men playing seven instruments.”
While the two at times trade off on lead vocals, Nordby and Motil perform many
of their songs together in harmony. Their sound combines a variety of genres
representing the duo’s distinct musical influences. Nordby credits David Bowie
for inspiration, in addition to English rock bands T. Rex and Roxy Music; Motil
lists The Killers, Everclear’s Art Alexakis, and singer-songwriter David Gray
among his influences. So they draw from rock and pop music, yet the band emits
a bluegrass, country vibe. As Nordby jokes, “We’re bears in sheep’s clothing.”
However they are described, it is clear that Bear
Market Riot is a favorite among locals, recently voted
SLO County’s “Best Band” for the 2017 New Times
Readers’ Poll. “By the grace of SLO County residents,
who are extremely friendly and supportive, it is
working out for us,” observes Nordby.
With so many music venues on the Central Coast, it
has been easy for the duo to perform live almost every
day, and they do so happily. In fact, Bear Market Riot
has played on just about every stage in the county,
including at the wineries and breweries, as well as at
the California Mid-State Fair, Whale Rock Music and
Arts Festival, SLO Brew, Vina Robles Amphitheatre,
and Live Oak Music Festival. Nordby adds, “The
coolest show we played last year was Concerts in the
Their vinyl is pressed, thank you notes are prepared,
and the band is ready to celebrate with their
community this summer. “In the genesis of small
bands that make a lot of noise,” says Nordby, “we’re a
riot. We break the fourth wall and talk to the crowd
a lot, making corny jokes and putting off a hoedown
vibe.” In effect, Bear Market Riot is positively
infectious and their sound keeps the people on the
dance floor satisfied. SLO LIFE
DAWN JANKE, Director,
University Writing & Rhetoric
Center Cal Poly, keeps her
pulse on the Central Coast
music scene.
JUN/JUL 2017 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | 47