The Days of Lore

Ramblin’ Fever With DJs Poncho & Lefty

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

My good pal Robert Ham over at The Voice of Energy and I will haul our bins of records down to Portland’s Beauty Bar tonite to spin only the finest pre-’78 country and western music. If you’re in Portland, come on down from 10 p.m. to close and I’ll buy you a beer. Then you’ll buy me a beer. Then we’ll do some awkward square dancing. Then we’ll do it all again.

Expect some newly acquired gems from Buck Owens, Tex Ritter, Little Jimmy Dickens and a whole lot more. And expect Beauty Bar to become slightly less beautiful for one night only.

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Tags: Beauty Bar Portland, country and western, Ramblin' Fever with DJs Poncho & Lefty, records, TDoL DJ Night

The sacrificial Ram

Friday, May 6th, 2011 | musiX, pdX | 1 Comment

Paul McCartney has always been the most polarizing member of that one band from Liverpool for several reasons: a) He’s had the most prolific post-Beatle career, b) Lennon didn’t live long enough to become cheesy, and c) because he’s the cute one.

When McCartney released his second solo record, Ram, in 1971, music critics chewed it up and spat it out and then spat it out again. As Robert Christgau spat it: “… most of the songs are so lightweight they float away even as Paulie layers them down with caprices.” Indeed, it’s far less introspective or serious than All Things Must Pass or John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, and more sparse and raw than the Beatles’ cinematic later work. But that was 1971. Ram has since been embraced as the charming piece of pop that it is.

Portland go-to musician Dave Depper (Loch Lomond, the Decemberists, Norfolk & Western, every band in existence) found it charming enough to re-record the entire album (including the Ram-era B-side “Oh Woman, Oh Why”). The Ram Project is really good. And it plays eerily close to the original, while playing to its own ramshackle charms. Depper recorded the entire thing—playing all the instruments himself—in just 31 days with the help of his wife, local artist Joan Hiller, who ably sings the parts of Linda.

Interestingly, the project was essentially a challenge to himself to see if Depper could deliver the goods (he even kept a blog to document the recording’s progress and hold himself accountable). Now it’s being released on vinyl through Jackpot Records and in Europe on City Slang. Oh, and there’s a big record release show here in Portland at the Doug Fir. All this without really even trying. And with that Depper has just tied Richard Starkey for the number of good solo albums under his belt.

Dave Depper performs Ram in its entirety Saturday, May 7 at the Doug Fir. Lewi Longmire performs Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush and Sean Nelson performs the songs of Harry Nilsson.

“Dear Boy” - Dave Depper

“Oh Woman, Oh Why” - Dave Depper

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Tags: City Slang, Dave Depper, Jackpot Records, Joan Hiller, Paul McCartney, Ram, The Ram Project

Black Friday, White Knuckles, Red Fang

Friday, April 29th, 2011 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

How do you categorize Portland’s Red Fang? Four 30-somethings who wield mammoth rock riffs like young’ns and apparently have little regard for metal’s conventions. They’ve been called metal, stoner rock, neo-grunge—all of which is just music critic-speak for “I don’t know what the fuck to call them” …

… Well, I don’t know what the fuck to call them, either. They’re not exactly metal (though that probably would be the most accurate descriptor). They’re not just a rock band (or are they?). They’re not stoner (musically speaking). And neo-grunge is just a slap in the fangs. The band’s second release Murder the Mountains (Relapse) is a monster. And it’s all over the place—heavy as a two-ton slab of concrete, intricate when needed and, dare I say it, accessible. “Wires” offers the best of all worlds—multiple parts, moodiness, power, aggression—which sounds a lot like metal, but it’s not. The record is also produced by the Decemberists’ Chris Funk, who cleans up these guys’ act while at the same time pushing them to volumes usually associated with jet engines (and Motörhead).

While 2009’s self-titled release—and more specifically the video for “Prehistoric Dog”—got them some notice outside Portland, Murder the Mountains has them positioned for world takeover. Beginning with a First Listen from the folky folks over at NPR, and now with U.S. tours, Euro tours and a slot on the Mayhem Festival with … Disturbed? OK, it is now Red Fang’s duty to completely crush Disturbed fans’ skulls (figuratively speaking, of course). I think they’ve got it in ‘em.

“Wires” - Red Fang

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Tags: "Prehistoric Dog", Murder the Mountains, Portland music, Red Fang, Relapse Records

Record Store Daze

Friday, April 15th, 2011 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

Record Store Day. The name alone is enough to get music nerds, geeks, audiophiles, crate diggers, what have you, all hot and bothered. When I first wrote about RSD back in its first year (what feels like many, many, many moons ago), I thought, “All right, a day to show appreciation for the independent record store—a dying institution, the hub where people like you and me go to escape and spend hour(s) getting lost in the racks, meet other sick like-minded individuals and connect over that new Matthew Sweet release, or that old Saints record.” No, really. That was my actual thought at that very moment.

Now in its fourth year, Record Store Day looks a little different. It’s still a well-intentioned “holiday” that gives some love to those remaining independent stores that offer many people a place to escape from this mad, evil world we live in. But—there’s always a but—the emphasis seems to have gone from, “Hey, go to your local record store and enjoy what they have to offer” to “CHECK OUT THE LIST OF EXCLUSIVE RELEASES FROM SO-AND-SO, and “LOOK AT THESE 78 RPMS FROM SUCH-AND-SUCH!” People are even getting all Black Friday about it, ready to get in line early for said releases. Then you have some stores fucking it up by slinging these limited editions on eBay (to RSD’s credit, they are putting those stores on public notice, for what it’s worth). I don’t get it.

