Timmer Blakely
Based out of of Portland Oregon since 1991, Timmer Blakely is a first call bassist for multiple national artists in a variety of genres, music producer, record label owner, and the president of the Cascade Blues Association.
In 2019 Timmer got the call from world renowned guitarist Paul Gilbert, via a referral from blues drummer Jimi Bott (Fabulous Thunderbirds), to fill the bass slot on Paul’s US and European tour in support of his “Behold Electric Guitar” album. 2022 found Timmer in the studio with Paul to record his holiday album “T’was”, featuring Jimi Bott on drums and Portland jazz icons Dan Balmer and Clay Giberson on guitar and keys respectively. Timmer is currently in pre production with Paul for his next release yet to be titled. The new recording will include Doug Rappapport (Edgar Winter Band) on guitar and Nick D’Virgilio (Mr Big) on drums. Recording is scheduled for July ‘25 at Portland's Historic Hallowed Halls Recording Studio.
While Timmer sits well in the rock environment, his original pedigree is in blues in the form of tours/performances with Terry Evans, Ry Cooder, Bo Diddley, and harp master Jason Ricci to name a few. When not working with rock legends, Timmer is still first call bassist to several national touring and recording blues acts including Jonn Del Toro, Amanda Fish, Chad Rupp and the Sugar Roots, TJ Wong, the Revival Brothers, and more. Timmer is a multiple time winner of the Cascade Blues Association’s prestigious “Muddy Award” in the “ bassist” category and multiple band categories.
Timmer founded Lightning In A Bottle records, a blues/Americana non profit label, in Portland in 2021 to harness and apply his experiences in a practical manner. LIABr ‘s primary goal is to bring highly talented and motivated blues artists together under one roof to work as a coalition sharing resources, and with a strong focus on youth and mentoring. Currently LIABr has 21 artists across the United States.
When the Cascade Blues Association’s Vice President seat opened in 2024, Timmer felt that the strong network he had built as a result of his direct involvement in both the national blues market, and the Pacific Northwest’s deep blues community over the years could benefit the historic blues society. He ran for the seat and was elected. In ‘25 Timmer ran again, this time for President, and was again elected. Currently, the CBA continues its focus on keeping the blues alive as a genre in addition to re-invigorating the organizations direct value to the community of musicians that surround it. It has also deepened its focus on bringing youth to the blues, both as musicians and fans.
Timmer is an endorsing artist for:
Timmer uses:
Warmoth electric basses
Michael Kelly acoustic basses
D'Addario bass strings
TC Electronics bass cabinets
Boss effects