Rererato is dead, long live Rererato! Sort of. The little all-ages
arts space that could, located at NE 42nd and Sumner, is under new
stewardship, still hosting concerts, and now called the Wail.
And for this, Chris Radcliffe, the building’s silver-tongued
owner and stalwart Portland arts patron, is my Local Music Hero of the
Year. If you see him, buy him a sandwich. Last spring, in the face of
bureaucratic contention that the space (which is also a residence) was
in violation of zoning code by hosting shows, Radcliffe miraculously
won over city officials with the righteous argument that Rererato was
not a commercial enterprise, but rather a community space for the
exchange of art and ideas à la a Parisian Belle Époque
salon.

Then, in the fall, when the two tenants who created and ran Rererato
decided to move on to other projects, Radcliffe met with prospective
renters to verify their commitment to curating music and art shows. How
cool is that? A landlord who demands that you have bands play on
their property! This wonderfully unkillable Rasputin of a venue made
its debut as the Wail this month with Calvin Johnson and Adrian Orange
playing the inaugural show. Come check the place out and see what makes
it so worth fighting for on Wednesday, March 4, when local instrumental
dance-prog trio What’s Up—about whom we’ll all be hearing
a lot more very soon—takes the stage. More info on this show and
the venue at myspace.com/thewailinportland.

And, in spite of the loss of all-ages venues Exit Only and Rock n
Roll Pizza in past months, there is more good news for Portland music
fans under 21. The freshly remodeled Mississippi Studios,
reopening on March 4 after a season of construction, has been
granted a Minor VI posting by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, and
thus cleared to host all-ages shows! The first youth-friendly event
will be a Sunday, March 8, matinee featuring the most collaborative
musical art ensemble this side of Chicago—the Portland Cello
Project. Expect to hear some extra pluck in the project’s playing
at this show; they’ll still be giddy from having just signed
to—get this—Kill Rock Stars, which will be putting out
their new album in June, featuring pieces recorded with labelmate
Thao Nguyen and below-the-radar Portlander Justin
Power.

Also likely still smilingly woozy from the fumes of the permanent
marker used to ink their fresh deal with Portland label Lucky
Madison is the elegantly shambolic folk troupe Ah Holly
Fam’ly, recently expanded to an octet. In a cosmic coincidence
hopefully suggestive of success to come, the Fam’ly originated in
Moscow, Idaho, the same border town that birthed rustic Madison alumni
Horse Feathers.

Meanwhile, Cravedog and CDForge—former collegial rivals
in the local compact disc-pressing biz—have joined forces and
merged staff under the name Cravedog, Inc. Let that be a
lesson in bipartisanship to you, Congress! The united, independently
owned company believes it can offer more competitive pricing and
expanded merchandise services with the restructuring.

Lastly, KZME—the still nascent nonprofit radio station
dedicated to local music—has named Carl Singmaster its program
director. Singmaster was previously the proprietor of a network of
independent record stores in North and South Carolina and a staple at
the area’s college station WUSC. Singmaster is currently one of the
owners of Belmont Station Beer Store and Biercafé.