Biography
Guitarist and singer Rick Bain took part in multiple groups while attending high school and college around Portland, Oregon. One such outfit was Spin Jupiter Spin, which came together around 1997 and counted Brent DeBoer—later of the Dandy Warhols—among its members. Once DeBoer departed to enter the Dandy Warhols, Bain kept composing material and built a local following by cutting his own one-man rendering of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds on a four-track machine, handling vocals along with guitar, bass, keyboards, and light percussion. Around the same time he wed Amy, a former Spin Jupiter Spin colleague.
Late in 1998 he assembled Rick Bain & the Genius Position to play his new songs. The original lineup included keyboardists Joe Kaczmarek and Eric Pfau plus drummer Michael Ford, with Bain on guitar; no bass player was present because Pfau covered low-end lines on the keys. Personnel kept changing during the following years, and each alteration prompted a shift in the group’s instrumental makeup. Pfau eventually exited, and after Ford’s departure drummer Clayton Jones came aboard.
To secure a slot on the Dandy Warhols’ tour, Bain hurried out the band’s debut album, Crooked Autumn Sun, in August 2000 on the Portland-based Official Records imprint. The release attracted notice from critics and helped expand the audience, which grew further when the group shared stages in 2001 with the Brian Jonestown Massacre, itself made up of one-time Portland residents. Over time Bain removed the “Genius Position” portion from the band’s name.
Late in 1998 he assembled Rick Bain & the Genius Position to play his new songs. The original lineup included keyboardists Joe Kaczmarek and Eric Pfau plus drummer Michael Ford, with Bain on guitar; no bass player was present because Pfau covered low-end lines on the keys. Personnel kept changing during the following years, and each alteration prompted a shift in the group’s instrumental makeup. Pfau eventually exited, and after Ford’s departure drummer Clayton Jones came aboard.
To secure a slot on the Dandy Warhols’ tour, Bain hurried out the band’s debut album, Crooked Autumn Sun, in August 2000 on the Portland-based Official Records imprint. The release attracted notice from critics and helped expand the audience, which grew further when the group shared stages in 2001 with the Brian Jonestown Massacre, itself made up of one-time Portland residents. Over time Bain removed the “Genius Position” portion from the band’s name.
Albums