How far does the long arm of Portland’s music scene reach? All the way to trendy, gross Silverlake, as I saw last week on tour. Loading in at Zen Sushi and damn bummed at having to play Los Angeles, I came across a big, fat “minmae” tagged in red spray paint on the otherwise blank greenroom wall. And this was the same all-lowercase, hand-scrawled font you see on the band’s shirts and record covers—undeniably straight from Minmaeic hands. Made me all rosy inside. Graffiti rulz!
Speaking of ruling, Acme’s been throwing kickass movie screenings lately. Last week I caught the epic, heartbreaking, powerhouse, maw-smasher Rocky IV during God I Miss the Cold War night, and this Tuesday they’ve got a buncha independent films and videos under the theme of “Work.” Oh, they’ve also booked a ton of great shows in the coming weeks. Go to www.acme-pdx.com.
More shows: Just so you can early bird this one, New York bass-punk duo Mommy and Daddy are playing Towne Lounge on December 4 in support of their killer Duel at Dawn CD. Says bassist/singer Vivian Sarratt, “Edmond and I get total donut boners for Voodoo Doughnut.”
On Saturday Drats!!! leader Jeffrey Couch is playing solo at the Mississippi Pizza Pub. Jeffrey explains his solo stuff saying, “When a solo performer comes to the stage with an acoustic guitar, the music is almost always unoriginal crap. I use electric bass. My songs are weird, and I draw inspiration from the band Love and the films of John Cassavetes—because they always took chances.” Also, don’t miss psych-folk godfather Donovan at Aladdin on Friday.
There’s a new PDF-only e-zine out called Portland Culture Reviews + News. According to the kids in charge, “Our ‘zine is basically the most awesome and truest news in Portland. We review anything we want including bands, places, and Mercury staff hairstyles… Issue two will feature an interview with Michael Stipe about his favorite Portland-centered movies. Also Gus Van Sant has offered us $200 to not write about his new movie. That’s fine, we need the money.” Email pdxcultzine@gmail.com to get a copy.
Send local music news and $200 to: adam@portlandmercury.com