Ballot Breakdown
How Portland’s Top 10 Best New Bands were chosen.

Below is the Best New Band Poll Ballot letter for 2007. This letter was sent out to over 200 local music experts. One hundred and seventeen replied to the ballot. Those individual ballots (including anonymous votes) are listed below the letter. If you feel like you should be included in next year’s poll, please email bestnewband at wweek dot com and tell us why. —Amy McCullough

Subject: Willamette Week’s Best New Band Poll!

Dear Esteemed Member of the Portland Music Community,

Congratulations! You have been selected by our diligent team of local music scientists to take part in Willamette Week’s Best New Band Poll 2007, where the Portland music community looks back over the last year and deigns one band, solo artist or DJ the greatest new talent in town.

Last year’s winner was Copy, who—like this year’s winner soon will—appeared on the cover of Willamette Week’s Best New Band issue. Copy went on to play to a packed house at Berbati’s Pan for WW’s Best New Band Showcase before conquering the world. Not quite, but he’s on his way. With all the great talent that has popped up this past year, it’s hard to say who will become Portland’s Best New Band 2007, but we would like you to help us figure that out.

Participation is easy. All you need to do is send us a list of the top 5 acts you’ve discovered this year—again you can vote for any music-making entity, be it a band, a solo performer, a DJ or an emcee. You can rank them one through five, or give no rankings, if you’re the indecisive sort. If you can’t think of five new acts that have made an impact on you in the last year, then just send us however many you like, whether it’s four, three, or just one. It could also be two.

When all the ballots have been collected, we will assign points for each band you voted for based on how you ranked them (No. 1 = 5 pts., No. 2 = 4 pts., No. 3 = 3 pts., etc.). If you don’t rank your votes by numbering each band, the points will be divided and distributed equally. We will then add up the points from all the ballots and come up with a top 10, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Willamette Week. The number one band will appear on the cover of the paper and will headline WW’s free Best New Band showcase.

You can vote for any band you like, as long as it is not a band you play in (you can vote for bands you work with—as long as you’re voting as a FAN and not a profiteer). But we ask that you refrain from voting for the following bands that have already appeared on the 2004, 200, or 2006 Best New Band top 10 list:

Alan Singley and Pants Machine
Blitzen Trapper
Climber
Clorox Girls
Copy
Derby
DJ Beyonda
Dolorean
The Kingdom
Lifesavas
Lion Fever
Menomena
The Minds
The Nice Boys
Norfolk & Western
Paint By Numbers
Please Step Out of the Vehicle
Point Juncture, WA
The Ready
Siren’s Echo
The Snuggle Ups
Swan Island
Talkdemonic
The Thermals
Tractor Operator
Viva Voce
Wet Confetti
White Rainbow

Please email your list to bestnewband@wweek.com, along with your full name and role in the music community, by Wednesday, March 28, 2007—IF YOU DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND TITLE IN YOUR REPLY EMAIL YOUR VOTES WILL NOT BE COUNTED. Your votes will be published online, but if you would like your votes to remain anonymous, we can do that too. Just let us know. Also, if you received this email at more than one email address (as many of you may have), please only respond once, with one set of votes.

Thanks so much!

Amy McCullough
Music Editor
Willamette Week

Individual ballots:

James Squeaky, Below PDX Recordings, freelance music writer, performs as Argumentix, member of Alarmist
1. Dragging an Ox through Water
2. Honed Bastion
3. The Better to See You With
4. DRUGS
5. Shitty Vibe Smasher

Adam Selzer, Type Foundry Recording Studio, member of Norfolk & Western
1. John Weinland
2. Loch Lomond
3. Laura Gibson
4. Horse Feathers
5. Musee Mechanique

John Barrios, founder of Love Harder record label, member of Curious Hands
Bugs of Lightning
Benjamin Franklin Freeman
Yoyodyne
Hey Lover
Rex Hamilton

Angelo De Ieso II, founder of PDX Pop Tomorrow
1. Simpl
2. Jared Mees
3. Chores
4. a weather
5. Qwong

Arya Imig, KPSU DJ
1. The Revisions
2. The Bustling Townships
3. The Estranged
4. Hurah Hurah
5. Michele Wylen

Anthony Lusk, booking/promotions for Ground Kontrol
1. Danava
2. Dark Black
3. Portals
4. Paper Brain
5. The Days

Anthony McNamer (formerly Davis), music lawyer and owner of Expunged Records.
1. Sexton Blake
2. The Blow
3. Telephone
4. Daytime Volume
5. The Antecedants

