Cover Your Hearts 2023 - a night of 80s guilty pleasure love songs!
Photo by Erick Alley of the band UHF: l-r Jeremy & Jordan Leff, Jeff Nelson and Matt Johnson rock Cover Your Hearts!
By Claire Levine
The name of this annual event, Cover Your Hearts, tells you a lot – including that the folks who started it liked to play around with words.
The “cover” refers to cover performances of some favorite 80’s bands – mullets and all.
The “heart” is because it’s always close to Valentine's Day. And in this case, the heart means a lot more: the heart-felt commitment the organizers have to their community.
Perhaps there’s even a serendipitous connection to Jeremy Wilson’s heart surgeries, which kickstarted the work of the JWF Musician Health & Services Program.
(Don’t know that story? Watch Jeremy’s feature on Oregon Art Beat.)
Cover Your Hearts raises funds for the organization Jeremy started.
So, if you like to dress up as if it were still the 80s or if your favorite air guitar solos are still Eddie Van Halen’s, you won’t want to miss this show.
And if you missed the 80s entirely but love great live music and care about musicians, you’ll still want to be there.
Erick Alley has performed at almost every one of the shows since the second edition in 2009. After a two-year hiatus in 2013 & 14, “I was badgering the folks who originally organized it. And I badgered them enough that they’re like, ‘hey, I think we’re gonna bring it back,” Erick said. “And then the next year they said to me, ‘you know, if you want this to happen again, you have to take it over.’”
So he did, and he’s looking forward to the 2023 show after a two-year pandemic break.
Lael Alderman, who has played at all the shows, talked about its early inspiration, at a time when nobody wanted to admit they liked the 80s.
“Let’s take all of our favorite songs from around the 80s. Let’s do those classic guitar solos. We thought it would be fun to dress up and do everything over the top.”
And the guilty pleasures? “Oh, let’s do a hair metal tune. It’s not really cool anymore. Or a sugary synthesized pop tune that’s not cool anymore.”
But these days, they’re happy to play any good love song showcasing all facets of love.
One thing that makes the show so special for Erick and Lael is the opportunity to go beyond their normal musical styles and ensembles. For example, they might start out with their own bands and add back-up singers and horns. It’s a musical stretch, a chance to perform with people they normally don’t play with and with no-holds-barred arrangements.
“The practices are almost as much fun as the show,” Lael said.
But for Erick and Lael, the audience reception tops everything.
Lael remembers, “One year, we did a set with a lot of Journey songs in it. So
, I had a nice mullet wig.
“And we’re doing that song Faithfully. And by the time we got to that part in the song, the whole audience was doing the ‘wo, ow ow ow’ part. You just don’t get moments like that when you’re doing your own songs.”
Erick said he was backing up Lael one year, “ when we did Love Shack. I remember kicking it off at the top and getting goose bumpy.”
Over the years, Cover Your Hearts has benefitted a variety of local nonprofits. But when the Musician Health & Services Fund helped out a friend who was recovering from a stroke, Erick and Lael realized The JWF was the right fit for the annual fundraiser.
The musicians volunteer all their time, so all but the basic operating costs go directly to the JWF.
So pull out your neon jackets, your leg warmers and your high-waist jeans. The 80s beckons you. Join Erick and Lael at the 2023 Cover Your Hearts show:
Friday, Feb. 17
Doors at 7:30 p.m., show at 8:30 p.m., at The Get Down, 615 SE Alder in Portland.
