Night School #230: Street Music Band

Tonight on Night School I am thrilled to be bringing a remarkable and highly unsung 1980s funk band out of Northeast Portland, The Street Music Band. Tonight's episode features bandleader and bassist Mike B, drummer Rusty Cox, and saxophonist Charlie "Rhythm" Lewis. This episode has been years in the making. And as with many episodes on the program it features unreleased demos, rehearsal tapes, and interviews with the group. 

Street Music Band came together as teens shedding on their instruments in Mike B's Union Avenue basement. As far back as high school, members of the band had assembled an early iteration of the group, Streamline. Once graduated, this band of brothers took their sound to the streets of Northeast and beyond. The SMB was known to throw down in city parks throughout Albina. They played neighborhood hotspots such as Geneva's Lounge, The Eldorado Club, and J.W. Friday's "Soul Of The City" party. The group eventually made its way to the stage throughout Portland's downtown circuit. Highly revered among their contemporaries, SMB recorded a number of sessions yet no albums were ever released.