Noah Marmalefsky, proprietor of the Waffle Horse
1. Silver Crème
2. Me Con
3. Dragging an Ox through
4. Tecumseh
5. Iraqasaurus

Kenton McDonald, owner and operator of Suburban Waste Records
1. Red Dons
2. 2. The Revisions
3. Thought Patterns
4. The Estranged
5. Jumanji

Kaytea McIntosh, XO Publicity
1. jon garcia
2. soda pop kids
3. the greater midwest
4. the caves
5. the smokes

Chad Crouch, owner of Hush Records
1. Dat’r
2. Laura Gibson
3. Alela Diane
4. Horsefeathers
3. Small Sails

Michael Ackerman, manager/booker at the Fez Ballroom
1. Copacrescent
2. The Aught Threes
3. Strength
4. Gregory Miles Harris
2. Michael Rockstar

Trevor Solomon, MusicfestNW Director
Shaky Hands
Red Fang
Builders and Butchers
Riddenpaa
Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble

Joan Hiller, Sub Pop Records
Adam Gnade & the Confederate Yankees

Bart Blasengame, freelance journalist (Details, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly)
1. The Shaky Hands
2. John Weiland
3. Oh
4. Horse Feathers

Barbara Mitchell, music writer (Harp, Portland Tribune)
laura gibson
horsefeathers
john weinland
cabinessence
oh darling

Bradley Campbell, assistant editor or WW’s Finder
1. The Shaky Hands
2. Laura Gibson
3. Small Sails
4. Horse Feathers

Devan Cook, writer for Willamette Week/LocalCut.com
1. Alela Diane
2. Shaky Hands
3. Bright Red Paper
4. Fourever Young
5. Horse Feathers

Fasil Debeb, Holden Development manager
1. Helio Sequence
2. Antlerand
3. Thanksgiving
4. Alela Diane
5. The Quags

Noah Mickens, booker for Rotture, involved with 2Gyrlz, Societas Insomnia, Batty’s Hippodrome, Radon, Nequaquam Vacuum, 36 Invisibles, et. al.
1. Ilias Malorium
2. Childhood Friends
3. Zdrastvootie
4. Iretsu
3. Magick Daggers

Todd Fadel, former booker for Meow Meow, member of the Beauty
Strength
Shredosaurus Rex
Masters of the Tuniverse
Bryan Free and the Doxyhaunts
Eric Anarchy

Chris Scofield, label manager, Nail Distribution, owner of
Strange Attractors Audio House
1. Plants
2. Alela Diane
3. Grails
4. Evolutionary Jass Band

Corey duBrowa, music critic (Oregonian, Magnet, Paste, Seattle Weekly)
1. Alela Diane
2. Stars of Track and Field
3. Get Hustle
4. Shaky Hands
5. Roaring Lions

Lisa Lepine, promotion queen (Bite of Oregon)
1 Holcombe Waller’s Patti Hearts Townes
project
2 The Ahs
3 Drunken Prayer
4 Cellotronic
5 Oh Darling

Honey Owens, co-runs Yarnlazer records; member of Jackie-O Motherfucker, Nudge and Dark Yoga
white fang
privacy
world court
ocean beach
rob walmart

Steve Schroeder, boss, States Rights Records
1. White Fang
2. The World Court
3. Flaspar
4. Privacy
5. Faerie Talk

Claire Oliver, radio DJ
1. DJ Linoleum
2. DJ Girlfriends
3. Reverse Dotty and the Candy Cane Shivs
4. Junkface
5. Gay Deceivers

Danny Seim, member of Menomena (2004’s Best New Band)
1. Dat’r
2. Corrina Repp
3. 31Knots
4. Horsefeathers
5. Binary Dolls

Jake Rose, freelance writer (Perfomer, Local Cut), performs with Childhood Friends and as DJ Glower
1. The Pink Snowflakes
2. An Evening With Dot Matrix
3. Mortal Clay
4. The Dead Air Fresheners
5. Fade 13

Tyler Riggs, Bloody Hummus Haus booker/agent/promoter, Love Harder records partner; member of Curious Hands, Jesus Burger, Die Kapitalist Pig, Snikative
Hey Lover
The Bugs of Lightning
Benjamin Franklin Freeman
Pink Snowflakes
Rex Hamilton

Hannah Carlen, radio promoter and all-around helperouter
1. Horse Feathers
2. Alela Diane
3. Shaky Hands
4. Finger Bang City
5. Ohmega Watts

Eric Johnson, supervisor/broadcast production, Wieden + Kennedy
1. Panther
2. Nice Nice
3. Thanksgiving
4. Small Sails
4. Laura Gibson

