Guantanamo Baywatch

Blending surf, garage rock, and rockabilly into a murky, visceral sound that evokes the Cramps stumbling onto the shore during an inebriated spree, the Portland, Oregon outfit Guantanamo Baywatch set out to restore raucous, lowbrow energy to rock & roll. Guitarist Jason Powell and bassist Chevelle Wiseman launched the project in 2009. Originally from Seattle, Powell had devised the name for a fanzine article and found it memorable enough to recruit Wiseman—who had relocated to Portland from Palo Alto, California—for the new venture. Having studied cello in her youth, Wiseman switched to bass, while their acquaintances Nina and Cole completed the initial roster on second guitar and drums. Nina and Cole departed soon afterward, prompting the addition of Devin Trainer on drums and a shift to trio format. Trainer exited by autumn 2010, at which point Chris Scott, a California transplant and one-time surfer, took the drum chair and established the group’s lasting configuration. After issuing a self-titled debut that quickly vanished from print, the band embarked on relentless tours across the Pacific Northwest and West Coast, cultivating a following through frenzied performances, ostentatiously garish stage outfits, and a cheerfully sleazy take on surf music. In 2011 they joined forces with the Portland garage-punk imprint Dirtnap Records, resulting in the spring 2012 release of Chest Crawl. The group subsequently moved to Suicide Squeeze Records for its third album, Darling... It's Too Late, which appeared in 2015. Expanding to a quartet with the arrival of second guitarist Jordan Owen, Guantanamo Baywatch delivered its fourth album, Desert Center, in 2017.