A LANDMARK MASH-UP OF MUSIC & ART

[June 15th, 2005] BREAK UP: As if local arts-group head Bryan Suereth needed any more bad press. In recent weeks, The Oregonian called the Disjecta executive director "mulish" and "unprofessional," while the NWDrizzle website labeled him a "bull in a china shop." Now comes word that Disjecta visual-arts director Paul Middendorf , No. 2 in command, has submitted his resignation in the midst of a series of events designed to lure potential financial supporters. Middendorf refused to comment on his reasons for leaving; however, his relationship with the sometimes prickly Suereth is rumored to have gone south recently.

LIT UP: Last month Portland General Electro -known as P.G.E. to the growing coterie of fans who shake it to the duo's electronic music-was in talks with the other PGE -you know, the company that sends you bills. But it wasn't because the utility wanted its name back. Rather, PGE hired P.G.E. to play a couple of company functions, because managers apparently have a sense of humor-and besides, the utility doesn't have a copyright on the trio of letters.

LANDMARKED: Prior to Saturday night's ho-humish 10th birthday party for the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art , Friday night's patron party-a kickoff to the arts organization's Landmark exhibit (see Visual Arts, page 61)-included an impromptu striptease by Aussie performance artist/evening emcee, Meow Meow . Straddling sod-covered supper tables, she got an ass-ist from the likes of Portland architect Michael Czysz and gallery owner Mark Woolley .

LADIES' NIGHT: Former Portland film critic (Willamette Week, The Oregonian) Kim Morgan popped up last weekend on the American Movie Channel (AMC) as a guest reviewer. Lucky, the national shopping bible, has hired freelancer Karen Vitt (whose byline has appeared in the O and WW) to report on P-town fashion news, events and sales. And next week local rocker, Just Out editor and do-it-yourselfer Sarah Dougher will launch her latest CD, Harper's Arrow, a song cycle based on Homer's Odyssey, on her own Cherchez La Femme label.

ROCKIN' THE VOTE: In the first six days of voting last week, PDX Pop Now! organizers received more than 2,700 online ballots nominating Portland bands to play at the Aug. 5-7 festival. Some of the onslaught might be attributed to a glowing writeup of the festival at online indie-rock bible pitchforkmedia.com, but the number is impressive considering that just the first day's tally (610 votes) is more than the 600-fan capacity of the Loveland (320 SE 2nd Ave., 234-5683), where the event will be held. Voting continues through the end of the month at www.pdxpopnow.com/2005.

PIANO HEAD: Fans expected the tunes of Portland's Elliott Smith to live on, but who thought the departed indie rocker's classics would go classical? Smith's work has earned cover treatments from groundbreaking classical musician Christopher O'Riley. O'Riley, who hosts the weekly From the Top public-radio show (which plays at 7 pm Friday evenings on 89.9 KBPS-FM), has released two recordings of Radiohead songs and plans to release a disc of Smith songs next July.

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