Shadows On Stars: Wednesday, July 4

No one looks like a badass in sweatpants.

Music Stories [POP WITH SWAGGER] Before meeting Brian Vincent and Randa Leigh of Portland’s Shadows on Stars, one imagines them as badasses with synthesizers who just don’t give a fuck. In photos and videos   More

 

Wednesday, July 4, 2012 EMILEE BOOHER

Primer: Dead Prez

Music Stories Formed: 1996 in New York City.  Sounds like: Malcolm X joining A Tribe Called Quest and getting guest production from RZA.  For fans of: A Tribe Called Quest, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Wu-Tang   More

 

Wednesday, July 4, 2012 NORA EILEEN JONES

Same As It Ever Was

OLCC rule changes have done little to help Portland’s underage music fans.

Music Stories Four years ago, there was hope that Portland’s midsized concert venues might start making room for kids. Music lovers were...   More

 

Wednesday, July 4, 2012 CASEY JARMAN

Finding God in the Game

Hip-hop A&R man turned preacher Cole Brown discusses the intersection of Jesus and Jay-Z with his book Lies Hip-Hop Told Me.

Music Stories Like many teens weaned on the MTV culture of the early ’90s, Cole Brown developed a love for hip-hop.
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Wednesday, June 27, 2012 SHANE DANAHER

Mike Scheidt: Friday, June 29

What scares the hell out of a doom-metal icon? Taking the stage solo with an acoustic guitar.

Music Stories [SINGER-SONGWRITER] Mike Scheidt looks glassy-eyed and a little wobbly, desperate for his first coffee of the day, as he searches for a seat at the downtown Stumptown. Twelve hours ago, he stepp   More

 

Wednesday, June 27, 2012 ROBERT HAM

Sophomore Bump

Closer electronic music fest returns for a second year, humble as ever.

Music Stories  Jack Coleman knows that “Portland” and “electronic music” aren’t exactly synonymous for most people. Like many fringe music makers, Coleman—who has produced techno and house musi   More

 

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 CASEY JARMAN

Get The Blessing: Tuesday, June 26

Bristol, England, is more than just Portishead. That said, a dude from Portishead is in this band.

Music Stories [FUNKY DARK JAZZ] In 2010, the Performing Right Society for Music in the U.K. proclaimed Bristol the most musical town in England. Its sole criterion was the number of musicians born and raised    More

 

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 ROBERT HAM

Primer: The Men

Music Stories Formed: 2008 in New York City.  Sounds like: Our Band Could Be Your Life come to life, standing on a Brooklyn street corner circa 2012 and wondering aloud why everything is so goddamned quie   More

 

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 MATTHEW SINGER

Gates to the City

After years of wandering, Rebecca Gates returns to pop and Portland.

Music Stories “I was living in Rhode Island, at a friends’ house in the middle of the country. I was spending a lot of time at the ocean, in the morning and in the evening.” Rebecca Gates is explaining    More

 

Wednesday, June 13, 2012 MARK BAUMGARTEN

Mount Eerie: Tuesday, June 19

Phil Elverum tries to demystify his image while making the best music of his life.

Music Stories [COUNTRY DARKNESS] It is not unusual for a Mount Eerie show to be booked thusly: “A kid in a small town in Wisconsin or whatever will write and want me to come there,” the band’s sole static   More

 

Wednesday, June 13, 2012 CASEY JARMAN