You’ll never get Tim Kinsella. Truly one of the most creative, confusing, and misunderstood artists in the indie music scene, Kinsella has fronted dozens of bands, including Cap’n Jazz, Joan of Arc, and currently, Make Believe. Often unfairly filed away on the sinking ship that is emo, Kinsella’s music is far from the typical heart-on-the-sleeve […]
Ezra Ace Caraeff
Ezra Ace Caraeff is the former Music Editor for the Mercury, and spent nearly a third of his life working at the paper. More importantly, he is the owner of Olive, the Mercury’s unofficial office dog. His writing has appeared in The Fader, The Stranger, The Onion's A.V. Club, ESPN's TrueHoop network, and countless fanzines that are thankfully long out of print. He makes a mean tofu scramble and yes, Ace is really his middle name.
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Once More With Feeling
GoBiodiesel
As if the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle weren’t hard enough these days, more than ever your average rock band has to face the decidedly un-rock challenges of fossil fuel dependency. On top of the global impact of driving 5,000 to 10,000 miles in a gas-guzzling tour van, there is the more immediate financial concern—especially considering […]
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She Said
It all started years ago at a dinner party, when my then roommate pointed out how much it bothers him when songs thoughtlessly employ the simple phrase “she said.” This sort of mighty pop-culture minutiae (thankfully) doesn’t exist at most dinner tables, but it’s just the sort of thrilling conversation that—mixed with food and a […]
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Awesomefest
Has the complete lack of awesome summer concerts been bringing you down? If so, that is terribly unfortunate, since between Sasquatch and PDX Pop Now, there have been plenty of opportunities to meet your all-day concert needs. Next in line is the second annual Awesomefest (Saturday, August 27), brought to you by local promoters www.kingbanana.net, […]
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Once More With Feeling
For the life of me, I can’t understand why indie/punk music is not our generation’s Vietnam. Let me explain: First, take every single band you’ve heard of and then triple it, and you might have an idea of how many small touring bands are out there. Then assume that 99 percent of these bands are […]
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Once More With Feeling
Tom Fest
As music festivals go, Tom Fest lands somewhere between Sasquatch and Lollapalooza–offering a slew of bands, an idyllic outdoor setting, and all the miscellaneous booths (rock climbing wall or “The Verizon Wireless broadband laptop tent”) one can fathom. The only difference is that Tom Fest (short for “The Other Music” Festival) is a “faith-based” festival–meaning […]
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Mix Tips
Face it indie rockers: You are going to die alone with nothing to keep you company but your obsessively assembled record collection. But before that day comes, it’s a good idea to share your music with some well-made mixes. While the mix tape will always be king, its days are all but numbered. Even the […]
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Love Vigilantes
It’s one thing to be in a cover band, but what is it like when the band you play tribute to is one of the least recognizable bands in modern pop music? The Love Vigilantes are a New Order tribute band, performing the timeless Brit-pop hits from a band whose members virtually no one could […]
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Clampitt, Gaddis & Buck
Much like hiphop, roots/country music is often written off when performed by artists who do not fit the general stereotype of the genre: whites from the suburbs shouldn’t rap, much like city-dwellers above the Mason-Dixon line shouldn’t bother with country. This in turn leads to the “I’m more real than you” pissing match, with MCs […]
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Once More With Feeling
Music Blog Roundup
It’s now a noun, a verb, and a general way of trying to forcefully add importance to the internet, which to be honest, is good for little more than pornography and email. But amidst all that, there is the music blog, which if anything, shows the raw talent of music writers in a free format […]
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Brandon Butler
Brandon Butler plays Tuesday June 28 at Berbati’s Pan. I first met Brandon Butler when I was 18 years old and emo as all fuck. On the lawn outside some rundown Southern California venue, Butler talked to me about being in a band, but in a way I’d never heard a musician speak for it […]
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S.T.R.E.E.T.S.
Skate punk has seen better days. From the watered-down influence of the Warped Tour to the mass marketing of punk and skating as little more than “brand lifestyles,” there are few bands that still stay true to the recklessness of old skate and thrash music. Then, of course, there is Canada’s S.T.R.E.E.T.S., a band whose […]