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8. Grolixes
Sounds Like: The band you wished you had started in high school.
If the name “Grolixes” sounds…familiar, it might be because we featured them in last week’s Music section (“Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s Grolixes,” WW, April 8). That feature was assigned before the results of the BNB poll were tallied.
This remarkably tight, exuberant Portland combo teeters somewhere on the border between alt-rock and power pop. Named after grawlixes, the strings of random characters used to censor expletives in comic books (“&#@!!” for example), they like to make each other laugh onstage—and hang out offstage. (Right now, that means watching The Sopranos together after practice. Drummer John Holscher says you can tell when a band doesn’t hang out outside of practice or gigs. “We don’t do that; we love each other’s company.”)
The band formed at Forest Grove High School in 2019; after a few lineup changes between 2020 and 2023, they settled on the four-piece lineup they have now, which includes Holscher, lead singer and guitarist Jordan Di Nocenzo, bassist and singer Nia Personette, and guitarist and singer Calvin Whitney. After re-forming, they hit the ground running with a dynamic debut album and multiple other releases—including a new single, “Savior of the Screen,” due out May 26—as well as plenty of live shows, including upcoming gigs at Swan Dive and this year’s Best New Bands showcase on May 1.
When they spoke to WW in March, they said they felt as if they didn’t always fit in in a music scene dominated by folk and punk. But their peers in the music community are taking notice.
“I feel like we put on well for the city and the community,” Holscher said in response to the news that Grolixes had been voted one of Portland’s Best New Bands. “It’s cool to be included in this list of bands that all have different sounds and represent different parts of the city.”
