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Aris Hunter Wales is the Mercury's resident, denim-clad rocker and Blazers beat writer. If he's not clenching a fist while lauding the loud and heavy, he can be found sitting on press row at a Trail Blazers' game wearing a crisp suit with neatly combed hair.
The new label’s first releases come from Nasalrod, Stress Position, and Barry Brusseau.
JUDAS PRIEST Tues 4/17 Veterans Memorial Coliseum EHTAN MILLER / GETTY IMAGES Rob Halford is often referred to as the “Metal God.” As pompous as that nickname might sound, it’s quite apt—Halford fronts Judas Priest, a band that is arguably the bedrock of heavy metal. His voice is peerless, and when he’s not covered in […]
Another regular season is in the books for the Trail Blazers. About a quarter of the way through said season, the Blazers didn’t look like they’d even make it to the playoffs, let alone finish on top of the Northwest Division, and in the third seed with home court advantage. If you would’ve asked the […]
Man, what a wild and fantastic 13 game winning streak the Trail Blazers had! Considering the fact they rolled over two gladiator teams in Cleveland and Golden State during said run, there was no shame having it snapped by the team with the best record in the league, the Houston Rockets. One could dissect Tuesday’s […]
Photo By Bruce Ely / trailblazers.com Walking the halls of the Moda Center and the streets surrounding it was a stomach turning experience last night. There was an insanely inappropriate amount of Cleveland Cavaliers fans plugging up the place. It’s a similar scene when Golden State comes to town, but Lebron James isn’t on that […]
Photo By Bruce Ely / trailblazers.com For roughly every game since I’ve been covering the Trail Blazers for Ye Olde Merc, the Blazers organization has been kind enough to give me postgame press conference, and locker room access. While I am eternally grateful for their generosity, I rarely venture into the locker room after the […]
COVEN Jinx Dawson will see you now. Courtesy of the artist In a pivotal scene in the 1969 film Easy Rider, three men decompress over a campfire and a joint after an uncomfortable run-in with some bigoted middle Americans. George, played by Jack Nicholson, says it best: “Oh yeah, they gonna talk to you, and […]
Jinx Dawson reflects on Coven’s mystifying history.
Yesterday was the mid-season trade deadline for the NBA, and I gotta be honest, the whole trade process is Greek to me. I understand salary caps, draft picks, luxury tax, and the general trade mindset as much as I understand the stock market or betting on horses. There are way too many moving pieces for […]
photo by Bruce Ely / trailblazers.com Trail Blazers fans have a lot to be thankful for these days. Things have been looking pretty good in 2018 so far. Damian Lillard was picked for this season’s all-star team, the Blazers are 11-5 for the month of January – currently running a three game winning streak – […]
photos by Bruce Ely / trailblazers.com Well, the word is out on the streets. Damian Lillard has been picked for this season’s All-Star team. The Western Conference is flush with hotshot, team-leading point guards, and Dame has been known to school each and every one of them at one time or another. He works hard, […]
For those of you who haven’t been to a Trail Blazers game lately, allow me to inform you that there are religious zealots wielding signs and proselytizing outside of the Moda Center these days. Armed with megaphones and a fire-and-brimstone message, these ding dongs yell and yammer nonsense at Blazer fans as they file into […]
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