country – Michael Winter

The Buckles are (l-r) Pete Wolfe, Willard Bethje, Rusty Blake, and Harley James.

Portland, Oregon band The Buckles brand their music as Bakersfield-Liverpool, performing hard-core twang right out of the playbooks of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.

I was asked by my friend and steel player of The Buckles, Mr. Harley James (yes, that’s his real name…) to take some band photos. I had been to his house before and fell in love with his music room! Stepping into that room is like going through a time-warp… A mid-century modern lovers dream!

Basically I took shots of 3 different setups, working the subjects to get expressions, good composition and pose. No fancy lighting either. Just a strobe bounced off the ceiling and adjusting the throw accordingly.

Hi. My name is Michael Winter and I play pedal steel in a rock band. Here’s a little info:

TRUCKSTOP DARLIN’

“Truckstop Darlin’ comes out of the amazing music scene of the Great Northwest, more specifically, Portland, Oregon. Despite being loud and thundering, Truckstop Darlin’ wear their hearts on their sleeves; if Wilco grew up listening to Lucero’s harder moments, it might sound something like this. Their live shows are a sweaty, fist-pumping riot soaked in cheap beer and whiskey and while most bands who fall under the alt-country umbrella focus more on the country part, Truckstop Darlin’ keeps their amps turned up. These boys play honest, driving rock n’ roll.”

Or something like that.

Here’s a video of us playing live at Dante’s in Portland, Oregon. Thanks to Ben Blankenship for creating the video… You rule.

Tag: country

The Buckles

i play pedal steel in a rock band… it’s awesome.