Yesterday, my friend Monte Von Struck shared this one on his Facebook feed..
Look what David Jester, just uncovered !
Louie Louie by the Confidentials back in ’82
I had to ask my friend and LOUIE associate producer David Jester “Who are (or were) The Confidentials?… to which he replied..
This was a Power Band in the early 80’s and was pre-grunge, pre-punk, raw talent exploding on the stage at every gig…
The girls always liked the bad boys… LOL…
Our friend SP Clarke, formerly of the Two Louies magazine, also chimed in..
Confidentials appearing in this line-up are Darrel Strong, lead singer/guitar, Alec Burton drums, and it appears Tim Clift on bass. (Clift replaced Ken E. Cooper). Both these songs are covers. First is Louie, Louie, of course. Second song is “Roadrunner” by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, not “Radio On.” I don’t remember a whole lot about the Confidentials anymore. This video is probably the best example of the band back in the day:
I asked about the date of this performance, as the video has a 1981 date embedded in the graphics, but the YouTube description labels this as a 1982 performance. The consensus is that this performance probably happened in 1982, when the band was fully active. It also appears that it’s been quite a few years since their last performance.
Here’s a flyer from what might have been one of the shows when this particular LOUIE performance took place..
Alec Burton, the drummer, commented on his Facebook page:
I didn’t know this video existed! We never actually rehearsed these songs but would sometimes pull them out for an encore.
I remember the Confidentials from my nights working the bar on 10th and Everett back in the very late 70’s. Good times
I am about the same age as these lads. Back in the early 80’s, these guys rocked Portland very hard and were very intense. As they gained popularity, the shows were often packed and my late best bud and I would slam dance like crazy on the crowded dance floor, we often ended up soaked in sweat! We saw them often twice on the weekends when they played, recovering just in time on Saturday after a Friday show just to head out and do it all over again! Super nice guys, they even showed up to my first wedding! They were very serious about “making it” as they say, but alas were never signed to a major label. They got damned close. All fine musicians and Darrel was a pretty good songwriter.
This was one of my favorite PDX bands from the early 80s. Tim Clift was always the bassist in the version I saw again and again. They had original songs along with covers. Good lyrics and you could dance to everything they did. Was lucky enough to happen to be in PDX for a reunion show ten or so years back. I could still sing along to the songs the wrote and performed. This says more about the quality of the songs than about my ability to remember.
They played at La Bamba a lot. They should have gone on from where they were at in around 1984. Unfortunately they did not. I have only found two clips on the internet in 20+ years of looking. There is a vinyl LP PDX collection with a cut as well.
To say they were a favorite is no faint praise. PDX in this era had regular Robert Cray shows, the Crazy Eights, Johnny and the Distractions, and a number of other very good bands. I could go on . . . These guys were the real deal and it is a shame so many people missed them.