BALLOT BREAKDOWN:
How Portland’s Top 10 Best New Bands were chosen.

Below is the Best New Band Poll Ballot letter for 2008. This letter was sent out to close to 400 local music experts. The only bands (who are not involved in music in some way besides playing it) that allowed to cast a vote are those who’ve appeared on past Best New Band top 10 lists, and are therefore ineligible. This year, one hundred and twenty-nine voters replied to the ballot, naming a whopping two hundred ninety-seven artists as nominees. Those individual ballots (including anonymous votes) are listed below this year’s vote-soliciting 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 2008, 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 the Shaky Hands, who—as this year’s winner soon will—appeared on the cover of Willamette Week’s Best New Band issue. The Shaky Hands went on to play to a packed house at Berbati’s as part of WW’s Best New Band Showcase before conquering the world. Well, not quite. But they’re certainly on their way. With all the great talent that’s constantly popping up here in our fair city, it’s hard to say who will become Portland’s Best New Band 2008, 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, 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 any of the following bands that have already appeared on a Best New Band top 10 list from either 2004, 2005, 2006 or 2007:

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
The Shaky Hands
Horse Feathers
Alela Diane
Laura Gibson
New Bloods
Dat’r
LKN
Dragging An Ox Through Water
Hey Lover
Pure Country Gold

Please email your list to bestnewband@wweek.com (please do not reply sender; the best new band email is conveniently located last on the list of emails above), along with your full name and role in the music community, by Friday, March 28, 2008—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:

Sarah Mayfield
Double Tee Concerts
1. Pierced Arrows
2. Highway
3. The Upsidedown
4. Valet
5. China Forbes Band

Seann McKeel—Eventress, The Cleaners at Ace Hotel
I have been lucky enough to be getting earfulls of The Builders and the Butchers and I love them. The Builders and The Butchers. That’s my number one and only, so 5 points!

Stephen Marc Beaudoin, staff writer at Just Out, active freelance musician in town (classical music, mostly).
1. The Lonely H
2. The Builders and The Butchers
3. Ethan Rose
4. Holcombe Waller and the Healers (who really just incorporated as a “band” in the last year or so…)
5. Chris Robley and The Fear of Heights (again, moving into “band” mode from a solo act in the last year…)

Todd Fadel, Meow Meow Presents, Proprietor
The Builders and the Butchers
Upsidedown Cat
Ross McLeron
Alexis Gideon
The Old Believers

Tom Humphrey
Graphic Designer, Willamette Week
1. Baptist Arms
2. Eat Skull
3. Hornet Leg
4. Gulls
5. Hammer of Hathor

Tony Prato
KPSU Program Director
1. (5 points) Southern Belle
2. The Rainy States
3. The Builders and the Butchers
4. Eskimo & Sons
5. (1 point) Y La Bamba

Matt King
Talent Acquisition & Promotion, Towne Lounge
ATOLE
THE CHROMATICS
LEY LINES
PAPER BRAIN
MAGIC JOHNSON

Zach Barnes, booker/founder, Exit Only
1. Ohioan and Native Kin
2. Valet
3. Ohmega Watts
4. Carcrashlander
5. Vanishing Kids

AP Kryza, WW freelancer, music and otherwise
The Crosswalks
The Blue Horns
Copacrescent
The Headliners

Heather - Booking Agent (et. al.), Ash Street Saloon
The Days The Nights - 5 pts
Doctor Moss - 4 pts
Fist of Dishonor - 3pts
Sprinkles - 2pts

John Barrios
Love Harder founder
1) Dr. Something & The Poppin’ Fresh Love Engines
2) The Fall Colors
3) Bugs of Lightning
4) Benjamin Franklin Freeman
5) Guyve

Ben Parrish, Kill Rock Stars
1. panther (technically new since there’s a drummer now!)
2. hornet leg
3. eat skull
4. dj magic beans

Beren Ekine-Huett, Failing Records
Michele Wylen- She’s gonna be huge. Seriously, like Britney huge…hopefully without the headshaving and whatnot (rimshot).
Meth Teeth- So sweet, so good…
Hot Victory- Unlike anything else going on in PDX right now. And really, with two drummers, how can you go wrong?
The Builder and the Butchers
Magic Johnson

