Yes, End Hits Newshound takes terrible photos. But he works for scraps--literally!
  • Yes, End Hits Newshound takes terrible photos. But he works for scraps—literally.
Lots of quick things to mention today, so let's get that news ticker rolling:

• REM's Peter Buck just finished recording his first solo album here in Portland, at Type Foundry Studio. It was recorded in five days with a team of locals (and at least one guest that will make REM fans happy), with Buck taking lead vocals for the first time. Rumors indicate that it will exhibit Buck's healthy affection for classic psychedelia. Some sources say that it will only be available on vinyl. Buck will premiere a few of these songs—and will be singing!—with the Minus 5 at the Rose Festival during their set on Friday, June 8. That goes down at Waterfront Park at 6 pm on the RoZone stage; the Parson Red Heads and Floater are also on the bill.

• King Louie's playing a special in-store tonight! King Louie One Man Band—that's King Louie performing solo, for you math whizzes out there—will be at Green Noise Records (3840 SE Gladstone) for a free, all-ages in-store performance from 7-8 pm. King Louie and his band the Missing Monuments will also perform tomorrow night (Thursday May 31) at East End.

• Brand-new band My Body are leaving Portland. The group—forged from the remnants of Doubledutch and Boy Gorilla—are relocating to Brooklyn, which we gather is some small town located near New Jersey? They're taking their arsenal of winsome, swooning synth pop with them. My Body will play their final hometown show at Holocene on Thursday, June 14, on a bill with How to Dress Well. We wish them the very best of luck. In the meantime, you can check out their addictive new tune "Baby Grail" (along with their previous two released tracks) on the band's website.

Pickathon's made some additions to the lineup for this year's festival: Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, Bombino, Todd Snider, Casey MacGill, and the Cactus Blossoms will all be out at Pendarvis Farm on August 3-5. They're taking the place of C.W. Stoneking and Vieux Farka Touré, both of whom will be unable to perform this year.

• A new, all ages music venue's in town! The intimate Back Door Theater, located in the back room of SE Hawthorne's Common Grounds Coffee House (4321 SE Hawthorne), is going to begin hosting all-ages shows. The booker, Jamie Alexander, has announced the venue's first official show—Phil Elverum's Mount Eerie (with Key Losers opening) will perform twice on Monday, June 18 (7 & 9 pm). Only 40 advance tickets will be on sale for each performance; they're on sale here. Alexander says more shows are on the way. However, it turns out that a show will take place there as soon as next week, on Wednesday, June 6 as part of an art opening for And And And drummer Bim Ditson. While the art will hang out front, in the Back Door Theater you can catch a stripped-down version of And And And, along with Support Force's Jonathan Magdaleno, plus a full-band set from Death Songs. That'll be free from 6-10 pm; Ditson's work will be up at Common Grounds until July 1.

• Lastly, Dig a Pony is hosting their first-ever record swap. It goes down Sunday, June 10, at 3-6 pm. It's free and open to all. The vendors include Clinton Street Records, Boom Wow Records, Beacon Sound, and Crossroads, and there'll be DJs on hand as well, spinning 15-minute sets: Cooky Parker, Rev. Shines, Cuica, Montel Spinoza, Mikie Lixx, Maxamillion Avalon, Katrina Martiani, Freaky Outy, and Gwhiskey. Happy hour prices will be in effect, and after the swap meet, they'll screen the 1978 film Rockers. Mark your calendars, and bring your records for swapping!

End Hits Newshound: Always sniffing something.