The StoodUps

The Stood Ups don’t care if the band makes money, as long as it’s doing what the Rock N' Roll quintet does best: making music.

“It’s fun, it’s energetic, everyone has a great time,” said Robert Bagley of Canby. And he should know, Bagley, aka Bobby Bones, is the band’s drummer.

“You can be in a bad mood, and then listen to our CD and you’ll be in a good mood,” he said. “We’re like Elvis, Johnny Cash and Gene Vincent rolled into one,” he said, describing the band’s sound.

The CD in question is the year-old band’s first recording, “Go For Broke,” out officially at a release party Friday at the Tonic Lounge in Portland.

The 15-track CD sports original music with a 50s sound, produced by Deke Dickerson on vintage recording equipment in California. “He’s to rockabilly like Steven Spielberg is to movies,” Bagley said.

The CD was recorded with the same equipment the band’s influences could have been captured on using reel-to-reel tape. Bagley, who has played drums for 33 of his 38 years, also used a 1957 four-piece Gretsch drum kit to ensure the sound quality he wanted.

The band works hard to project the image and sound it wants, even going on eBay to find and purchase the vintage tuxedos worn while performing. It’s as if they were getting ready for their high school prom, all ready to go but without a date.

“We’ve all been stood up in the past, so it seemed like an appropriate name for the band,” Bagley said.

The band’s audience won’t be stood up at the release party.

“We start off very dynamic, our songs usually hit you in the face and grab your attention,” he said. “We have skits and some commentaries throughout to keep into captivating and entertaining. People have a great time.”

And Bagley has years of experience as a musician to back that up.

He started drumming at 5, studying privately, with Mel Brown and Don Worth and played in youth ensembles from age 6 to 12. He was in the Portland Youth Philharmonic from age 14 to 16 and also performed with various high school rock bands, and in his junior and senior year at Molalla High School, 1984 and 1985, he was named the top percussionist in the State of Oregon.

After high school, he attended Clackamas Community College on a music scholarship and played in a jazz ensemble, then studied percussion at the University of Oregon. He then joined the military, spending six years in the Navy and four in the Army National Guard where he learned automation and engineering. He kept on playing, performing with the Navy band during his time in the service.

He’s stayed with music in some form ever since, auditioning for the Stood Ups last year, after answering an ad on the Internet classified ad service Craigslist.

The group’s lead singer Flip Nickel and guitar player Wolfman Cupcake had been playing together for 10 years. After Bagley was hired, the band found bass player The Tim Foundation and saxophonist Tadd Enright.

“We’re a fun band and we love to entertain,” Bagley said. “The band wasn’t started for the money; we did it for the fans. If anything more comes of it, that’s great. It’s all self-financed from proceeds of playing the last year.”

Bagley’s day job is in automation technology out of Tualatin for Clean Water services, and he supports his wife Nanda and 2-year-old daughter Amanda.

He has the full support of his family, including his parents, Jan and Ken Bagley. Ken Bagley, who works in the produce department of Cutsforth’s Thriftway, used to play with the Dominoes in the late 50s, and now carries on vicariously through his son. He attends the band’s shows and will sell the CD at Cutsforth’s for $10. The Cd will also be available online at www.cdbaby.com and at various other distribution outlets such as Tower Records and Music Millenium.

Bagley is the oldest of five children, and passed on his love of drumming to his younger brother Jamin, 30, who helps out with Canby High School’s drum corps and plays in local alternative rock band Lucid.

As for his daughter, she has already shown an interest in following in his footsteps and he plans to buy her a small, professional kit of her own.

“She won’t stay off the drums,” he said, smiling proudly.
- Canby Herald