Bits ‘n’ Pieces: Young Vancouver rockers sign with Portland label

Don’t let their ages fool you.

Vancouver members of the band Foreign Talks might be young, but they’re already getting a taste of rock ‘n’ roll success.

Marcus Fischer, 18; his brother, Madison Fischer, 16; Kevin Downes, 19; and Tanner Teinmetz, 19, just signed their first recording deal with Portland’s Expunged Records.

The group, founded in 2009, won the Union High School Battle of the Bands in March 2011 and has played at Pop Culture in Vancouver and the Hawthorne Theater in Portland. But getting a record contract is a major step up, Marcus said.

“A record company in Los Angeles had flown us down there to talk to them, but when we got back, we ended up meeting with Expunged Records in Portland and we ended up really liking the studio and the producer,” he said. “We played a couple songs for them and we ended up signing. The label just really feels like a family.”

The group’s sound is hard to define, but is “kind of indie-pop, kind of folksy and upbeat — it also has acoustic bass and hip-hop notes,” said Marcus, who plays guitar and sings.

The band expects to finish recording in the next month or so and the release will be available on iTunes and through other commercial sources.

“I’m super excited,” Marcus said. “It’s like a dream come true, really.”

For more information, check out the group’s website at http://foreigntalks.com. — Sue Vorenberg

Bits ’n’ Pieces appears Fridays and Saturdays. If you have a story you’d like to share, email bits@columbian.com.