Music Stories [UNDECIDED] You know those after-school specials that try to discourage kids from smoking weed? They usually depict a bunch of degenerates getting wasted in a party van (the kind with interior running ...   More

Music There have been some real winners when it comes to Band Name of the Week responses. But, let me tell you, last week's BNotW crownee, Portland's own electro-industrial outfit Digustitron, came back with one of my all-time faves. It started with an em...   More

Music Zach Boyle first came to my attention as the guy responsible for Super XX Man's fluid, meandering guitar parts; in fact, there are certain Super XX Man tracks on which Boyle's guitar uncannily mimics the sound of a bubbling brook or effervescing soda, adding a dreamy twist to the band's earnest...   More

Music p>When Joanna Bolme calls herself an “old-school Portlander,” she ain’t kiddin’. A member of Sean Croghan’s now-defunct, cultishly lauded pop-punk outfit Jr. High and current member of both Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks and Quasi, Bolme, 39, has proven hers...   More

Music When Joanna Bolme calls herself an “old-school Portlander,” she ain’t kiddin’. A member of Sean Croghan’s now-defunct, cultishly lauded pop-punk outfit Jr. High and current member of both Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks and Quasi, Bolme, 39, has proven herself a...   More

Music Stories When Joanna Bolme calls herself an “old-school Portlander,” she ain’t kiddin’. A member of Sean Croghan’s now-defunct, cultishly lauded pop-punk outfit Jr. High and curre ...   More

Music At long last, Band Name of the Week returns! My sincere apologies for the few-week hiatus (you missed our little BNotW column, didn't you? Well, at least "Don," of recent comments fame missed it). So, without further adieu, the rumored-to-have-AC/DC connections Busin...   More

Music About a week ago, I wrote a kinda playful review of Caves' new record, Get On With It, that compared the local glam-prog outfit to the Killers—and then made a bunch of caveats about how Caves is actually more eclec...   More

Music Halloween used to be so simple. As a kid, my mother transformed me into plenty of things that filled me with joy: a strawberry, a ladybug, an angel with devil horns and a barbed tail. She had a knack for costume making (my brother’s Venkman costume featured a damn-near-exact replica proton pack), and as lon...   More

Music Portland's Mighty Ghosts of Heaven has a pretty darn eclectic sound for a generally old-time band, but one thing that remains constant throughout the sextet's sound is strings galore. From mountain dulcimer and tenor banjo to baritone and soprano ukulele and something called a banjolele (plus more usual suspects ...   More