“It wasn’t just music, it felt like it was part of my life”

Mr. Bellows: “There’s no barrier between you and the stage. When I moved – seventh grade – all these kids played instruments, and they’re all cool. So we got together and just started a junior high band. You go to kid’s houses … and you just start playing. We started by covering other bands … and then, you start to get a sense of your own sensibilities and how you play and then you start writing your own songs. The scene in Portland was easily accessible to young people. Here we are, playing in the big city, at some dive bar – we’re like, 15. It’s a vehicle for the creative side of me – I didn’t know it was there until it happened. Now it’s not as prominent to my life. I have kids and it’s ‘grow up and get a job’. But I would say music and guitar … are cultures I still dabble in and they keep me rooted in the things that I will always love.”