“When I came here seven years ago, I couldn’t believe how much (musical) talent there was in the Portland area,” says Ayan, 31, who is originally from the Boston area. “I don’t know if the general public gets the fact that there’s this much talent.”
So, in June of 2006, Ayan and other’s involved in the Portland music scene began meeting. Taking cues from the well-established Austin Music Foundation in Texas, they put the call out to friends and colleagues for monthly gatherings. By June of this year, the Portland Music Foundation was incorporated as a non-profit.
Ayan is the chairman and one of 10 board members. The group includes engineers, on-air broadcasting talent, record producers and musicians.
“Our first goal is an educational workshop series,” says Ayan, who started playing bass guitar at age 13 and learned his current trade through UMass-Lowell’s sound recording program. He’s been at Gateway since 1998.
The workshops will include general panel discussions that are open and free to the public as well as special sessions for PMF members (annual dues are $20). Special sessions will deal with interfacing with the media, common questions that board members are asked and touring and gigging.
“We want to hear back from the (music) community,” Ayan says, “and that goes for everything PMF does.”
PMF will be part of a pair of upcoming events. Proceeds from the Diageo Speakeasy on Sept. 26 at the Portland Company warehouse will supply PMF with seed money. And on Oct. 18, the organization will host a meet and greet launch party from 6-9 p.m. at the Citadel Broadcasting office at One City Center. Both Greetings from Area Code 207 and WCYY’s Spinout will be taping during the event, which means at least two bands will be playing. Anyone who wants more info or wants to get involved should go to www.portlandmusicfoundation.org or www.myspace.com/portlandmusicfoundation.
In addition to musicians, PMF hopes to reach out to fans by helping to promote and support music. “We’re not trying to make rock stars out of anybody,” Ayan says, but he hopes that if someone Googles music in Portland, PMF will come up. One idea that fans could benefit from is a possible gig sharing setup with the folks in Austin, where a band would travel from Texas to play a gig with a band in Portland and then the Portlanders would return the favor.
“Artists and music help bring people to a community,” Ayan says. “One thing I love about being in Portland is that most nights I can go out and hear really great local music.”
When he has the time.