Late last week I received a tasty li’l bit of e-info from Weinland frontman Adam Shearer. Under the heading, “In Coffee,” on a recent newsletter of sorts, Shearer claimed the following:

More news on this soon…but a prominent local roaster is making a special dark roast of coffee with a misting of Maker’s Mark whiskey applied during the cooling of the beans… it will be called WEIN-MARK. A great band and a great potable coming together for good. Some proceeds will benefit p:ear, a local music education charity.

To which I replied, “For reals?!” I also mentioned that, if it were indeed true, Shearer and the at-that-time-nameless roaster (Badbeard’s MicroRoastery) were my heroes.

Shearer often corresponds with the Milli Vanilli inspired “Girl, you know it’s true,” but to this inquiry, the Portland folk-rocker simply typed: “TOTALLY FOR REAL!!” The only thing left to do, of course, was get my tastebuds on a sample of this brilliantly conceived brew. Being the press-savvy guy he is, Shearer invited WW over to his NoPo abode, and brought coffee roaster Justin Kagan, Fresh Pot barista (and fellow Portland songsmith) Will Helfrich, a.k.a. Mbilly, and Weinland dobro/mandolin player Aaron “Rantz” Pomerantz along for the ride.

Shearer met Kagan through the Portland Cello Project, which Weinland has a show with next week (April 11th at the Aladdin). Shearer and Kagan, a PCP and sometime-Oregon Symphony cellist, soon discovered a mutual love of both coffee and bourbon, and “Weinmark” (which will be available at Weinland merch tables and online) was born. What follows is footage of the first proper cupping of Weinmark, presented, however scrutinizingly (no snacks on the cupping table!), by Mbilly—who not only cringed at my mention of ghetto mochas (you know, the hot chocolate packet type), but stepped out of his driver’s seat with coffee mug in hand, and shook his head disapprovingly at longtime-friend Shearer on more than one occasion.

For my part, I’ll say the coffee was delicious—dark and rich with deep chocolate notes and an ever-so-subtle hint of bourbon upon exhaling after a proper slurp. The overall reaction—without a doubt—was quite positive. The video also includes a lovely acoustic, living-room performance of Weinland’s “Curse of the Sea,” from the band’s recent release, La Lamentor (that’s Shearer on lead, of course, and Pomerantz drinking a cup of joe while playing the bells). Enjoy!

Weinmark! Makers Mark and Weinland, together! from localcut on Vimeo.

And as a loosely related, late-addition bonus: Here’s a brand new video of Weinland performing the title track to La Lamentor at last month’s sold-out CD release show—where all contributing musicians worked together to down, appropriately, a couple fifths of Maker’s. It’s a half-collage to the album version of the track/half-live video from the show. As Shearer humbly pointed out, the time signatures of both recordings, however miraculously, match right up.

See (or, hear, rather) for yourself:

In other Weinland news (yes, there’s more), the band is currently receiving a bit of airplay on Nic Harcourt’s KCRW show, Morning Becomes Eclectic, which might’ve helped it become…wait for it…a featured artist on MySpace Music. Check it! Okay, that’s it. Really.

Weinland, as well as Stephanie Schneiderman, Rick Emerson and the Builders and the Butchers, plays with the Portland Cello Project Friday, April 11, at the Aladdin Theater. 8 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. All ages.

Links:
WeinlandWeb
WeinlandSpace
Badbeard’s Microroastery
Portland Cello Project
MbillySpace
Maker’s Mark

Still frame image by Casey Jarman, video amateur.