Conrad Loebl
head booker, Rotture
1. Starfucker
2. Caves
3. Fleshtone
4. Reverse Dotty and the Candy Cane Shivs
5. Sukey Tawdry

ANONYMOUS
1. Builders and the Butchers
2. Loch Lomond
3. Fist of Dishonor
4. Per Se
5. Run On Sentence

Brian Riehle
former PRA Manager
Starfucker
Dragging an Ox through Water
the builders and the butchers
paperuppercuts
dykeritz

Curtis Knapp
Marriage Records
1. Rob Walmart
2. White Fang
3. Dash!
4. Grand Junction Grand Therapy
5. Lee Baggett

Cary Clarke,
PDX Pop Now! organizer, Portland Mercury local music columnist, member of At Dusk
1) Au
2) Starfucker
3) Evolutionary Jass Band
4) Chromatics
5) Black Elk

Coco Madrid
Events Manager, Portland Radio Authority
Starfucker
Reverse Dotty and The Candy Cane Shivs
DJ Rad
DJ Freaky Outty
31Avas
Atole

Danny Seim, Menomena (past Best New Band top ten)
Tu Fawning

Name: Dave Depper
Role in the music community: Member of Norfolk & Western, Loch Lomond, Graves, White Hinterland, or whomever needs me to fill in, studio musician/producer, sometime employee of HUSH Records
1. Weinland
2. Nick Jaina
3. Tu Fawning
4. Musee Mechanique
5. Peter Broderick (solo)

ANONYMOUS
1. The Builders And The Butchers
2. Tu Fawning
3. Kelly Blair Bauman

Devan Cook, WW music freelancer
starfucker 5
dirty mittens 1
typhoon! 3
fourever young 4
dagger of the mind 2

Jeremy Judy, Red Room booker/owner
1) trophies
2) red dakota revivial show
3) sprinkles
4) qwong
5) the subterranean howl

Riley Borne
Modern Age Volunteer
1. the revisions
2. a ghost face two inches from your own face
3. dagger of the mind
4. flask mask
5. the rainy states

ANONYMOUS
#1 Starfucker
#2 Weinland
#3 Tu Fawning
#4 M Billy
#5 Eskimo and Sons

Em Brownlowe (member of Swallows), “Tragically Unheard Of” blogger, We Made This Festival founder
Chores
Slutty Hearts
Autopilot is for Lovers
John Sutherland
Sick Sick Sister

Ezra Fowler
Producer/Engineer/Owner, Alternative Spaces Recording Co.
Booking Agent, The World Famous Kenton Club
Freelancer, Mississippi Studios, Terrestrial Records
1. Wooden Indian Burial Ground
2. The Old Believers
3. Drunken Prayer
4. Curious Hands
5. Cicada Omega

Noah Marmalefsky, former ambassador of the Waffle Horse Entertainment Group and member of Taco Mountain Time
1. Meth Teeth
2. Eat Skull
3. LOOSE CONTROL

Fasil Debeb
MusicfestNW Board of Directors
1. Helio Sequence
2. Builders and Butchers
3. Tu Fawning
4. Pseudosix
5. Starfucker

Craig Marquardo
Publisher, Music Spectator
Debra Arlyn
Tea For Julie
The Dimes
3 Leg Torso
Ohmega Watts

Fawn Williams
Manager, Portland Radio Authority
1. Kieskagato
2. Yoyodyne
3. Caves
4. DRATS!
5. The Pink Snowflakes

Gus Elg, recording/mastering engineer @ Sky Onion, PRA co-founder, Pants Machine bassist, and solo artist Wilding.
Modernstate
Mike Coykendall
Sleepyhead
Blue Cranes
Loch Lamond

Hannah Carlen
Radio Promoter for Spectre Entertainment, Portland Mercury music freelancer, Concert Lover, Helper
1. GLASS CANDY*
2. BUILDERS & BUTCHERS
3. REPORTER
4. LOCH LOMOND
5. PSEUDOSIX

