Picket Line

Hello Crappy Indie Musicland!

I’ve been absent for a while. It’s true. It’s not that I don’t love you any more, I’ve just been cheating on music. I’ve been seeing comics lately and I have to say, I think we’re made for each other. I’m going to put a ring on it. That’s right. I’m marrying cartoons.

That’s not to say that music and I are done, I think we’ve got a lot more than drunk one night stands left. If you want to see what I’ve been up to you can come find me all over the Internets. This isn’t really about me though. It’s about the fusion of my favorite things, comics and music.

So if you didn’t know, Easel Ain’t Easy by Breena Wiederhoeft is the greatest thing in the world. It’s true. I’ve got facts and figures to back that up. FACT. (Don’t you dare dispute me). Autobio comics come in many shapes and sizes but this one nails me right in the heart. It’s honest, funny and strange just like a life should be. So she’s been up to a larger project too! Just when you thought there wasn’t anything greater in life.

Picket Line is an upcoming Xeric Award Winning graphic novel that tracks life, ecology, being strange, community, feeling out of place and being very human by following Beatrice and Rex as they navigate threats to the local redwood forests. I think the way of this is to not try. If you write a story and it falls that way that’s great. It’s forcing the themes into a story that make everything fall apart. These themes seem to have evolved very naturally out of the characters. I’m reaching here, I don’t have a Secret Advance Copy or anything. The first chapter is up to look through and I can see a lot of what’s in store in her process post.

I was already stoked about this book.

Today I learned that there’s a soundtrack to the book. It’s good. Not just “Oh that’s nice” good. I mean so intimately tied into the atmosphere that they cannot be separated. The essence of film score is to not only underpin the scene, but to entwine the music so deeply with the story that every time a listener hears a song they are immediately transported back into the film. This soundtrack has my head locked into the aesthetic of the book so completely that I can’t imagine the music without a pair of tiny arms. Even better, this has given me a great list of artists to follow up on. Especially The Recreation Station, because this song is so delightful it has made me dance around my job like it’s a parade every time I hear it. This is what I want to listen to every time the sun shines in Portland. Beardy biking music, you’re my favoritist.

The whole tone of the record starts here and continues on through the rest of the tracks. Every single track is bursting with sunlight filtered through the evergreens. It is a swirling dance through the inspiration that imagination brings. It’s a great feedback loop, comics sending love to music, inspiring more comics and more music and we’re all in the middle as the luckiest people. Listen to this. Read this book while you’re listening to it. GO CREATE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL.

Love,
Eriq

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Denver's Adorable "Kissing Party" Summer Tour Hits the NW

Kissing Party, from Denver, offer pure pop pleasure in 2 minute increments. Tight rhythm section, catchy pop hooks, a spattering of glockenspiel, and lovely boy-girl harmonized vocals. They're on tour this July in anticipation of their third release, Waster's Wall, coming out this fall.

They're playing Portland's Knife Shop July 12. For those of us outside the area, they're playing the Visual Arts Collective in Boise on July 6, New Frontier in Tacoma on July 8, and two Seattle dates, Funhouse on the 11th and the Comet on the 13th (Where I plan to be, celebrating my birthday.) If you happen to be in SLC, they're playing a house show there on the 14th. My recommendation: check them out. After all, I emerged from grad-school enforced blogging hiatus to tell you about it.

Also, here's a video.

Kissing Party - King Graves Rd. from Lee on Vimeo.

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Tuesday June 28th

Hello Dear Readers,

I liked blogging so much yesterday that I decided to try it out again. I didn't make it out last night, but I figured maybe some of you did? Did you? Anyway the important thing is that you people know about the shows if you want to go out and support the local music scene. Blah blah blah so on and so forth. There are a lot of shows tonight. A lot of them look good. Sigh. I kinda hate it when that happens. I want to write about all of them. I will probably just do the bare minimum, though. I will list why you should want to go to these shows. Here they are:

The Know is having a show with Nucular Aminals, The Hooded Hags, and The Shivas. Nucular Amninals are a great band. They just put out their record on the legendary K Records. Plus it is a band members birthday. Plus this is their tour kick off to support their new self titled album (they have an old self titled album out there). The Hooded Hags has members of Cat Fancy!, Hornet Leg, and Big Black Cloud. If you are hip to these bands you probably know more about this band than I do. I know that I have written about all of those bands but haven't seen any of them. The Shivas play music that sounds like pop on some drugs that slow everything down a bit (perhaps with a few tracers). The show is at 8 PM.

