Scoop: In Memory of Gavin Soens

1. R.I.P. THEORY: Portland MC and producer Gavin “Theory” Soens died of cancer April 10. The 27-year-old was in his home, surrounded by friends and family. Soens is best known for his band, Hives Inquiry Squad, which made psychedelic hip-hop infused with dance/electronica. Soens—who had a leg amputated in early 2010—remained musically active throughout his fight with cancer, and unsentimental about the disease. “I promised myself I wouldn’t regress to religion,” Soens told WW in a 2010 profile. “Cancer is just something that happens to people.” In a letter to WW, Soens’ bandmate, Lucas Dix, explained their relationship. “The two of us have always been extremely competitive with each other,” he wrote. “Sometimes, it brought the best out of both of us. Sometimes, it was to our detriment. I can fully admit, though, that there was never really any competition, just me trying to chase the shine of a man that I saw as the guiding light through the tunnel.”

1. GOOGLE HOLE: First, Voodoo Doughnut owner Tres Shannon’s new venture, Portland P Palace, was felled by (zoning regulations related to) an earthquake. Now, Voodoo is resorting to Web coupon deals usually favored by failing businesses in need of a quick cash infusion. For $2, Google Offers will sell you a coupon for five doughnuts, one of which has a Google theme. “It’s really just a raised glazed doughnut with vanilla frosting and Google colors,” says an unexcited Voodooer.

1. PRÉSERVEZ L’ÉTRANGETÉ DE PORTLAND: The infatuation of serious newspapers with our moist city continues with a 2,100-word feature titled “Portland, the Home of Artists” in the April 13 edition of Le Monde. Pegged to the upcoming Keep Portland Weird festival in Paris, the story touches on the house show scene, the mysterious attraction of the city and our unbearable whiteness of being. “The homogeneity of this population probably favors a form of cultural expression, but [is] also the tragedy of the city,” laments screenwriter Jon Raymond in the article. It’s a fair portrait of the city, even though it overstates the number of food carts in town—700, rather than about 400.

1. LOTSA LEGOS: Portland artist Zachary Pollock needs $26,400 to buy Legos. He’s using the cash to replicate the first level of Super Mario Bros. pixel-for-brick. “No one that I am aware of has done a Lego mosaic on this scale before,” Pollock explains on his Kickstarter page. The final project will be 90 feet long—no word on where he’ll store it.

1. YOU’RE THE BEST AROUND: WW’s annual Best New Band showcase is Friday, May 11, at Mississippi Studios. While we can’t yet reveal the lineup—or any of the annual poll’s top 10 finalists—we can tell you the show will be free (yay!), 21+ (boo!) and very, very good.

WWeek 2015