Dharma Bums tribute LP benefits Jeremy Wilson Foundation
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Bums? Not so much.
The Dharma Bums, who carved a Portland legend over five years as a band, have been resurrected through a new project that benefits the non-profit Jeremy Wilson Foundation to help musicians navigate health care costs and challenges.
For Wilson, who was the singer in the Dharma Bums, the project combines his past with his present.
- Dharma Bums in an undated photo. Singer Jeremy Wilson is in the left front. (Courtesy to KOIN)
- Jeremy Wilson, once the singer for the Dharma Bums, now runs the Jeremy Wilson Foundation, June 2024 (KOIN)
“I think people glamorize being a musician, glamorize the lifestyle. Even the ones who make it big, make a million bucks, it’s still an incredibly hard profession,” Wilson said.
After the hair bands of the ’80s but before Grunge, four young men in Portland launched the Dharma Bums. The band quickly grew in popularity, with thousands of fans across the country and overseas.
“Mike McCready from Pearl Jam told me, ‘Oh my God, if we knew you guys were playing we’d drive 100 miles to come see you play, no matter where you were,'” Wilson said.
- Dharma Bums in an undated photo (Courtesy to KOIN)
- Dharma Bums in an undated photo from very early in their career. (Courtesy to KOIN)
When the Dharma Bums broke up, the band members spawned other bands like Pilot, Eyelids and The Decemberists.
“It’s kind of the nexus of indie Portland rock to me,” said Mick Hickman, the executive producer of the new project.
Hickman, who along with Tim King and Scott McCaughey all worked with Wilson, were involved in the recent release of a tribute album to the Dharma Bums, “Hope of the Hour.”
“I thought, what if I got some local bands, what if I — oh my God, what if I got Scott to do a track,” King said, laughing. “Wheels started turning and I thought, I can turn this into a whole project.”
Hope of the Hour: A Tribute to Portland’s Dharma Bums
That project became different artists covering 20 Dharma Bums songs. Wilson said hearing the Dharma Bums’ songs covered by all these artists has been overwhelmingly positive.
“I’ve listened to it over and over and I’m just, like, this is so cool! I cannot believe this version of this song,” he said.
But the focus for the album is to benefit the Jeremy Wilson Foundation.
More than a decade ago, the foundation began with $350. Now the foundation has handed out $1.5 million to people in the music industry that need help.
Like Scott McCaughey.
“I, for one, have benefitted from the Jeremy Wilson Foundation because I had a stroke, and they put on some big benefits for me and Jeremy was there,” McCaughey said. “It’s the least I can do.”
While the album benefits the Jeremy Wilson Foundation, the musicians maintain it also benefits the city where the Dharma Bums began.
The Jeremy Wilson Foundation is one of the beneficiaries of the Waterfront Blues Festival, set to begin July 4 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
“The Dharma Bums — they’re not forgotten,” McCaughey said. “They’ll never be forgotten because they were a huge deal in Portland.”
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