Doug Fir is having a show with Hunx & His Punx (San Francisco), Shannon & The Clams (Oakland), and Guantanamo Baywatch. Hunx & His Pun are a band that are on Hardly Art, a label that I am generally very pleased with. They are also a band that I have read a lot of hype about. To be truthful the majority of the hype that I have read has been from The Mercury. Look at this. I think that the Hardly Art website has a much better description than I could come up with regarding Hunx and Co., "Hunx and His Punx might be the first ever "girl group" fronted by a flamboyant gay male whose dream in life is to sound like a girl. They have created a unique new sound they refer to as "Young Oldies," a mixture of 50s teenage rock ‘n’ roll, 60s girl groups and bubblegum pop." It is very fitting that Shannon & The Clams are opening since their frontwoman Shannon Shaw is one of the Punx. She makes equally as good very poppy garage music. I love them both. Guantanamo Baywatch do an excellent take on surf pop. I have read about them a lot. Check them out! The show is $10 and starts at 9 PM.

Bunk Bar is having a show with Kelly Blair Bauman and Old Light. I like Kelly's music. It is shimmery. It jangles. It is Americana. It deserves an audience. You could be that audience! He is playing with Old Light, a band that could show you a thing or two on how to rock out with your autoharp out. They also have some solid harmonies. The show is FREE and starts at 10 PM.

Ella Street is having a show with Amos Val, Man Your Horse (Vancouver, Canada), and The Harvey Girls. I really enjoy Amos Val. If you were ever a fan of instrumental post-rock. Then you are familiar with some of the sounds that this band creates. It is well made in a genre that is easy to make sound real crappy. It is slow building and epic. It will tug at your heart strings. Man Your Horse is a fun math rock band. I think that they are part of the party math rock band genre. Is that a genre? It should be. The Harvey Girls make off kilter pop music. It is hard to describe. But CIMTB founder, Goldie loves them. She does not love a lot of bands. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

Valentine's is having a show with Tunnels, The Crow, and Grouper. Tunnels make experimental minimal neo-electro music. Or is it dark wave? I may be getting my genres mixed. Someone help me out here. Also I don't know anything about The Crow. But Grouper I do know. I really like the folk-ish reverb drenched waves of music that Liz Harris creates. It is always a treat to see her play. The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say, "hi". That would be very nice.

Ben

Amos val - Seascape For A Man from Michael Guzman on Vimeo.

Amos Val is playing at Ella Street tonight

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Ben Meyercord's Live Music Picks for Monday June 27th

Hello Dear Readers,

Oh my goodness. It has been a hot second since I have blogged. I have been in a bit of a transitional period in my life. I was gone for a long time on practically back to back tours with Y La Bamba and then recorded most of an album with that band. Then I went to my hometown and helped move a certain special person from Sacramento to Portland. Anyway, I am back am. I haven't seen too many shows. I caught most of the show at Bar Bar's Saturday outside deal, though. Mike Midlo of Pancake Breakfast was great. He pulled out a lot of "cowboy covers". This included a few by Willie Nelson. I always forget that I really like some of Willie's songs. But I am getting side tracked. Today is the first day I have made any attempt to get back to a regular schedule. I started late (naturally), but it is Monday so there aren't that many shows. Here are the ones that look good:

