The Builders and The Butchers

Ryan Sollee, frontman of the boisterous folk-rock band The Builders and The Butchers, sees the beauty of humanity in music’s mistakes. Some of the best recordings are those from the ‘60s and ”70s that weren’t digitally altered to perfection, he said in a recent interview.

While many mainstream artists transform their sound with technology, local music fans can hear free, honest songs from Sollee’s band Wednesday and Thursday at McMenamins Old St. Francis School (see “If you go”).

Sollee and his band mates — who came together playing on the streets of Portland — look to the past for both lyrical and musical inspiration, striving for authenticity and sounds that ignore today’s emphasis on commercial viability.

“I have no problem with pop and major radio artists altering their sound digitally. They are playing to an audience that obviously doesn’t care,” Sollee said. “Where I get frustrated is in the indie world when vocals are obviously (Auto-Tuned). It just doesn’t sound very honest to me.”

According to the band’s bio, its latest album, “Dead Reckoning,” was inspired by themes including the father and the son, early 1900s America, absolute good and evil, addiction and religion.

When asked how the country today connects to 1930s America, Sollee said the common theme is struggle.

“People (are) looking for work, trying to find medical care and having to make choices like do I eat or do I go to the doctor,” he said. “There are a lot more safety nets in place today for folks, but the feeling is the same.”

While Sollee said he’s not sure what direction the band’s music is going, he has written new material. When it comes to writing new lyrics, he doesn’t have a process.

“Little tunes come in to my head,” he said. “I record them and piece together songs while keeping an aesthetic of The Builders and The Butchers.”

In Bend, the band will play everything it knows, Sollee said, including music from “Dead Reckoning” and possibly a new song. (“Out of the Mountain” is currently the band’s favorite song to perform, he said.)

Sollee is a big fan of the High Desert and thinks the area surrounding Bend is beautiful, but he admitted the band hasn’t had time to explore the city after previous performances.

“We did the McMenamins Great Northwest Music Tour last year, and the crowd in Bend was the best,” he said. “They were so rowdy and fun.”

Sollee said it’s a bummer it has taken the band more than a year to return, but he’s looking forward to experiencing Bend and drinking McMenamins’ seasonal beer.

“Honestly,” he said, “I usually drink a little too much when we play a McMenamins show.”

If you go

What: The Builders and The Butchers

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

Where: McMenamins Old St. Francis School, 700 N.W. Bond St., Bend

Cost: Free

Contact: www.mcmenamins.com