Curtis Knapp, Marriage Records founder, member of the Watery Graves
1. Privacy
2. Valet
3. Rob Walmart
4. White Fang
5. Atole

Ken Cheppaikode, runs Dirtnap Records
Absolute Rulers
Pure Country Gold
Revisions
Super Destroyers
Sleepwalkers RIP

Sarah Mayfield, a little of everything for Double Tee Concerts/Roseland Theater
valet
the sun the sea
black elk
highway bob
the upsidedown

Caroline Julia Buchalter, booker for Mississippi Studios
1) Horse Feathers
2) Shaky Hands
3) Loch Lomond
4) The New Bloods
5) John Weinland

Zach Danko, editor of The Defector, free monthly
pdx-diy-anarchist punk rock magazine.
1. Warcorpse
2. Deterrorformed
3. Massive Meat Split
4. Squalora
5. Order of the Vulture

Brian Riehle, Portland Radio Authority
1. Horsefeathers
2. Laura Gibson
3. ……worms
4. Per Se
5. The Shaky Hands

Rebecca Green, YourStory, LLC Personalized Event Planning & Promotions
Quality Name Brand
The Hamsprinters
The Dopeness
Will Bradley
Heroes & Villains

Art Santana, booker for Ground Kontrol
1. Thought Patterns
2. The Revisions
3. Montauk
4. Sleepwalkers RIP
5. Flip-Tops

Jeff Bell, runs superhappywax.com
1. Sandpeople
2. Oh
3. Gwizski
4. Clockwerk (Gold & iAMe)
5. Cleveland Steamers (Mic Crenshaw & Gen Erik)

Randy Bemrose, member of Junkface, Dagger of the Mind, Swim Swam Swum; Green House booker
1. LKN
2. The Maybe Happening
3. Starfucker
4. The Shaky Hands
5. Dat’r

Kevin Darouian, 333: Poster Artist; creative director, Children of the Revolution
Magic Daggers
Death Songs
Yellow Swans
Reverse Dotty

Ben Sanabria, events management for Holocene
1. The Shaky Hands
2. Horse Feathers
3. Alela Diane
4. Whip
5. Leti Angel

Joe Dixon, founder of Shake Appeal Records, freelance writer
1. The Shaky Hands
2. Pure Country Gold

Nathan Carson, Nanotear Booking, DJ Nate C.
1. Buried Blood
2. Rabbits
3. Magick Daggers
4. Dark Black
5. Mood Ring

Fatboy Roberts, co-host, “Cort and Fatboy,” nights on 101.1 KUFO
Drats!!!
My Life in Black and White
Auralust
Attack Ships on Fire
Freemartins

Brent Bell, PDX Pop Now! board member and communications committee head
1. Horse Feathers
2. Alela Diane
3. Panther
4. The Shaky Hands
5. Small Sails

Rob Simonsen, project manager at CDForge
1. Laura Gibson
2. Horse Feathers
3. Shaky Hands
4. Dat’r
5. Strength

Kevin O’Connor, Lucky Madison records co-owner, member of Talkdemonic (2005’s Best New Band)
1. Horse Feathers
2. Laura Gibson
3. Danava
4. Team Evil
5. The Shaky Hands

Jeromy Cilley, Western regional account manager for
Nail Distribution
1. Alela Diane
2. Horse Feathers
3. Laura Gibson
4. Plants
5. We’re From Japan

Michael Luketan, general DIY’er/content creator/country singer
1. Old time Relijun
2. The Builders and the Butchers
3. DJ Ghostdad
4. Dickel Brothers
5. Lactacious

Jaime Cooley, assistant program director at 94.7 FM KNRK
The Mediam
Caves
The Gingerbread Patriots
Black Heart White Noise
The Young Immortals

Gus Elg, Portland Radio Authority co-founder, Sky Onion recording studio, member of Alan Singley & Pants Machine, also performs as Wilding.
Horse Feathers
Quiet Countires
DJ Tan’t
Alela Diane
Modernstate

Jessica Gachupin, Double Tee Concerts/Roseland Theater
Siren’s Echo
Climber

Ian Heath, marketing for Aladdin Theater
1. Horse Feathers
2. Laura Veirs
3. Team Evil

Scott Mclean, runs Holocene Music
1. The Shaky Hands
2. Alela Diane
3: Horse Feathers
4. Dat’r
5. Musee Mecanique

Matt Slessler, Pabst Blue Ribbon.
1. Pure Country Gold
2. The Ones
3. Kieskagato
4. Miraflores
5. Oh! Captain

Marcus Estes, director, Tables Turned
1. Hey Lover
2. Parenthetical Girls
3. Riddenpaa
4. The Bugs
5. Panther

