September 13th , 2026
Today we’re speaking with Micah, Olem and Larry of Whisky and Rain from Eugene, Oregon. We’re interviewing these guys today because when we tried to contact Whisky and Rain of Vernon for our Malakwa Music Festival Band interviews, we got confused and reached out to these guys first.
They were super polite and let us know our mistake, and we figured ya know what, let’s interview them anyway. One thing got to another, and we were pitching the idea of a Whisky And Rain off between Eugene Oregon and Vernon. We had this feverish dream idea of two bands on stage dueling it out Devil went down to Georgia style. Eugene Oregon was down when Vernon was unavailable, so we have declared Eugene Oregon Whisky and Rain the winner by default.
Today we catch up with the undisputed Whiskyist, Rainiest band in the pacific west, “Arts & Leisure” took the lead.
The Interview
A&L: Thanks for taking the time today guys how you doing?
Micah: We are doing pretty well! We are having a pretty nice summer. Unfortunately, we had a couple gigs canceled on us but we managed to play quite a bit this summer.
Summer in Eugene is great with nice weather that isn’t too hot, fun wineries and brew pubs that book music and a population that is just generally in a better mood once the rains stop and the sun starts shining. We’ve also been fortunate that a lot of the smaller wineries, breweries and pubs around Eugene are really supportive of live music.
A&L: Its a pretty big bummer we didn’t get to see through the whisky rain off, but I’m sure you guys are thrilled about the title we’ve bestowed upon you?
Micah: It would have been a tough contest. We don’t know the other Whiskey and Rain at all, but a band with a name like that would no doubt be a contender. Would have been fun to have played for the title, but we’ll take it!
A&L: Did you know that in Sicamous, the District of Sicamous, and the Sicamous Social Club aren’t the only ones who can just decide to give out awards whenever they feel like? We can also do it here at Sicamous Local News.
Micah: That’s awesome! Sounds very much like my son’s 2nd grade soccer league. Sicamous sounds like a wonderful place, we hope to visit it someday.
A&L: Yeah, were pretty sweet like that, and on a side note were pretty good at soccer if your son ever wants to throw down we’re game.
Micah: Excellent. I’ll be sure to bring him and all his buddies up when we visit!
A&L:So now that you guys are the Whisky Rain off champions of the pacific west do you think you will move on to nationals or defend in the local territory?
Micah: It is hard to say. We are pretty proud of our accomplishment, and we are sure if we went national we’d strike fear into the other Whiskey and Rain bands, but we are quite modest. We might decide to just enjoy our win record for a bit and see what other awards we can win using the same disciplined approach to success. We don’t want to rush into anything. There are a lot of factors to consider when you’re at the top.
A&L:(We all nodded in agreement. We know all to well what there is to consider when you’re at the top). Well said, modesty like that maybe we can give you an honorary title of “Welcome in Canada”. It wont actually help with anything but we consider it an honor none the less.
Micah: That would be great, thank you! That would make a wonderful addition to our collection of honorary titles. Those are the best kind, they are very time efficient to earn.
A&L: We are happy to award you this as well. When we think about whisky and rain we think about the time we were all camping and left a bottle of whisky out uncapped. It rained, got in the whisky and we drank it. It was pretty good. Is that how you would best describe your performances, pretty good?
Micah: Very, very, close. In our scenario someone kicked the bottle over and it fell into the fire so we had to burn our hands retrieving it. That is close to how our shows are. Ups and downs with an inevitable triumphant conclusion. Whiskey and Rain also describes the three of us pretty well. There is Whiskey, there is Rain and then there is Micah. Micah is “and”.
A&L: That’s great, one thing we know about “and” is that it brings things together and if wasn’t for “and” we wouldn’t be doing this interview today so thank you for being the “and”. When you started out in 2016, you had three songs and you performed at Hot Mamas open mic, how hot was mama and was there no A/C. What was going on that night, tell us about the heat?
Micah: Actually the chicken wings were pretty hot and I should have thought about that before having a bunch of them right before performing. I don’t remember much about the air conditioning, but I do remember learning an important lesson about eating chicken wings immediately before singing.
A&L: It sounds like a fire that would have burnt right into the next day.. From what I understand Micah, you have a background in punk rock music, Olem, Larry do you find that it makes it difficult to work with Micah because of his history?
Olem: When we try to convince Micah to use more sophisticated chords and melodic lines, he inevitably shows up with power chords and a single note solo that isn’t in the right key.
A&L: Oh yeah, we enjoy a good single note solo, it’s easy to follow along with.
Larry: What is fun is he’s not afraid to have a few beers after gigs and has friends that show up to support us. All and all I think it is working out okay for now.
A&L: Larry, you studied Music in California quite extensively, earning your Master of Arts in composition and PHD in Musicology. Given your extensive background, what is the punk rock song that you have the most respect for, and have you ever considered making a jazz version that you guys could play during your shows to appease Micah’s particular tastes?
Larry: I have a lot of respect for the Clash, particularly “London Calling.” There’s actually quite a bit of harmonic, rhythmic, and stylistic sophistication in their music despite the apparent simplicity of the punk aesthetic. So, from a musicological standpoint, there’s a lot to work with.
As for making a jazz version for Micah, we’ve discussed it. The problem is that if we give him a jazz version of a punk song, he’ll probably decide it needs more distortion. At that point we’ve basically gone full circle.
A&L: Interesting choice, we actually did a team building trip recently and flew to London. Leading up to that we had put London’s calling on our play list and listened to it several times a day. When we got to London we didn’t here the song once. We thought this was weird considering when we were in Cancun, we heard La Bamba every 14 minutes. Which song do you think is better London’s Calling or La Bamba?
