The Good Long Whiles are a thorn in the side of modern Americana. Fronted by award-winning songwriter Amanda Richards, granddaughter of Sons of the Pioneers legend Rusty Richards, they materialized from the shadows of Portland’s underground music scene and have since drifted even deeper into the mist of the Columbia River Gorge. Sightings are rare. 

Their sound is a haunting blend of alt-country, folk, and rock with themes ranging from heartbreak and homicide to zombies and ugly children. Amanda tries to control everything while singing and fingerpicking a guitar but Stephen Freeman Moore always steals the show with his deeply affected lap-steel and banjo that sometimes passes for a weird microphone. Christine McAllister looks pretty normal on bass but she is also weird. Don Lawry is a man with a name who is usually on drums (except for this studio recording where Mark Powers is hitting drum sticks against drum heads). Together they summon a gothic-Americana that feels less like a performance and more like an exorcism.

Their three part harmonies linger like the smell in a unisex bar bathroom 12 hours after closing. Their stories are borderline inappropriate, their ballads are written from the perspective of dead people, their rowdier numbers make you want to set your lover on fire. Witty, emotional, and deeply immersive are all words. The Good Long Whiles is a band who still sells CD’s at their live shows and will probably be removing their catalogue from Spotify shortly.