Eric Mast, runs Audio Dregs, performs as E*Rock
1. The Shaky Hands
2. Dat’r
3. Ghosting

Sean Croghan, artist relations for CD Baby, musician
1…..worms
2. Mustaphamond
3. the Nodding Tree Melodys
4. the Sort Ofs
5. the Blow

Becky Ohlsen, freelance writer (Willamette Week, Lonely Planet, LocalCut.com)
1. LKN
2. Vagina Tsunami
3. Dagger of the Mind
4. Defect Defect
5. The Night Slaves

Dave Allen, runs ampelmoose.com
1. Boy Eats Drum Machine
2. A Weather
3. The Shaky Hands
4. Faux Hoax

Jen Lane, runs BarFly magazine/barflymag.com
1. Finger Bang City
2. Little Darlings
3. Divining Rods
4. Fists of Dishonor
5. The Buttery Lords

Mark Baumgarten, former WW music editor
1. Laura Gibson
2. Horse Feathers
3. Shaky Hands
4. Mbilly
5. Alela Diane

Rachel Demy, tour manager
Alela Diane
Laura Gibson
YACHT
Small Sails

Adam Forkner, co-runs Yarnlazer Records, performs as White Rainbow
1. white fang
2. privacy
3. valet
4. rob walmart
5. tunnels

Conrad Loebl, Mike Thrasher Presents
1. Horsefeathers
2. The Mediam
3. Sandpeople
4. Fleshtone
5. The Blow

Brandon Seifert, freelance writer (Willamette Week, LocalCut.com)
1. MarchFourth Marching Band
2. The Builders and the Butchers
3. Fist of Dishonor
4. The Blow
5. The Robot Ate Me

Dante’s Booking
Power of County
Finger Bang City
Darlins
Titans of Oblivion
The Ones

PJ Portlock a.k.a. Pluto, producer and owner, Bridgetown Breaks Records
1. Smoke
2. DJ Tan’t
3. Dat’r
4. Debaser (Sandpeople)
6. “The Fix” DJs (Rev. Shines, DJ Kez, Ohmega Watts)

Alicia J. Rose, Doug Fir booker, photographer
1. Small Sails
2. Ohmega Watts/Lightheaded
3. The Prids
4. March Fourth Marching Band
5. Horsefeathers

Hank Failing, owner, Failing Records
LKN
Dykeritz
Treva Jackson
Michele Wylen
Show Me the Pink

Jason Simms, writer for Willamette Week/LocalCut.com
1. LKN
all others in no particular order:
Junkface
New Bloods
Black Elk
Menacer

Megan Holmes, booker for Holocene, photographer
Gay Deceivers
New Bloods

Ryan Feigh, president of Lucky Madison records, member of Dykeritz member, Portland Radio Authority DJ
1. Horse Feathers
2. Nick Jaina
3. Dat’r
4. DJ Tan’t
5. Dramady

Beren Ekine-Huett, Failing Records, member of the Shotgun
1. LKN
2. New Bloods
3. The Ramjac
4. Junkface
5. Hey Lover

Casey Jarman, assistant music editor, Willamette Week
1. Ohmega Watts
2. Dragging An Ox through Water
3. Smoke
4. Shaky Hands
5. Sandpeople

Jordon Barron, Music Millennium buyer, member of the Wires
1. Pure Country Gold
2. El Cerdo
3. Howie and the Hotknives
4. The Whips and the Whales
5. Phantom Lights

Joey Gantner, runs Pink Teeth Records; has worked with
Marriage, Slowdance and Greyday records
1. The Maybe Happening
2. Laura Gibson
3. Portals
4. Junkface
5. Red Fang

Colin Grigson, booker, member of Plan R
1. Sleepwalkers RIP
2. The Estranged
3. Ethiopian Children
4. Dispossessed
5. Thought Patterns

Kurt Prutsman, bartender/door guy at Dunes, founder of
the Portland Cover Up! Compilation CD
1. Here Comes A BIG BLACK CLOUD!
2. New Bloods
3. Reptilian Civilian
4. Deer Or The Doe
5. Meth Teeth

Terry Currier, owner, Music Millenium
1. Stars Of Track & Field
2. Stolen Sweets
3. Boy Eats Drum Machine
2. Laura Gibson
1. Liv Warfield

John Motley, writer (Resonance, Oregonian, ex-Pitchfork)
1. Shaky Hands
2. Horse Feathers
3. YACHT
4. Panther

Laine Shipley, KLC loud rock music director, musician
1. El Cerdo
2. Menacer
3. Pure Country Gold
4. Tragedy
5. Skullsplitter

