AWE: In addition to to occasional Mercury contributions and devoting his time to the Labor Movement, the Incredible Kid spins “funk, hip hop, soul, old-school R&B, indie, Latin, girl groups, electronic miscellanea, and whatever moves the crowd.” He’ll be toting selections from his enormous, eclectic roster to Satyricon this Tuesday, Oct 31. How did you […]
Julianne Shepherd
Posted inMovies & TV
Geeks on Parade
Good Grief Makes Good
THERE ARE MANY FLAWS with Portland filmmaker/producer/writer Andrew Dickson’s Good Grief–the plot development is slightly thin, the scenes aren’t 100% cohesive, a couple of the players should be banned from acting forever (Richard Meltzer –dear god!). But then that’s something you’d expect from a first feature film that took five years to make on a […]
Posted inMusic
Lo-Fi and Loving It
Your Path to Bedroom Recording Success
“LO-FI” RECORDS: albums often made in the confines of a musician’s living room, on a cassette mixing device called a “4-track.” The Pacific Northwest has been the cozy home to many of these so-called lo-fi recordings. My favorites include the cassette Let’s Pretend We’re Married by Six Cents and Natalie, and the flag-bearer and pinnacle […]
Posted inArt
Portraits from Mission High Yearbook 1942
Art Review
paintings by Christine Shields Reading Frenzy, through Oct 31 It must be difficult for artists who release comics to separate themselves from the perfect union of font and pictorials. Indeed, forming uniform letters that not only have a literal communicative meaning, but also augment a painting, is a skilled art form in itself. Christine Shields, […]
Posted inMusic
Wrecking Themselves for Art
Pinback Passes the Integrity Test
IF ANYTHING, Pinback minds their songwriting. Though they blend drum machines with piano, slippery vocals with guitars, and MIDI with cello, they’d never just jumble some currently-hip instruments, throw down some rackety tracks, and call it an album. They’re acclimated to true musicianship and certainly above indie posturing, with influences dipped in the all-over-the-map multiplicity […]
Posted inMusic
Something Wicked This Way Comes
NXNW: Sounds Like Business!!
NORTH BY NORTHWEST Music and New Media Conference (NXNW)–On one hand, it’s pretty cool; I like the idea of seeing bands from all over the country, and in some cases, the world, without leaving my own hometown. On the musicians’ end, it’s positive for them to play on such diverse rosters, and ultimately, it’s all […]
Posted inMusic
Club Review
1201 Club 1201 SW 12th, 225-1201 Confession: I had some preconceptions about the 1201. Since its transformation into a full-on hip-hop club where, legend has it, Biz Markie once graced his badass face, I thought it would be chock-full of attitude. That is why I am proud to announce I was totally wrong; it’s actually […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Charmed, I’m Sure
The Charm Bracelet Provides an Outlet for Local Filmmakers
WHEN I FIRST MET Brad Adkins, he handed me a flyer and wrote his number on it. It was a poorly punctuated, yellow, photocopied thing that said “the Charm Bracelet exposition of short films and videos portland oregon usa.” He wouldn’t tell me what the Charm Bracelet was, exactly; just that I should attend their […]
Posted inMusic
Pulse and Fever
Heart Beats Red Breaks Red Hearts
LIKE THE RED STUFF pumping through your arteries, Heart Beats Red makes music akin to an untouchable lifeblood; they’re a little poppy, ominous, tough, and sad, all at once. Most importantly, they’re true–vocalist/guitarist Tasha Christensen’s voice rises up in a way that’s challengingly honest, while guitarist Sarah Brown rings in at times to concur. Emily […]
Posted inMusic
Pat Kenneally of Sound Mind
Music Bio
OF SOUND MIND: Pat’s a bartender at the beloved, historic Jockey Club and plays in the band Third and Failing. He’s also a recording engineer at his own studio, Ground Score. Since moving here from Chicago in Oct ’99, he’s recorded Last of the Juanitas, Machine That Flashes, and Laurel Canyon, and has plans to […]
Posted inMusic
Lotus Cardroom & Cafe
Club Review
932 SW Third Ave, 227-6185 Because the Lotus has been around since the ’20s, it’s got a beautiful, ornately carved wooden bar with mirrors. The severed, mounted heads of unfortunate woodland animals add to that early 20th Century feel. The Card Room, located behind the main bar/restaurant, is where the actual dancing commences. It’s a […]
Posted inMusic
Heavy Rotation’s a Bitch
So Turn Your Dial to This CD
TURN ON THE RADIO to a random station in a hundred different cities, and you can nearly bet on hearing either the same five songs from 1964 (Format: Oldies) or the same five songs from 1992 (Format: Hard Rock) or the same five songs from 2000 (Format: Current Alternative Hits). Is it any wonder there’s […]