The original Riflebirds formed in 1985 in Portland, Oregon. The nucleus was bass player and songwriter Lee Oser and guitarist Kevin Kraft, later joined by singer Kate Lieuallen and drummer Kevin Jarvis. The band’s heyday, from 1985 to 1989, saw the release of two singles and a cassette-only LP, April, produced by Marvin Etzioni (Grammy winner and founding member of alt-country legends Lone Justice). The single ‘Pieces of Time’ was included on the highly coveted College Music Journal CD. Columbia Records expressed interest. However, before things could move forward, the Riflebirds broke up.
Lee and Kate married in 1988, and soon after moved east, Lee becoming a professor of English literature and author, and Kate working as a children’s librarian. Kevin Kraft ended up in Silicon Valley. Kevin Jarvis went on to enjoy a successful career in Los Angeles as a session drummer, engineer, and producer, working with Brian Wilson, Lucinda Williams, Elvis Costello and many more.
Eventually Lee and Marvin reconnected and, in 2024, the original band regrouped as The Riflebirds of Portland (due to a name clash with an Australian band and reflecting their Portland roots). With Marvin Etzioni back in the producer's chair, they spent two weeks recording at Kevin Jarvis's studio, the Sonic Boom Room, in Venice, California.
The resulting album, Windmills on the Moon (released in 2025 on Regional Records), met with glowing praise from the international music press and ranked in the top 100 Americana Country albums of 2025 according to Roots Music Report. The singles ‘Sometime Somewhere’, ‘It Doesn't Matter Much to Me’, and ‘You Win’ received substantial FM airplay in the US and throughout Europe, as well as numerous spins on the BBC in the UK and on public radio in the US. ‘It Doesn’t Matter Much to Me’ reached number one on the Radio Indie Alliance Top 100 Songs. ‘Sometime Somewhere’ saw numerous spins on Dwight Yoakam’s “Bakersfield Beat” channel on SiriusXM. Every track on the record received airplay on terrestrial FM radio in the US.
Regional Records is re-releasing the band's debut album, April, on April 3rd, 2026. In June 2026, The Riflebirds of Portland will return to the Sonic Boom Room with Marvin Etzioni to record their third album, The Fire Came Down.
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