Stephanie Hays, Rock ‘n’ Roll Mama contributor
1 - chris robley and the fear of heights
2 - chris gabriel
3 - super zeitgeist

James Squeaky
Argumentix, Below PDX Records
1. Budweiser Sprite
2. Dude War
3. Soup Purse
4. Syrup
5. Redglaer

Jeffrey “Chairman” Couch, DRATS!!! and The Chair Project
TRANSIENT
DRAMADY
SLAM DUNK (WITH AUTHORITY!)
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN FREEMAN
CAGUAMA

Jeff Simmons of the Portland Radio Authority here, this is the official tally of all PRA DJs’ votes for the Best new Band. We used the same point system you used to tally our 60+ DJs’ fav new acts. And the winners are:
starfucker
ohioan and native kin
Eat Skull
The EEgos
Dragging an Ox through Water

Joong-Hyun Kim, Grover a.k.a. DJ Seoul Brother # 1… I’ve been DJing in the portland area for over 10 years, promoted shows, etc.
1) The Way Downs
2) Love Trail
3) A Weather
4) Devin Phillips Band
5) Copacrescent

Jordan Dykstra
Vice Pres, Marriage Records
1. valet
2. white fang
3. rob walmart

Justin Ringle, Horse Feathers (past Best New Band top ten)
justin power
loch lomond
builders and butchers
weinland
musee mecanique

Lindsey Collins
CD Baby Artist/Label Relations, Live Music Enthusiast, specializing in local music. I’ve also hand a hand in C>O>T>R and other events (mainly the CD Baby benefit shows, benefits for local non-profits).
1.) Au | myspace.com/peaofthesea
2.) Fist Fite | www.myspace.com/fistfitefistfite
3.) Rabbits | www.myspace.com/rabbitusmaximus
4.) Black Elk | www.myspace.com/blackelk
5.) Dirty Mittens | www.myspace.com/dirtymittensband

Tim Germer, Northwest Noise
Blind Pilot
Caves
YACHT
DCRS
Panther

Ed Michinski,
owner/booker, edge of Belmont
My pick for best band is Intervision,
with second vote for Mike Struwin.

Zac Pennington
Musician (Parenthetical Girls), label proprietor (Slender
Means Society), ex-Portland Mercury music editor
1. Au
2. Cex Fucx
3. Valet

Zachary King
Booking Agent, Twilight Cafe & Bar
1. Purple Rhinestone Eagle
2. The Estranged
3. The Whips and The Whales
4. The Pity Fucks
5. Sleepwalkers RIP

Lauren K. Newman
member of Palo Verde, Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls volunteer, past Best New Band top ten
the Empty
Prize Country
Shelter Red
Jessica Jones

Jay Hoton (WW/Local Cut music writer)
- Slants
- Family Gun
- Highway
- Young Immortals
- Rapids

Adam Forkner
White Rainbow, Yarnlazer records
1. Valet
2. White Fang
2. Atole
3. Arohan
4. 3. Rob Walmart
5. Starfucker

Manny Reyes (DIY Electronic DJ/Musician/Techno-Basement Party Queen)
-Moodring
-Smoke and Mirrors
-Valet
-Gay Deceivers
-Arohan

E*Rock, Audio Dregs and Fryk Beat records co-founder
1. Valet
2. Atole
3. Arohan
4. Rob Walmart
5. Starfucker

Art Santana (Ground Kontrol Manager)
1. World’s Greatest Ghosts
2. Red Dons
3. Kickball
4. The Estranged
5. Modernstate

Philip Sherburne
journalist/blogger, Pitchfork, etc., electronic musician
-Valet

DJ Broken Window, International IDM and electro producer
1. Valet
2. ATOLE
3. Smoke And Mirrors
4. Paint & Copter

Mike McGonigal
Yeti Publishing, Halleluwah festival organizer, etc.
-Valet

Michael Mannheimer
Music freelancer, WW/Localcut.com
1. World’s Greatest Ghosts
2. Eskimo & Sons
3. Love Menu (Emily Katz)
4. Bark Hide and Horn
5. AU

Casey Jarman, WW Assistant Music Editor, LocalCut.com Editor
1. Eskimo and Sons
2. Starfucker
3. Sandpeople
4. Ohmega Watts
5. Ohioan and Native Kin

