Songwriters joined by their love of
writing, playing, and laughing!
Steve Sever
Marilyn Jordan
David Whitaker
Steve’s toy box full of joyful sounds, Marilyn’s rich roots vocals, and David’s master improvisational guitar highlight the band’s humanity-filled originals and select covers, like Dire Straits' Down to the Waterline, Bobbie Gentry's Ode to Billy Joe, and CSN's Long Time Comin’.
Donna, Outreach Specialist, First Alternative Co-op, Corvallis, July 2024
When they first met at an open mic in 2014, Steve and Marilyn had both lived in Oregon a long time. Two years later, the week after he moved to Oregon, Marilyn met David at a different open mic and invited him to the show she was about to play with Steve. It turned out that both Steve and David had grown up in San Francisco – but they'd never met.
So the trio of songwriters began sharing songs together every week, playing at wineries, brewpubs, and monthly residencies. After a couple of years of these shenanigans, David mentioned his mom's maiden name.
Steve beamed.
"That was our next door neighbor," he said. "They had a beautiful daughter who was my babysitter.... her name was Arlene...” We were all shocked to realize that David's cousin Arlene knew Steve 50 years earlier, a thousand miles away in California.
When a bass player or two joined the trio (thanks, Sam & Ron!), trying to say everyone's names became too much of a mouthful. It was time for a band name! After countless fruitless attempts (you would not believe the names we rejected!), Steve said, “I think I've got it!"
And ever since that day, the band called Arlene has been creating musical adventures that include a name that came with a long explanation… just to keep those shenanigans rolling!
We can't wait to see you!