The White Eagle is having a show with Chris Robley & The Fear of Heights, The Dimes, and Sarah Jackson Holman. Apparently while I was away Chris Robley and company have been doing a residency at the White Eagle. If you are a fan of pop music that is well crafted and polished to perfection, you will be very pleased with all of the bands playing tonight. Chris Robley is someone that has been on my radar. He is hard to describe and tends to follow the muse wherever it leads. That leaves an output that is eclectic and hard to describe. Sometimes it is acoustic sounding. Other times it is straight ahead pop. Sometimes is grandiose. Sometimes it is very intimate. Most of the time it is at a place in-between. The Dimes make tunes that are really sweet sounding. I have never seen them, but their recordings are filled with pretty sounding doubled vocals. The guitars are acoustic, but this is no acoustic songwriter music. This is feel good pop. Sarah Jackson Holman plays a piano and sings. And she does an exceptionally good job doing so. She has apparently been playing since seven which makes her young age a little more bearable. I mean she has been at it for a while. She put out her debut album on Expunged records (they discovered Blind Pilot, remember?). I think that she usually has some people to help her flesh out the songs when she plays live. Y La Bamba played a show with her once. It was good. The best part of the show is the price. FREE. It all starts at 8:30 PM.

Valentine's is having a show with Drew Grow & The Pastors' Wives, Them Hills, and Duover. Drew Grow is a hard worker. Last year he put out no less than three releases. It wasn't so long ago that he broke his body real bad. But he was back on the road before what seemed humanly possibly. I have had a soft spot for his music since I first saw him perform with his Pastors' Wives a few years back. It is great and must be seen live to fully appreciate how well these people play together. Them Hills are a indie pop band from Nevada City that I swear I have heard of before but can't place how or when. They must have played here before. I really enjoy what I have heard. I think it will appeal to fans of the Wrens. If you like that band you will know why. If not then I will just say that the band uses noisy guitars in a very pretty way. I have not seen the duo of Duover in a long time. I have seen them several times before and enjoy their acoustic pop goodness. It is an impressive example of what two people are capable of doing when they put their efforts together. They are also pretty cute together (sorry, but it had to be said). The show is FREE and starts at 9 PM.

If you see me at any of these shows please say, "hi". That would be nice.

Ben


Is it just me or does this remind you of Iron & Wine? Anyways, The Dimes play at The White Eagle Tonight.

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SUMMER LOVIN'...

Hey kids, sorry for the delay. I've been super busy both good and bad... I've been working with a great writer's group, the Willamette Valley Sorcerers, and I've been commissioned to compose some musical scores for various projects. I'll make sure to share the music when those go live. On the other hand, I have recently been diagnosed with Meniere's Disease, which really sucks and cramps my style. At least I'm in good company.

Anyway, what better way to cheer muyself up by sharing some great music with you guys!

First up is a really exciting submission from local mashup creator DJ Invisiboy. Mind you, mashup is not anything new, but it's always gratifying to see someone really nail it. Invisiboy tackles it from the "plow wide" angle, throwing as many elements into the mix as seamlessly as possible. This is definitely going into my high-energy-clean-the-house-mix. Check him out at djinvisiboy.com, where there's a new free mashup album, Phonograffiti waiting. Here's a taste:



Next there is an announcement from new buddy Rafe and his band Technology Vs. Horse. You may remember TvH from the epic "Cage The Elephant" thread. I've been looking forward to something new from them, and with "Potential Pleasure Device", they deliver. It's a teaser- you think you're getting some hipster faux electronic whatever, but it quickly jumps into what I can only dub as a worthy successor to Jack Wetton-era King Crimson. The first track even has a ridiculously obscure shout-out to Genesis. What does it say about their musical nerdery that that's in there? What does it say about mine that I caught it immediately? Bottom line, I wish I was in this band. Check out their facebook page where you can listen to Potential Pleasure Device.


I don't know much about Stripmall Architecture other than I've heard great things about them. And... they don't disappoint. One quiblle I had, and maybe I'm just getting even more curmudgeonly, but in the press release, why would you list both Fever Ray and The Knife as comparisons? That's like, "Yeah, if you like Journey or Steve Perry..." Anyway. The video for their new track "Ownsome" is like a perfect storm of hipster irony, but remains fucking awesome despite that. It's sort of a live-action version of "The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton." So enjoy.