Maggie Vail, Kill Rock Stars
Hornet Leg
Eat Skull

Nalin Silva (Kelly’s Olympian booking agent)
#1. federale
#2. the fast computers
#3. the ax
#4. oh darling
#5. texas league
#5. Growler

New Bloods, past Best New Band top ten
- Hornet Leg www.myspace.com/hornetleg
- Magic Johnson www.myspace.com/magicjohnsonmusic
- Purple Rhinestone Eagle www.myspace.com/purplerhinestoneeagle
- Pegasus www.myspace.com/pegasusportland
-We Quit www.myspace.com/wequit

Mike Jones, CD Forge
1. panther
2. boy eats drum machine
3. loch lomond

Corey duBrowa, freelance writer (Sr. Contributing Editor, Paste; columnist, Magnet; contributor, Oregonian, No Depression, The Stranger, eMusic)
1. Fast Computers
2. Ashleigh Flynn
3. Weinland
4. Glass Candy
5. Blue Skies for Black Hearts

December Carson (Mississippi Pizza booker)
- Swallows
- Drats
- Caleb Klauder Band
- Jenny Conlee
- Fernando

Aaron Hall
Booking & Publicity (Holocene, Blackbird, Backspace)
1) Starfucker
2) Builders and Butchers
3) The Joggers (seriously? they’ve never been on there!?)
4) Evolutionary Jass Band
5) Caves

Kevin French (Big Shot Touring)
1. The Builders & The Butchers
2. Loch Lomond?
3. Tu Fawning

Lance Kramer
WW freelancer, music and otherwise
The Old Believers
Dat’r
Nick Jaina

Adam Gnade, solo performer (ex-Mercury music editor)
1. Inca Ore
2. Ohioan & Native Kin

Mike King, Ye Olde Crashe Desyne (Crash America)
1. Builders and the Butchers
2. Pseudosix
3. Per Se
4. Colt Vista

Batty’s Hippodrome
-Basic Fix
-Bedtime
-Soup Purse
-Loose Control
-Y La Bamba

Eric (Produce Row Café Booking)
-Gabe Rozzell and the Decency
-57 Octaves Below
-Eluvium
-Grails
-Miss Lonely Hearts

Alica J. Rose (Doug Fir Booking)
1. The Builders and the Butchers
2. Loch Lomond
3. Tu Fawning
4. Holcombe Waller & The Healers
5. Nick Jaina

Matt Kirkpatrick
Co-manager, Portland Radio Authority
1) Gulls
2) the Builders and the Butchers
3) Ethan Rose
4) Starfucker
5) The Snowfields

Michael Donhowe (WW Classifieds)
The Brilliant Channel - My favorite new band. Matthew Peterson writes beautiful, epic songs and his guitar playing and tone is just primitive enough to be interesting. Jonathan Drew and Jim Talstra might be the best rhythm section in town. In the interest of full disclosure; Matt and I used to play in Sugarboom together. But I know the music is good because it makes me mildly jealous in the way that Hazel, Eliot Smith and the Dandy’s did when I first heard them.
Baptist Arms - The only group I’ve seen that makes me think of civil war era popular music. Ooze authenticity.
Ohioan - A ‘fun’ band that references many traditional American idioms. Connect with audience. Create a sense of catharsis.
Drunk Ladies - The most interesting guitar playing I’ve seen in a long time. It’s so fucking loud that it becomes a physical experience. Nifty drumming too. The singer might be good but I’ve never really been able to hear him.
Oblivion Seekers - My vote for favourite band that’s been around for a long time. After all these years Mark Sten still embodies the underground Portland cool vibe. Satyricon, pre-grunge/pre-Seattle sound. And nobody can sing like Heidi Hellbender.

