3/15/08, The Annandale Hotel in Sydney.
Ahhh, a light at the end of our proverbial tunnel. After the amazing show in New-Asshole, we were all ready for a final blowout in the Drugs hometown of Sydney. This was going to be HUGE. The venue itself was very spacious with a great sound system and Thai restaurant […]

…is this guy right here. You know him, you love him and he’s on the inside track to win WW’s Best New Band Poll for 2008 (more on that soon). Who’d a thought? You can catch dude up and down Hawthorne St. pretty much all summer long.

A copy of the new Snoop Dogg album, […]

Bark Hide and Horn does a lot of things well, and though quite a few of the tracks on its debut full-length, National Road, favor simplicity and time-trusted folk rock melodies, “Grandfather” coalesces everything that’s great about the band—Andy Fergeson’s National Geographic inspired songwriting, Brian Garvey’s impassioned horn bursts, perfectly placed backing harmonies—into what might […]

As Portland’s musician-studded masses know all too well, it can be hard to stand out in our ever-growing talent pool. Getting yourself listed in a local publication’s calendar section isn’t too rough, but having someone take the time to listen to your music and pen some words about it—be they complimentary or otherwise—takes a little […]

Recently showing SXSW what’s up, Magic Johnson has hit its stride since forming this past summer. Migrating to PDX from L.A., the duo (Ana Rodriguez and Mando Blanco, BFFs since grade-school) peddle dancey punk overlaid with catchy lyrics moving fluidly through both English and Spanish. In many ways, they remind me of a distinctively L.A. […]

LocalCutter Nilina Mason-Campbell headed on down to see Born Ruffians and Cadence Weapon at Holocene last Friday, and took some hot shots (part deux!) whilst attending. She then brought them on home to us, and here, dear readers, they be. -Ed.
Born Ruffians:

Cadence Weapon:

Links:
Born RuffiansSpace
Cadence WeaponSpace

(AS TOLD TO JAY HøRTøN)
Just back from Scandinavian tour supporting new old-Nashville album, DANGEROUS MEs & POISONOUS YOUs with a ragtag crew of acoustic all-stars, Caleb Klauder (Colobo, Foghorn Stringband, self-titled—and Bobby Flay approved—bluegrass project) sat down with bassist Jesse Emerson (formerly Decemberists and Flatirons; currently Amelia and From Words To Blows) to share […]

Wanderlust? We’ve been off the road now for a month already, so I’m not quite sure if this entry qualifies as a tour diary. It’s actually more of a lifestyle analysis. With gas prices soon-to-soar, and having scattered quite literally half of my salary on music-making last year (doing taxes was a real epiphany), it’s […]

Listening to NPR’s All Songs Considered this past week, guest host Stephen Thompson referred to a song as hammock music, “music that will lay you down and pour you an ice tea.” I think of Telescope Vehicle as a perfectly fitting epitome to this genre. In “My Prayer,” the Portland quintet emanates warmth and nuance. […]

Remember that awesome Helio Sequence/Shaky Hands/Pseudosix all-local show at the Crystal Ballroom? What, it was almost a month ago? In any case, we sent ace photog Justin Kent, and he took these awesome shots. The editor apologizes for the lateness.
Pseudosix:

The Shaky Hands:

Helio Sequence:

Links:
HelioSpace
Shaky HandSpace
PseudoSpace