Stripmall Architecture - Ownsome from Stripmall Architecture on Vimeo.

I don't really know what the hell is going on here, but I love it. Angelo Spencer is the man!


Last but not least, everyone needs to go buy Papillon's new album, "All Day Tomorrow". Papillon's lead singer is my dear friend and former bandmate Mikael Jehanno, who as the leader of Papillon has been consistently cranking out some of the greatest French-American psychedelic rock EVER. Do yourself a favor, and get into some Papillon now!

April 27, 2011

PAPILLON | Myspace Music Videos

That's it for today. Go out and soak up some of that sunshine while it lasts!

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Ron's Picks: Baby Teardrop's X Is For Love

The Baby Teardrop's are, without a doubt, one of the finest acts to grace the indie music scene this year.  Their sound is exactly what you might expect to hear from a modern marvel these days.  Yet, they are so truly original, they might just become your favorite band with zero reasoning, but a total assurance that this little threesome from NYC has impacted your ear buds in a huge way!

With the release of their debut album, X Is For Love, we find The Baby Teardrop's in a final solidification of a group that has teeter totter on the brink of existence for a few years.  Coming together as three, this album showcases their ability to produce harmonized and melodic interpretations of indie rock as we know it today.  From love ditties like "ME Where", to grunge inspired manifestations of the distinct, and somewhat disturbing, realities of this cold music business (see "Think It, Look It, Act It, Become It").  This is an album that has everything you could ever wish for, and all from an extremely solid band of modern pioneers.

Baby Teardrop's debut album, X Is For Love was released last April.  You can find the album on their website, babyteardrops.com.

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Ron's Picks: Gasoline Monk's Dislocated Joints Vol. 1

Forrest Armstrong, a.k.a. Gasoline Monk, is an artist in every sense of the word. Although stark (and I’ll say) unjust opinions of “electronic” or “synth noise” commonly existence within many circles in the sometimes overtly pretentious music scene, we have something entirely different here. Dislocated Joints Vol. 1 instantly sounds like a labor of love for one man, and the plethora of sounds he is able to mix and mash over a heavy and never ending beat drum. The complications of the album is what makes its so wonderfully unnerving and justifiable.

Dislocated Joints Vol. 1 moves with a rhythm that simply leaves you entranced (all pun intended). But the sounds collaborated within this album are more like jazz than anything else. Obviously not Charlie Parker blowing his horns sort of jazz. But, more of the sincerely mad and overzealous sort of jazz that Kerouac produced in a literary sense. In a way, Gasoline Monk is a true and honest depiction of the modern world’s shift into the digitalized sometimes suffering, and other times exhilarating, conceptions of spiralling or torpedoing into a sea of 1’s and 0’s. And all the way down (or up, however you see it) we will be bless with beautiful .25 second blips of rhythm, hard drum beats, and purely tantalizing synth.

There are various reasons to love Gasoline Monk. Some are obvious traits such as dancability and universal rhythm sections. But, if you really dig deep, and recognize the power of this man’s music and his use of uncomplicated complications, then you might truly understand how this jazz influenced king of DJ’s a genuine artist. Above all, this guy is, to say the least, brilliant.

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Luck-One Sounds Of My City

To those not already embedded in the Portland hip-hop scene, this is as good a place to start as any. Much has been written about Hanif Collins aka Luck-One's hard time past. He has since transcended far beyond his questionable youthful discretions and has found a new path of positivity in his life through recent musical endeavors. Even though Collins has made a physical move to Seattle, in part due to the lack of economic opportunities afforded to him in his hometown of Portland, he still reps the city he grew up in as evidenced in the following video. It's not often that you find a rapper admitting to sleeping out of his car in the name of his art and musical goals, but Luck-One is no ordinary rapper. Wise beyond his years and more talented on the mic than 99% of those in his chosen field, this young emcee is truly a force to be reckoned with. Despite his inordinate skill level, Collins remains one of the most humble emcees you'll ever come across in person. Mad props young buck! Your time is now.

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