Ryan Feigh
Lucky Madison label founder
1) Starfucker
2) Dramady
3) Sandpeople
4) paper/upper/cuts
5) Colin Jones

Matt Dabrowiak and Paul Alcott
Dat’r, past Best New Band top ten
1. Parenthetical Girls
2. Nick Jaina
3. Swim Swam Swum
4. Gouseion
5. Tu Fawning

Jake Rose, member of Childhood Friends, zine writer: Forest Friends Liberation Magazine
1. Fade 13
2. The Misadventures of Two
3. Benjamin Franklin Freeman
4. Michele Wylen
5.Clik Mix

Chad Crouch (Hush Records)
-Loch Lomond
-Nick Jaina
-Graves
-Run On Sentence
-Shelley Short

Hank Failing (Old Town Music, Failing Records)
1. Southern Belle
They are young, talented, and exciting. It’s just a matter of time before a major label picks them up.
2. Dirty Mittens
They have good songs with timeless vocals.
3. Starfucker
They’re a great band with awesome songs and fun live performance. I hear Starfucker in my head sometimes when I’m cleaning up the house, it totally makes things better! Josh Hodges is the most talented un-known musician in Portland right now.
4. Narwal Vs. Narwal
5. Michele Wylen
She’s ambitious and talented with her one person electronica. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of her songs got picked up for a movie.

Jim Sandberg, WW/LocalCut.com music scribe, vagabond
-Ohioan and Native Kin
-Eskimo and Sons (not very new)
-World’s Greatest Ghosts
-The Rainy States
-Living Proof

Bobby “Fatboy” Roberts, KUFO DJ
-My Life in Black and White
-Kleveland
-Nickel Arcade
-Another Fine Crisis
-Kaitlyn y Donovan Isolde

ANNONYMOUS
1. starfucker
2. atole
3. fist fite
4. lips and ribs
5. strength

Nathan Carson (Nanotear Booking, Dj Nate C, The Better to See You With, WW music freelancer)
1) Fist Fite
2) Trees
3) Starfucker
4) Knelt Rote
5) Here Comes a Big Black Cloud

Arya Imig, KPSU DJ, LocalCut podcast contributor
1. World’s Greatest Ghosts
2. The Vonneguts
3. A Weather
4. Love Menu
5. The Rainy States

Kristine Strackbein (Alberta Street Public House booking)
#1 Federale
#2 Caves
#3 The Dimes
#4 Weinland
#5 Autopilot is for Lovers

ANNONYMOUS
Weinland
Musee Mechanique
Mike Coykendall Band
Valiant Arms
Sabertooth

Allison Carter, Crystal Ballroom McMenamins booking empire Weinland
The Builders & The Butchers
Copacrescent
Danava
Monstrous
I would be remiss to not make note that the Helio Sequence have yet to make the list and just assumed they had been voted in as it seems surely at one year or another they would have been singled out. Their new record is taking them to the “next level,” as they say, however, the latest release is their fourth full-length album. I suppose they were not even “new” in 2004, the first year of the Best New Band poll! Just wanted to make that point and give props to one of Portland/Beaverton’s finest.

Amy McCullough, Music Editor, Willamette Week
1) Graves
2) Jared Mees
3) Starfucker
4) Kurt Hagardorn
5) Andy Combs & the Moth

Angelo De Ieso II
Pop Tomorrow!/Portland Oregon Indie Music
this one’s tough, but here goes:
1. The Slants
2. The Builders and the Butchers
3. Jared Mees
4. The Wherewithals
5. Bark Hide and Horn

Anika Sabin
freelance writer, Willamette Week & LocalCut.com / KLC Publications Director
1. fist fite
2. the whips and the whales
3. Au
4. hornet leg
5. magic johnson

Anthony Lusk, Event Booking and Promotions, Ground Kontrol
1. Danava
2. DarkBlack
3. Ancient Age
4. Torn to Pieces
5. Order of the Gash

Barbara Mitchell,
Freelance Writer (Music & Sustainable Life), Portland Tribune
little beirut
the dimes
oh darling
kasey anderson
carcrashlander

Brent Bell
PDX Pop Now! | Board Member & Communications Director
The Crystal Ballroom/McMenamins | Marketing Assistant
1. Starfucker
2. Ethan Rose
3. Valet
4. The Builders & The Butchers
5. Gulls

PJ Portlock, Bridgetown Breaks
1) Tu Fawning
2) modernstate
3) pseudosix
4) 31 knots
5) Panzah Zandahz

