THE BAND

THE HIP HISTORY...

December 29th, 1992 Marty Albers, founding member of "The Dumbwaiters" hired drummer Norm Whitehurst in White Salmon, Washington after the orginal drummer Mark Wills couldn't play the gig. At that time Dumbwaiters were Marty Albers (Guitar), Pete Lampe (Bass), Garry Gossett (Guitar), Mark Wills (Drums). Norm was recommended by Garry who was, and is, a close friend of Norms. Norm was hired along with a new bass player, Rodney Wild. At the time The Dumbwaiters were mainly 50's and 60's with a few tunes from the 70's. A lot of Rolling Stones and other fun rock and roll tunes made up the sets. They played out of town most of the time with a few local gigs. White Salmon at "Festers," Sheridan at "The Green Frog," Eugene at The Holiday Inn and eventually "The Westwood Inn" in Milwaukie (Some great times there!). Six months passed and Rodney quit. Norm and Marty hired Frank Henderson after auditioning numerous bass players. Frank was a solid player but most importantly they felt he was very dependable. Franks presence brought in more 80's tunes as well as some suggestions to beef up the P.A. The band went on in this configuration (Marty Albers- guitar, vocals, keyboards; Garry Gosset- guitar, vocals, keyboards; Norm Whitehurst- Drums; Frank Henderson- bass, vocals) through 1993 and 1994.

At the end of 1994 Garry quit. He'd had enough. No hard feelings he just didn't want to do it anymore so after New Years Eve he hung up his Dumbwaiter duties. This was a really sad thing for Norm and Marty because they were all best friends. They continued without Garry as a three piece. Not wanting to hire a new fourth member Frank suggested sequencing. A sequencer is basically a little box that is run by a computer to play whatever you want it to. Using a sequencer would allow The Dumbwaiters to expand thier musical repertoire immensely. All the piano, horn and string parts are played by the computer. It took some getting used to, particularly for Norm as it nessecitated him wearing headphones, but it all came together without any big problems. It was then that they started doing songs like "Sledgehammer" and "Brick House." The reduction in band size also meant Norm would have to start singing more. Which he reluctanly did. By now the band was playing a lot. Nearly every weekend and times were good. Lots of gigs and a lot of places to play.

Eventually Marty quit the band. He never really gave a reason but it was later revealed that he wanted to start a swing band.  Norm and Frank saw it coming and prepared for it. In September of 1996 Marty quit.   Norm and Frank decided to change the bands name to something close to what it was, but different enough to disassociate it from The Dumbwaiters. Out of the blue Frank said, "How about 'The HIPwaiters?'" And just like that, a new band was created. Norm took over Marty's responsabilities as manager. Frank brought in a friend named Kenny Chenevert to replace Marty. Ken, a classically trained vocalist, was a tremendous boost to the vocal ability of the band. The ever evolving set list continued to move away from the oldies and into the 80's and 90's. "Shooters" in Canby, "The Powell Street Depot" in Portland, and "The URS Club" were frequent gigs for the guys. In 1999, Kenny got an offer to play with a high paying band that worked five days a week. He took the gig and resigned from The Hipwaiters. Unfortunately for Ken it didn't work out and the club owner went to using a DJ. During that time Frank had been talking to one of the members of the band Kenny was going to join in hopes of pulling him away to play with The Hipwaiters. Since the club wasn't going to need a band anymore the new guitar player accepted Franks offer. The new guitarist was Dave Nelson. In March of 2000 Dave joined The Hipwaiters and took them to a new level.   He brought with him a truck load of dance songs like "Billy Jean" and "Funky White Boy" as well as a ton of classic rock tunes like "Rock and Roll" and "Sweet Child of Mine." Dave's showmanship and talent were a sight to see and hear. They worked together, honing their sound and songs which led to some spectacular medleys (like a funkly medley combining, Funky White Boy, Fire, Thank you for letme be mice elf, and Money).   As time went on, Daves desire to play songs that weren't within the Hipwaiters "forumla" began to grow which led to conflict in the bands direction. On March 22nd Dave quit the Hipwaiters by announcing in the P.A. that it was his last night. Dave had quit numerous times before but this time he didn't return the phone calls that were made to him so Frank and Norm were put in a very bad position and scrambled to find somebody else. After a few unsucceful auditions Norms good friend (and drumming guru) Andy, suggested a guy he knew from Tigard Music: Jason Moore. Norm called him and he was into it. After 2 quick rehearsals they were off and running.   His first gig was April 18th, 2008. At The Holiday Inn.
Jason saved us. He came along after the departure of our previous guitar player and brought a new level of professionalism and spectacular guitar playing.   He was truly a shredder.    Jason brought the experience of teaching and thereby, the ability to play anything and everything we could throw at him. Heavily influenced by Van Halen, Jasons arrival brought more songs from that genre, as well as funky stuff that the Hipwaiters have always tried to provide. His vocal range allowed for songs by artists ranging from Guns n' Roses to Pat Benetar.

Eventually Jason decided he'd had enough and left the band. A crusshing blow because he's such a great player and personal friend of mine. But... it is what it is.

Jesse Strauch stepped into Jasons gigantic shoes and did his best to learn what we were already doing. Jesse also teaches and became more seasoned at playing rock and roll with the Hipwaiters.   Jesses academic and work schedule forced his early departure from the band but opened the door up to William Tipton.

Will was a seasoned vet who brought a juicy tone and fantastic playing and soloing with him. The set list evolved again and included songs by Alice in Chains and Incubus among others.   William Tipton joined us after departing from the Junkyard Dogs and took over as the axeslinger as of September 2011. Will wanted to spend more time with his family and resigned in August 2012.

Bruce Short, also a Junkyard Dog Alum, was asked to join in January 2012 turning the Hipwaiters into a 4 piece for the first time. Things got progressively hotter for the band. The additional guitar, added vocals, and blazing solo battles that occured spawned the term "Guitarmaggedon." Unfortunately, not long after Wills departure, Bruce resigned too in September, 2012.

Replacing Will was Roger Williams. Who has the distinction of being the only other bald member in the history of the band. Roger brought a bunch of new songs too. Like "New Girl Now" and "Pour Some Sugar on Me" ...and the set list just keeps evolving.
In June of 2015 it was decided that it was time to part with Roger and Dave Nelson returned to the Hipwaiters. His first gig was July 10th in Salem. Dave currently plays in Madson as well as the Hipwaiters. You can count on seeing hilarity on stage with incredible showmanship and a consistently upbeat attitude!

That's where we are today!

Now you know the story of the band, and where they came up with that kooky name.