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But, after hearing this debut album, I was really happy I did get a hold of it. I was floored. It’s the perfect combination of alt-country, rock and singer-songwriter material that I had heard in a long time. The songs actually said something, the whole album has a great feel, it wasn’t commercial – the album was truly a great effort by an unsigned band.

And what a great band name.

I only got to see “Scotland Barr and the Slow Drags” twice. They played at River City, maybe last year, or perhaps even two years ago. I was very interested to see if the band could put the same kind of magic they had on their record into a live show.

That night turned out to be just an OK show. Not super-well attended, either. I remember that the sound was not all that good, you really couldn’t hear the vocals. During the set break, I remember the lead singer saying that he couldn’t hear the vocals, either. You would think that in a small room with a lot of mics and amplifiers and speakers everywhere, that you’d be able to hear the vocals.

But, despite the sound problems, I did get a glimpse of what this band did, and what they were trying to present, musically.

But there was one thing that I didn’t get.

Their names. No, I’m not talking about the band name, but the individual names. I don’t know why it’s such a complicated thing in our society, but for some reason we can’t remember names. I talk, I listen, they say their name, and 10 seconds later, it’s gone. I cannot remember the name. Why is that?

The band was a somewhat motley collection of musicians. There was kind of a clean-cut keyboard guy, an absolutely crazy lead guitar player (I know, most lead guitar players are crazy…) a pedal steel player with dreadlocked hair, a bass player and drummer. All fronted by a lead singer with an acoustic guitar. And, not that I was paying attention to names, at that time, this lead singer was kind of a big guy, longish hair, his guitar looked small when he played it – he towered over the instrument. He had a very distinctive voice, rough, emotional. What he sang about mattered to him, for sure.

I tried to keep some tabs on the band, as they were promising to work on a new record. And when I finally found out that it was available, I went right to CD Baby and ordered it. “All the Great Aviators Agree” was just as solid as the first one, with a bit of branching out, to boot.

The next time I saw the band was at The Bite of Portland, at the Waterfront Park. If you’ve been, you know that the park has several stages, and we had to wind through the crowd to find them. I remember finally getting to the stage, and looking up, and suddenly, for a split second, I didn’t recognize them as the band I saw before. I mean, I heard the music, which sounded like them, but what was different? The lighting? The fact that the stage was outside? I had a strange feeling - of being out of place. It was kind of like the feeling that you have just walked into a classroom for the first time, and you suddenly get the feeling that you may not be in the right classroom. Has that ever happened to you? For some odd reason, that’s what I felt like. Can’t really explain it. I had to look at the schedule in my hand, and ask myself, am I at the right stage?

I took a seat and took it all in. Slowly, my brain seemed to associate people in the band right now with people in the band back at the first show. But, I’ll tell you, it took a few minutes. The band was dressed up some. They joked about having to tuck their shirts in at a more “family style event,” and may not have been accustomed to playing in front of that many people.

But this time, you sure could hear the vocals. And the lead singer had the ability to make you believe in what he’s singing. After the set, we had to hit the road, I think we had to head down to Eugene. I forget what for.

Last week, I got an email from one of the lead singers friends, who happens to be a Portland music promoter - I happen to be on his mailing list. I didn’t know Alex Steininger did promo work for this band, and Alex didn’t know I was a fan.

So tonight, I’m going home, and I’ll listen to four songs the band has graciously placed on their website to be downloaded. You see, unfortunately, that’s all I can do. They’re the last songs that got completed with a very talented songwriter. Scott Barr Mortiz.

I always wondered where that band name came from. And I’ll always wonder if that strange out-of-place feeling I had would have been different if I had known their names.

Scott Barr Mortiz died Sept. 1, 2009, from pancreatic cancer.