CD Release Parties
March 1, 9:00 Lola's Room at the Crystal Ballroom
March 4, 7:00 Meow Meow(all ages)

Various Artists
The Portland Mercury presents a Compact Disc of Sound (Loaded-for-Bear Publishing) available at local record stores, or www.portlandmercury.com

Who knew that releasing a CD would be so much like giving birth. After months of recording (with studio guy/midwife Pat Kenneally of Ground Score Studios) and trying to keep it a secret from our parents ("Yeah mom, I'm just getting fat"), The Portland Mercury is proud to announce the arrival of our first baby, the Compact Disc of Sound, featuring 16 Portland bands we love. But unlike most newborn babies, this compact disc is an assload of fun! Furthermore, we'd like for each and every one of you to help us celebrate this blessed occasion with two parties! The party begins Thursday, March 1 at Lola's Room in the Crystal Ballroom (with Last of the Juanitas, The Prids, Heart Beats Red, Pan Tourismos, and Dino), and continues Sunday, March 4 at Meow Meow (with Made for TV Movie, 31 Knots, The Intima, The Operacycle, and Steve Kramp). Even better, these shows are absolutely FREE, and unlike most baby showers, you don't have to bring a gift (or pretend you think the kid is cute)!

So why'd we want to release a CD, if it meant twice the workload that we usually have, and three times the gestation period? Well, we just wanted a good CD to listen to around the office. Also:

We are passionately in love with Portland bands, and wanted everyone to have the opportunity to sample the bands we've been writing about. And if you like what you hear, you should check out the bands' live shows and buy their full-length albums, cause they're all really impressive!

The concept that started local-centric national record labels like Dischord and Touch and Go (plus Portland labels like Jealous Butcher and Hush) factored in as well. It's the idea that our scene is important, should be documented, and everyone on earth should be able to hear the great music that comes from our city.

So many bands sweetly donated their songs, the majority of them currently unavailable anywhere else. We already knew these bands were fantastic live acts when we asked them to contribute. But when they presented us with the songs they chose for the compilation, every single one of them exceeded our expectations. In fact, it's so good, we actually peed our panties. There's something for everyone; not only for the discriminating music connoisseur, but also those who, like Cyndi Lauper, just wanna have fun. For instance, Made for TV Movie included "Ships," one of the best songs they play live. It's the sound of intense desperation, interpreted by their assaulting drums, crackling guitars, and Dan DeVriend's heart-gripping vocals. Last of the Juanitas combined their tight, astute heavy rock with Mikey C. (vocalist for Portland party punkers The Bugs) on "Big-Eyed Space Girl." It's an awesome, balls-out song that's perfect for causing mayhem (and, energy-wise, it reminds me a little of my favorite song on Kill Rock Stars' Rock Stars Kill comp: "Horse Girl" by Tourettes). Portland's best situationist prog rockers The Planet The give us "Bohimba," a devious, crisp, and very, very, very trippy romp into the fuzzy land between humor and creepiness.

If you feel like chillin' on the couch with your honey, there's some sweet and hot lovin' music, too. But ladies, watch out--once your man gets to hear The Places' song ("Ships at Sea"), he may get a mind to leave you for vocalist Amy Annelle, who brings to mind a delicate siren or mermaid. More cuddling can occur with the clarinets and spacious concentration of The Swords Project's "a case study in pathetics," or the perfect kissing groove of The Operacycle's "Thankful." And while you're at it, check out more mind-blowing tracks from The Prids, 31 Knots, Pan Tourismos, Dino, Urban Legends, The Intima, Holy Sons, Laurel Canyon, Heart Beats Red, and Steve Kramp (or check 'em out at our FREE CD Release Parties)!

We think it's a good cross-section of the amazing shit that goes down live virtually every night in this town. And since a lot of people can't afford to go out to clubs all the time, think of it as a little cheapy (only seven bucks at the CD release shows) convenience mart of Portland music. AND you can feel good about purchasing it, because after recovering the cost for printing the CD, we're going to give excess dough to local charities picked by the bands.

When we started this project, we had a list of about 33 bands to include on the CD, and could only use about half due to space constraints (but there's always next year!). Therefore, the CDoS is only a sampling of what Portland has to offer. Anytime you see bands like Boycrazy, Rollerball, Supersprite, So Sadly Fucked, Cosmos Group, Dear Nora, Emergency, The Disappearer, Mome Raths, or Wow & Flutter playing, definitely attend their shows, without a doubt. And explore for yourself, if you can! For instance, Satyricon has a free weekly New Band Night, and Beulahland has a long tradition of free weekend shows, where bands like 31 Knots and The Planet The used to frequent. There's just so much out there; a surprising amount of it's amazing, and deserves to be recognized.