Sounds Illustrated: DoublePlusGood Plus...

Howdy Crappeteers!

It's been a long time since I've added any so-called content to this blog. Luckily, Erik Carlson of dance pop duo DoublePlusGood invited me to check out a sweet music/fashion show at Backspace way back in early December, hereby prompting me to make another Sounds Illustrated post. So here goes:

The night's entertainment featured Jeffrey Jerusalem soundchecking:


And then delivering some conga-laced disco-concrète accompanied by vibrant computer-animation loops.



Between sets, models clad in garb from local Portland designers strutted across the venue. I was not able to capture any of this in sketch form and am thus forced to hang my head and drawing-hand in shame. But I can say that the collections featured evening-wear fashioned out of recycled magnetic tape, silver-sequined shoulder-bags, lots of neutral colors, and low-slung fashion/utility belts.

Natasha Kmeto followed with a set of dense, trance-y R&B which equally showcased her smooth vocals and visceral, throbbing beats.





DoublePlusGood finished off the night with their fantastically danceable amalgam of glitchy indie electro-pop and sparkly, melodic top 40 gloss.




And on a rather different note (genre-wise), here's an apocryphal sketch of local folk legend Michael Hurley playing with the band Ida at Mississippi Studios on October 24th, which I didn't get around to scanning until just recently. Enjoy!

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TURN MY HEADPHONES UP!!! Volume 3. LOCAL EDITION

Sometimes I forget that Crappy Indie Music not only has bloody Portland roots, but also a local focus. Hey, since I live here and love it here it might as well be time to celebrate.

XUOSOUX- "Under Sun" EP

You know, it's almost a family theme tonight. Almost. Xuosoux is a metal trio, and their bassist/vocalist/mastermind Bob Azevedo is the little brother of a high school girlfriend. "Under Sun" is a pretty straightforward hearken back to those mythical '90s that I periodically wax nostalgic for, and of course comparisons to Fugazi or Freemasonry on a set of songs like these are inevitable. The thing that is troubling about Xuosoux's entry is that it is a bit underwhelming for me soundwise. It's very tape-y, as befitting the decade it would fit in thematically, and has a real basement vibe, which is surprising given how studio-focused and driven I know Bob to be. So perhaps it's an aesthetic choice. Check it out yourself.

CONGRATULATIONS, LAKE, OLD BELIEVERS, RED RIVER- "Brave Recs Sampler"

So, family. Brave Recordings is the record label my little bro helped start, and this sampler- a double 7" with a song from each band kicks it off in style. Now, I have to say this for the thing- it's a fucking great package. Golden vinyl, each band gets a full surface of art, and there's a sweet faux little league card inside with the download code. All the songs are top-notch. Lake, from Oly, throws in an upbeat pop tune reminiscent of the Juno soundtrack only without any hint of cloying shittiness like that film or its music. The Old Believers represent very mellow, but in this track, as well as in their live performance, dude singer Nelson seems to be going for some '70s soul frontman jive that doesn't really convince. With as powerful a chick singer as Keely in house, why ever step up with less than full game? But that's just me. Congratulations' "Juice And Syrup" is probably the strongest track here, but this band used to be named Eskimo & Sons, and I guess I don't have to say much more. Overall, though, based on their song here and a truly solid live performance, I would overall say that Red River is the band to watch out of this group of talented musicians. My one worry, though. With a fab release and epic tour out of the way, follow-up is the name of the game, and Brave Recs seems to be all but invisible on the web front. Avoid the sophomore slump, y'all.

SPAZZTIC BLURR- "Befo Da Awbum"So yeah. In high school I found one of the most badest-assest compilations ever, GRINDCRUSHER. On said compilation, amidst all the grindcore and death metal and such, was a particularly goofy but nevertheless blistering speed metal song called "He Not A Home(Me Marko)". Due to a reference to buying a tape at Second Avenue, I was convinced that this was a Portland band, and in those pre-internet days I didn't have any way to check. Of course, the internet is our god and our magic wand and our milk-laden breast these days, so I managed to not only confirm that Spazztic Blurr are from Rip City, but managed to get hold of their only album. It's more of the same- and a surprisingly good album. They predated John Zorn's experimental blastbeat eclectica in Naked City by a number of years, and are not only faster but considerably funnier and more listenable. My only problem is that as with any metal of this bpm, the vocals become ridiculous when attempting to keep up, and Tito's vocals were already pretty much ridiculous to start. A hell of a lot of fun nevertheless.

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Hey Kids, I'm on Internet TV!

Yeah, I know it's been forever since I posted - extra hours at work, playing in two bands, and preparing for my birthday have kept me busy. But I wanted to stop by and belatedly let you know about an excellent website - portlandnoise.com. This site, inspired by and in league with the sanfrancisco-based pacificnoise.com and worked on by the super-awesome Jim Mulhearn of the musiquarium, a great performance\recording space on NE Weidler, features 15-minute "webisodes" (I have a distate for that sort of internet-speak, bu there you have it). This is partly a self-serving post, as my band, New Century Schoolbook, is on one of the most recent episodes. The episodes involve a short interview as well as three or so songs by the featured band, and I think there have been 8 to date (although by now the 9th has probably come out.) Jim is a friendly, busy jack-of-all trades who reminds me of my dad (in a good way, my dad's awesome) bearded, casual and good at what he does. As well as producing the portland noise episodes, he does audio recording and plays in a band called bongloard.

Through Portlandnoise.com, I also discovered Dr. Something and The Poppin Fresh Love Engines. Although I'm generally kind of wary of folk-with-a-twist, Dr. Something is evil, yet unabashedly nerdy, and you really can't go wrong with a song called "cheatin' on u with ur robot double". Here's to a rad lady &co doing something different in Portland music.

And while I'm here, I'd like to tell you all (well, portland ones anyway) to go see Chrome Wings at rererato tonight, and check out New Century Schoolbook's CD Release show (all ages! free!) at Chaos Cafe tomorrow (saturday the 12th) I'm not on the CD (it was all recorded before I joined the band) but I stand behind it fully, and I did help stamp and fold and glue the CD cases.

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