Local Gossip, Live & Album Reviews

[March 1st, 2006]

^Blotter

PORTLAND'S PLACE FOR POP AND WALLOP.

It's been six months since the second annual PDX Pop Now! festival, which means it's time to stop dwelling on the glorious past and start looking into the mysterious future of the third annual PDX Pop Now! festival. Planning has yet to get into full gear, but organizers are beginning to take submissions for the 2006 festival compilation album, to be released sometime in late spring. Any Portland-area artist who wants to give it a shot (and it's well worth it considering the quality of and nationwide response to last year's comp), can see full submission guidelines at pdxpopnow.com >> The folks behind Bridgetown Breaks have completed their second volume of original tracks from Portland drummers, which they are offering up to you creative Portlanders to construct your own audio dynamite with. Artists include Kevin Robinson of Viva Voce , Paul Alcott of the Binary Dolls , Charles Neal of QuiVaH , Danny Seim of Menomena , Amanda Spring of Point Juncture, WA ; Mike McKinnon of Wet Confetti ; Sam Schauer of Modernstate , Drew Shoals of Fiction Junkies , and even beatbox wonder Fogatron . Check www.bridgetownbreaks.com for more info.

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^Ever We Fall We Are But Human (Hopeless Records)

For some, this is the best band in Portland. For crabby old farts, not so much.

Ever We Fall We Are But Human (Hopeless Records)

[EMO] Eighteen-year-old Heri from Canby posted a message on Ever We Fall's MySpace site that says, "hey you guys rock, i think your the only good portland band ive heard!"

It's the Heris of the world who get the Ever We Falls of the world their record deals and shows at CBGB's. Eager young consumers, Hopeless Records' target audience: Their parents drop them off out front of a show with $30 for a T-shirt and the new CD, We Are But Human.

When Heri gets the disc home, the opening track, "Youth Like Tigers," has him dancing around his room, mouthing his lyrical misinterpretations in front of a mirror and making his best emo-face. He just heard this song in concert, and it was awesome! There were no parents there! Girls were there! Girls have boobs!

Heri hears the line: "With the weight of the world on our shoulders/ We will push again and again/ We will grow up on our own terms/ Our life is all our own." He's pretty sure this band has been reading his journal.

I'm a jaded 25-year-old who hasn't really lost myself in music the way Heri does since I was 18. I would have loved this band at 18. It plays catchy, over-dramatic, new-emo. Highly derivative of Jimmy Eat World. C'mon, though, Jimmy Eat World? At least the members of Ever We Fall really seem to feel the angst they write about.

Ever We Fall might just be another racehorse to Hopeless Records, but to Heri they mean a lot. I would humbly advise them to not fuck that up ands as they tell us in song, to grow up on their own terms. CASEY JARMAN.

Ever We Fall celebrates the release of We Are But Human with Days Like These, Broken Glory and Elephant Pilot, Saturday, March 4 at Loveland. 7:30 pm. Cover. All ages.

^Scout Niblett Tuesday March 7

Double-click this interview with Portland's zaniest new musician.

[ALT-FOLK] After two questions, it was apparent that Portland's recent England-via-Oakland import Scout Niblett doesn't know a damn thing about her new city's music scene. Her programmed response to an admittedly stock question about her relationship to "our city's grunge history" also made it clear that she's not really interested in talking about music at all. (Though, in fairness, the question was valid: Her music has that quiet-to-explosively pissed-off thing down pat. And, again in fairness, she's damn good at it: guitar skills and a pretty-yet-angry voice.) It's clear she'd really rather get drunk and wrestle me than talk shop. Red-faced, I folded up my worthless sheet of brainy PDX-music theory questions and winged it. MICHAEL BYRNE.

WW: Welcome to Portland. I just read about how much you love your car. Portland hates cars.

Scout Niblett: Portland hates cars?

Pretty much.

'Cause everybody rides bikes, pretends they're couriers. Yeah, I've noticed that. Fuck that. No, fuck that. I love cars. I ain't gettin' no track bike here. Fuck bikes!

Fabulous. So, we have a problem. My nickname's Scout, too...

Well, I was thinking of trying to find another nickname for myself. I kinda like the name "Kit Kat." [Interviewer's note: Given Niblett's Brit accent, "kit kat" sounds a hell of a lot like "kitty cat."]

Works perfect. Reminds me of my roommate's cat, your music, I mean...all purry and shit one second, then the next I'm bloody as hell.

Well, I was talking about the chocolate bar. I'm into snacks.

You just really fucked me up, Scout Niblett.

I'm also thinking about "double-click."

What?

It's a new way of saying "check it out." You just say "double-click." Like Yanni right here [Niblett motions to her friend across the table]. You'd say, like, "Double-click on Yanni over there." [She laughs explosively, and Yanni looks embarrassed.] I'd like that name. Just like, "Yo, Double-Click what's going on." Yeah.

Is Portland going to mellow you out? We're mellow people.

No. Nothing can mellow me out.

OK, one more: I just saw you get out of your car—so what's with this giant glittery red helmet?

I wear it driving in the car.

Scout Niblett plays with Talkdemonic and LKN at Doug Fir. 9 pm. $8. 21+.