Larry: They both have their merits, that’s a tough one. I think if I was in Cancun I’d probably think La Bamba was the single greatest song ever written, especially if I heard it every 14 minutes. Hearing something really often tends to make me like it more. Not to dismiss the genius of Ritchie Valens or Los Lobos, I’m going to have to go with London Calling. It is curious that you don’t hear it much in London however.
A&L: Good choice. Personally, we thought Smoko By The Chats would have made a good jazz song for weddings and wineries alike, do you think you could work that into your repertoire?
Olem: If Micah had his druthers we’d cover all of the Chats songs simply as is. Sadly he’s usually on smoko when we want to rehearse our ballads. We’ll have to play around with this one. The important thing will be to get our hair to match the lead singer.
A&L: Olem, you are the Head of the studio Guitar department at Lane Community college, as an educator did you find that Micah had a lot of bad habits you needed to break or was he an apt pupil?
OLEM: Micah definitely came with some habits that had to be addressed. He had spent years playing punk, so his basic approach to guitar was pretty much: learn three chords, turn the amp up and see what happens.
A&L: Wait, what? Thiers more than three chords now?
OLEM: Uh yeah… But honestly, he’s a good student. He’s curious, he’s willing to work on things, and he’s improved a lot. The biggest thing is that he’s willing to tackle music that is way outside his original comfort zone. I just occasionally have to remind him that the notes on the other side of the fretboard are also available.
A&L: We admire his commitment to his chosen side of the fret board, that’s what we call marriage material. So how would you guys describe the experience working with a guitarist from the San Francisco punk scene in a whole would you recommend it?
Olem: We would recommend it, with some qualifications. A guitarist from the San Francisco punk scene brings a certain energy to the group. He’s loud, enthusiastic, and reasonably trainable.
A&L: Yep marriage material.
Larry: There are some challenges. He occasionally believes that a song can be improved by playing it faster, louder or with more distortion. But Micah brings a lot of energy to the band, and his punk background gives us a perspective that is pretty different from ours.
Olem: We’re very happy with him. We just wouldn’t let him drive the band van.
A&L: Well, that’s great and all but, were gonna have to side with Micah on this one, louder, faster and more distortion is the key to our hearts. Micah how do you think your past interest in Punk music influences what you guys are doing today and how often do you wish you were still playing punk?
Micah: Every time we learn a new bluegrass tune or play some particularly difficult passages from a popular Beatles or Allman Brothers song, I recall fondly the days of three chords and enough distortion to ruin my hearing for life. I also miss the angst in the lyrics. Popular music has too many love songs. I definitely miss songs about fighting the man, the system and the establishment.
A&L: We here that, one particular blue grass artists has caught our eye Jesse Wells, he reminds us of Bob Dylan.
Micah: Yeah, he definitely has that vibe. He has the raspy voice and the anti-establishment songs. Also great hair. I like how a lot of his songs are easy to listen and sing along with. That said, I think some of that punk attitude has stuck with me. I still like music that feels a little raw and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Whiskey and Rain is obviously very different from the bands I played in when I was younger, but I think that part of me is still in there somewhere.
A&L: We too don’t like to take things too seriously, like our editor says, “the seriousness we invent is completely arbitrary”.
W&R: You guys are hilarious. Hopefully your captors let you go someday.
A&L: Oh we’re not being held, these pillow cases? 95% symbolism, 5% homage. The honest truth is, when you’re on the internet you never really know whose writing what you’re reading. It could be some loud local in your hometown, or it could be the Pravda News Networks operation Storm-1516 creating fake portals like albertaseparatist.com, largely driven by overseas click farms. We think it’s better if its a verifiable nosey loud local with a pillow case on his head, just like MR.X.
A&L: That’s where the homage comes in. Enough about us though.
Would you guys agree that Micah, like us, consistently gets in more trouble with the law because he’s very obviously a punk, and profiled based on his appearance?
OLEM: Well, the good news on this issue, is that Larry was formerly a lawyer and is very adept at keeping Micah out of the slammer. Unfortunately, Micah doesn’t listen super well, and Larry was formerly a real estate lawyer, so the results have been mixed. His legal strategy is generally to tell Micah to leave the premises and hope the problem resolves itself.
Larry: Really we only ask that he(Micah) be on time for our gigs and avoid raising his fist during every single song.
OLEM: As long as Micah doesn’t become a role model for our children, we can tolerate his unruly ways.
A&L: Well, it’s been super interesting to get your perspectives on coming together from different backgrounds, and Micah you can be our role model, we will come bail you out anytime. With that said, I want to thank you guys for your time.
Micah: No, thank you Sicamous Local News for your time and for interviewing us. We are deeply honored to be the winner of your best Whiskey and Rain band in the Northwest title and we will be sure to make you proud. Hope we can hang out someday!
A&L: For sure, tell our readers where they can find you and when you’re playing next.
Micah: Yeah, let your readers know we will be at Oakshire Public House September 17th, The Garden on Friendly September 18th and Gratitude Brewing on September 25th next month. If you happen to be in the Eugene Oregon area come say hello, we are still accepting congratulations for our win.
https://whiskeyandrainband.com/
https://www.instagram.com/whiskeyandrain
https://www.facebook.com/whiskeyandrain
Copy Editors Note: Americans and Canadians spell whiskey differently, at some point in editing i gave up on trying to use each in the write context.
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Sicamous, BC – Sept 18th 2026
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Malakwa, BC – August 22nd 2026