Caroline Julia Buchalter, Mississippi Studios Booking
1. Builders and The Butchers
2. Portland cello project
3. musee mecanique
4. run on sentence
5. tu fawning

Anne Koch, Business & Entertainment Attorney, Motschenbacher & Blattner LLP
1. Builders & the Butchers
2. Hugs
3. Blind Pilot
4. Hillstomp
5. Dimes

Dan Eichler, District Marketing Manager, Borders
I book music shows in 8 Borders stores in Oregon, including one store in Vancouver. Mostly, the artists I schedule are solo acoustic singer, songwriters. I do book a wide variety of bands that play rock, pop, world, bluegrass and jazz.
1. Amelia – they are not a new band, but they did take an extended break and are releasing a new CD in April. They are my favorite local band. Their new CD continues the growth and development of their music.
2. Garth Michael McDermott - He’s a great singer, songwriter and acoustic guitarist and is very accomplished. His sound is folk/rock, but with an Americana feel to it.
3. Canoe – This young band features rock instrumentation with a violin on some songs. Their songs have unique and unexpected melodies and the male lead singer has a very wide range.
4. Courtney Jones – Oregon singer, songwriter from the Sarah McLachlan school; she is a great singer and pianist and writes well-crafted pop songs.
5. Echo Helstrom – might not be considered new.

DJ Wicked, longtime Portland hip-hop DJ
-DJ Wells

Erik Bader, Blogger/WW Freelancer
-Evolutionary Jass Band

Jen Oleson,
Valentines booker, Here’s some folks I really loved hearing this year, in no particular order.
AAN
Rush-N-Disco
Purple Rhinestone Eagle
Elephants
Ah Holly Fam’ly

Jason Quigley, concert photographer
here comes a big black cloud
portland cello project
junkface
typhoon
eskimo and sons

Jason Simms - Freelancer for the Oregonian, Harp, (Sound)
1. Fist Fite
2. Pierced Arrows
3. Rum Rebellion
4. The Rainy States
5. Michele Wylen

Steve Otis, member of Matinee, KJ, songwriter workshop host
- Run On Sentence
- Boy Eats Drum Machine
- Nick Jaina
- Non Sequitur
- Hutson

Kaytea McIntosh, XO Publicity
THE SODA POP KIDS (5)
BLUE SKIES FOR BLACK HEARTS (4)
THE GREATER MIDWEST (3)
THE HUGS (2)
CAVES (1)

Kelly Clarke, WW Arts and Culture Editor
1. Builders & the Butchers.
American gothic hippie drum circle awesomeness. Their raucous live shows give me sweaty chills and make me want to simultaneously sing and throw beer bottles. Which, of course, garners them my undying devotion. Amen.
2. Eskimo & Sons
If only I spent my time making rag tag sing along music this achingly heartfelt and beautiful when I was 18-years-old instead of shaking my ass at my high school cafeteria dances to Quad City DJs “Come’On Ride the Train.”
3. Loch Lomond

Kurt Prutsman, booker and bartender at Dunes.
The Marmits
Night Wounds
The Golden Greats
Michele Wylen
Magic Johnson

Connie Wohn, Music Maven and Artists Relations
1. builders & butchers
2. the fix featuring ohmega watts, rev. shines, dj kez & dun diggy
3. chromatics
4. colt vista
5. riddenpa

Lisa Lepine
Promotion Queen (Bite of Oregon, etc.)
Chervona 5pts
This post punk peasant Eastern block band creates the most crowd interaction I have seen in years. Charming Russian/broken English lyrics cross the language barrier to connect to our new peasant society. They know about the price of freedom and the bs of government—but help us party just the same. If I could give them 10 points I would!!
Portland Cello Project 4 pts
Scotland Barr & the Slow Drags 3pts
Justin Jude 2 pts
Emily Herring 1 pt

Matthew Roley, Booking at the Buffalo Gap Saloon
1. Domonic Castillo and the Rock Savants
2. Tony Smiley
3. The Online Romance
4. Brandon Chandler and the Revival
5. Trashcan Joe