Amber Bua, K Records publicist
1. Panther
2. YACHT
3. The Blow

Christy Lutz, vice president, Marriage Records
1. Adrian Orange
2. Valet
3. YACHT
4. Privacy
5. Misadventures of Two

Steve Otis, hosts Lamp Lighters Motel open mic
1. Mark Twain Indians
2. Run On Sentence
3. Jon Itkin

Logan Anne Becker, DJ & Advertising Director, KLC RADIO
1. The Whips & the Whales
2. The Wires
3. The Shotgun

Jennifer Cox, booking/events, PDX Pop Now! board member
1. Alela Diane
2. The Shaky Hands
3. Laura Gibson
4. Starfucker

Laura Horley, KLC Radio local music director
The Wires
The Whips and the Whales
The Shotgun
The Minders

Cary Clarke, Portland Mercury
1. Evolutionary Jass Band
2. Parenthetical Girls
3. Dragging an Ox through Water
4. Horse Feathers
5. Alela Diane

Lindsey Collins artist and label relations for CD Baby
1. The Shaky Hands
2. Mustaphamond
3. …worms
4. Nodding Tree Remedies
6. Danava

Em Brownlowe, We Built This festival organizer, member of Swallows, solo artist
Autopilot
The Headliners
Morgan Grace
Hey Lover
LKN

Aaron Hall, Blackbird Presents
1. The Builders and the Butchers
2. Shaky Hands
3. Dramady
4. Ohmega Watts
5. Atole

Tim Germer, Northwest Noise
1. Debaser
2. Stars of Track and Field
3. The Dimes
4. The Blow
5. Dat’r

Kelly & Tony Coller, Office PDX
1. Eux Autres
2. The Blow

Kelly Clarke, arts and culture editor, Willamette Week
1. The Morals
2. The Shaky Hands

Amy McCullough, music editor, Willamette Week
1. Shaky Hands
2. Laura Gibson
3. the Blow
4. the Crosswalks
5. Jared Mees

Connie Wohn (Lady Connie), Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, Stylus503
1. The Fix: DJ crew consisting of Ohmega Watts, DJ Kez, & Rev. Shines of the Lifesavas
2. Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble
3. DJ Anjali & The Incredible Kid
4. Riddenpaa
5. Blubird

Whitey McConnaughy, music video/commercial director
Science of Yabra
The Axe.

Michael Byrne, writer for Willamette Week/LocalCut.com
1. Valet
2. Oh
3. Atole
4. Parenthetical Girls
5. Dat’r

Anika Sabin, freelance writer (the Umbrella, LocalCut.com, Willamette Week), promotions director & DJ at KLC Radio
1. Loch Lomond
2. New Bloods
3. Yacht
4. Shoeshine Blue
4. The Whips and the Whales

Tina & Jeremy Judy, owners/booking Red Room
1. Weight of Atlas
2. Officer Friendly
3. Depthcharger
4. Dociety of Ages
5. Wow and Flutter

Matt Wright, co-owner of Holocene Music, local publicist
1. The Shaky Hands
2. Alela Diane
3. Horse Feathers
4. New Bloods
5. Swallows

Jen Olesen, booker for Valentine’s
1. Grouper
2. Dragging an Ox through Water
3. New Bloods
4. Cex Fucx
5. Privacy

Anonymous
Stovokor
Menacer
Snake Plissken
Professional man
Dagger of the Mind

Anonymous
1. Hey Lover
2. Horse Feathers
3. Alela Diane
4. Boy Eats Drum Machine
5. Junkface

Anonymous
1. The Shaky Hands
2. Simpl
3. Alela Diane
4. Ohmega Watts
5. Boy Eats Drum Machine

Anonymous
Combat Drug
Solenoid
Jonny X & the Groadies
Strategy
Hooliganship

Anonymous
New Bloods
Panther
Corpse Kisser
E*Rock
Atole

Anonymous
1. Strength
2. Flaspar
3. Small Sails
4. Romancing
5. Coreycorey

Anonymous
1. the Music Population Orchestra
2. Gideon Freudmann
3. Hurah Hurah
4. Iretsu
3. Trust

Anonymous
1. Dragging an Ox Through Water
2. Ferocious Eagle
3. The Morals
4. Horse Feathers
5. Modernstate

Anonymous
Michele Wylen

Anonymous
1. Mercedes Herrada
2. Jammotron
3. Grails
4. Fogatron
5. Oh

Anonymous
1. Nux Vomica
2. Upshit Creek
3. Buried Blood
4. Order of the Gash
5. Massive Meat Split