We Already Work Around The Clock.

  1. CALLING ALL GOONS: The hero of the TNT series Leverage is played by Timothy Hutton, but the Portland-based show still needs its tough guys and hard cases. That’s why local company Lana Veenker Casting held an info session this week for potential actors to play cops, bouncers and thugs. The ldquo;Leverage Thug Informational Meeting” was held in University of Oregon’s White Stag building on Tuesday. “I look at all these strong guys who have lost their manufacturing or construction jobs,” Veenker says, “and think, ‘If we could just teach them how to say a line or two, and maybe how to do an easy fight scene, they could probably audition for the show.’” The free tickets for the event sold out.
  2. FIELD TRIP: Third Angle New Music Ensemble performed a sizzling concert last year of music by contemporary Chinese composers and released a CD of one of them, Chen Yi. Now, Third Angle has been invited to perform music by Chinese and Portland composers in May at the prestigious Beijing Modern Music Festival, becoming one of only nine ensembles worldwide so honored. The group—entering its 24th season—is trying to raise funds needed to accept this rare opportunity for cultural and musical exchange.
  3. EVERYTHING’S BETTER WITH BEER: The following businesses applied for liquor licenses in the past two weeks: Tan Body Yerkovich’s tanning parlor and coffee shop; Discount World, a seller of closeout electronics, clothes and knives; and the Olalla Valley Golf Course, near Newport.
  4. FAMILY VACATION: Two-thirds of folk jam-band Akron/Family—guitarist Seth Olinsky and drummer Dana Janssen—has relocated to Portland from New York for an extended stay. The pair is writing material for a follow-up to 2009’s Set ’Em Wild, Set ’Em Free. Akron/Family plays its first show as residents on Saturday, Jan. 23, at Holocene for free—courtesy of this summer’s Portland Folk Festival. Do you like a good anagram? A look at the lineup for the Wednesday, Jan. 20, show at Mississippi Studios reveals an unknown band called Pie Ghosts, which actually works out to be “The Gossip” when you unscramble it. Tix are only $5....
  1. STAR MOLARS: What does A-list dentistry look like? Search no further than Dr. Raymond Frye’s luxe Pearl District tooth den Bling Dental. The smile doc and his services were featured at Sunday’s Golden Globes’ official award gift lounge, and the company will pop up at the Grammys later this month, too. The Bling Grammy goody bag includes the doc’s “Icing 30 Carats Teeth Whitening kit” and a “boarding pass” celebs can trade in for $20,000 worth of cosmetic dental services from Frye—plus airfare and a hotel bed in PDX. What’s the Bling difference? “I believe we’re one of the first dentist practices to have built-in massage chairs,” says Frye, whose services range from family dentistry to pricey cosmetic procedures. He refused to name any local celeb clients (“published authors, at least one Emmy nominee and retired professional athletes”) by name, but Bling does have a back-door entrance for “anonymity’s sake.”

WWeek 2015

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