Michael Ackerman, Boxxes /Fez Ballroom
1. SOUTHERLY
2. CATFIGHT
3. WONDERMONSTER
4. fraqtured:sound
5. MICHAEL ROCKSTAR

Michael Byrne, ex-WW freelancer, Music Editor, Baltimore City Paper
Let’s Go Outside
Au
Alexis Gideon
Gulls
Fist Fite

Michael Newman, I operate the Waypost music venue, coffee lounge, local beer emporium.
1. Andy Combs & The Moth
2. Love Menu
3. Renegade Minstrels
4. DJ Ghost Dad
5. Sagas / Saw Whet

From Miranda King, Booker/Event Coordinator, Backspace.
1. The Builders and the Butchers
2. The Crosswalks
3. Junkface
4. Starfucker
5. Nick Jaina Band

Nicholas Johnson
KPSU DJ/PDX Pop Now! Booking Committee/Oregon Encyclopedia Editorial Office
Worlds Greatest Ghosts
Emily Katz/Love Menu
The Rainy States
Starfucker
The Maybe Happening

Nilina Mason-Campbell
Photographer, blogger: notontheguestlist.com, Willamette Week/LocalCut freelance writer
1.Breakfast Mountain (formerly Kissin’)
2.Doubledutch
3.Easter Egg
4.Starfucker
5.Fist Fite

Full name: Paige Richmond
Title: Former Local Cutter and WW contributor
1. Builders and Butchers
2. Loch Lomond
3. Portland Cello Project
4. Honus Huffhines
5. Southerly
Even though he’s the antithesis of a “new band,” this dude has never made the poll before, so I’m throwing his hat in the ring for good measure: Adrian Orange

Randy Bemrose
I play in Junkface, Dagger of the Mind, and the Vivian. I also own the Green House, and put shows together here and there.
rainbow and the kittens
here comes a big black cloud
danava
starfucker
swim swam swum

Colin Grigson, Punk Rock go-to Guy
Sleepwalkers RIP
Pierced Arrows
The Estranged
Moral Panic
Social Graces

Rob Jones, Jealous Butcher Records
#1 Nick Jaina
#2 Carcrashlander
#3 Kelly Blair Bauman
#4 Weinland
#5 The Mighty Ghosts of Heaven
#6 Hutch & Kathy

Sam Soule, Slabtown co-owner/booker
1. Rapids
2. The Pity Fucks
3. The Leaders
4. The Mean Jeans
5. The Drunk Ladies

Scott McLean, Holocene
Atlas Sound
Valet
Builders and Butchers
Starfucker
Arohan

Sean Croghan, Local Legend
1. …worms
2. Danava
3. Adrian Orange and Her Band
4. Pierced Arrows
5. Dark Skies
(voted for 10 bands, rules only permit 5. The bottom 5 follow)
6. Wax Edison
7. Slam Dunk (with authority)
8. Valet
9. Sprinkles
10. Chris Robley

Shaun Semsch, Vendetta
Carcrashlander
Sexton Blake
William Holley
Hey Lover
Bretta

Sohale Kevin Darouian, Children of the Revolution
Glass Candy
Danava
Chromatics
Get Hustle
Starfucker

SP Clarke, Music Writer/Musician (Two Louies Magazine, Buko Magazine, Toy Room: A Rock Opera)
1. Loch Lomond
2. Shelley Short
3. Tears Run Rings

Steve Schroeder, Boss, States Rights Records
1st-White Fang
2nd-Valet
3rd-Flaspar

Kevin O’ Connor, Talkdemonic (Past BNB winners)
1. Starfucker
2. Dykeritz
3. The Builders and the Butchers
4. Paper Uppercuts
5. Bark Hide and Horn

Terry Curier, Music Millenium
1) Dimes
2) builders & the Butcher
3) Slants
4) Alex Wiley
5) Nu Shooz Orchestra

Aaron @ Artistery
Kelli Schaefer

Trevor Solomon, MusicfestNW Director
Builders and butchers
Au
Red Fang
Pseudosix
Swim Swam Swum

Photo: WW’s Best New Band 2008: The Builders and the Butchers, taken by Nilina Mason-Campbell.