I say to hell with all that. Treat Record Store Day (Saturday, April 16) like you would any other day. Or, better yet, treat any other day like Record Store Day. Go in. Nerd out. Spend some time (time = money) at those great shops that may not be a “participating store” with all of those exclusive goodies (99 Cent Records, Exiled and Green Noise immediately come to mind here in Portlandia). Besides, who really needs a limited edition copy of Rumours on 180-gram double 45 RPM anyway? Don’t answer that.

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Tags: 99 Cent Records, Exiled Records, Green Noise Records, Record Store Day, Record Store Day 2011

Double negatives with Xray Eyeballs

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

I read that Xray Eyeballs frontman O.J. San Felipe includes lullabies as some of the inspiration for his music. Sounds kinda weird, but when you sit down and really absorb the themes of “Rock-a-Bye Baby” and “Itsy Bitsy Spider” you realize that whoever wrote those was—if I may be so direct—a little fucked in the head.

Xray Eyeballs are a little fucked in the head. Which is why I like them. Not to mention there’s something to be said about a band that was noticed for a T-shirt before their music. And they look like extras from Blade Runner. Plus, I just like the band name. The Brooklyn five-piece makes noisy pop music that balances light and darkness, tasteful and unsavory, organic kale and crystal meth. Their debut full-length (out April 19 on Kanine Records) Not Nothing is a creepy good time where guitars rule the land and minds float in the gutter. Ya smell what I’m steppin’ in? “Egyptian Magician” is a good place to start, although the vid for “Crystal” will give you the full, undiluted picture.

“Egyptian Magician” - Xray Eyeballs

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Tags: Kanine Records, Not Nothing, O.J. San Felipe, Xray Eyeballs

Interview: Alela Diane’s family affair

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 | interviewZ, musiX, pdX | No Comments

Alela Diane knows her way around a pop song. And on her new album—which introduces Diane’s new band Wild Divine—the Portland singer-songwriter balances the dark folk found on 2009’s excellent To Be Still with sunnier pop melodies and sleeker production courtesy of Scott Litt (R.E.M., Nirvana).

Calling the album “a battle between darkness and light,” Diane manages to keep these friendlier songs from becoming radio friendly with a little help from her band (which includes her longtime collaborating father Tom Menig and her husband Tom Bevitori). Giving the songs their weight are Diane’s distinct falsetto and all of those stark thoughts that have been building up in those notebooks of hers. There are a few unexpected twists and turns (take lead single “To Begin”) that hint toward what’s to come from the songwriter. I like it.

Alela Diane & Wild Divine is out today on Rough Trade. Diane took some time to talk to TDoL about life, death and love. Sounds like the making of a good song.

TDoL: It seems like a lot of folk singers eventually start playing with a band. Why did you decide to go that route this time around?
Alela Diane: It was time for a change, and playing with a band is something I’d been wanting to do for quite some time. The songs on this record were written with a fuller sound in mind, and I wanted to focus more on my vocals, and less on the guitar. It turns out that having a band could make all of that possible. It is enabling me to make the transition from girl with a guitar to frontwoman in a band. I think it’s important to move down different roads when the time feels right, and that is just what I’ve set out to do.

Your dad played on your first two albums, and he plays on the new record along with your husband … how was that?
It’s great working alongside the two Toms. We call dad “Big T” and husband “Little T.” It’s really nice to be on the road surrounded by family, and it definitely helps the homesickness thing. I don’t know what it would be like to have it any other way, because both of them have been by my side throughout my musical career. It works for us, and so I keep them around.

Some of the songs are less folky, a little more poppy. Was that the result of playing with a band, or were you already writing songs that were going in a different direction?
I spent a lot more time on my songwriting for this record, knowing that I’d be recording with a band. It’s also the first time I’ve co-written, and this definitely gives those tunes a different feel. Making a folk record would have been easy. I had to set the bar in a different place, and I had to try for something else.

When did you write most of the new material?
I wrote much of the lyrical content while on the road for To Be Still. There was rarely a moment to actually write the music part while traveling, so when we came home to Portland in late 2009, I had quite a supply of words that needed melodies and music. We had pretty much all of 2010 off from touring, during which time I’d sit around the house all day to work on songs. Many of them went through very different versions of themselves; there was a lot of working and reworking both words and music before they became what you hear on the record.

Lyrically it’s still pretty heavy at times …
I tend to write about what comes up in my life, and there were definitely some heavy things happening. Death is something that kept creeping in on the outskirts, and so I’d write about it. The record does contain a certain element of despair, but there is also the goodness, hope, and light that’s needed to balance those demons. The record is a battle between darkness and light.

What did Scott Litt bring to the recording process?
Scott Litt was our director. He was very helpful in getting parts out of us musicians that we never would have come to on our own. He worked a lot with our rhythm section, Jonas [Haskins] and Jason [Merculief], to develop the feel of each song. It was really great to have someone else telling everyone what to do, and it really took the pressure off of me.

Did you nerd out over the fact that he’s worked with R.E.M. and Nirvana? Do those bands hold any significance to you?
I’d had a couple of R.E.M. tapes I’d listen to in my car when I was 16, but I’m really not very hip with what’s going on now in music, or what went on in the past. When we were considering working with Scott, I downloaded some R.E.M. again and settled into the old songs, and listened to them in a way I never had. I decided that he definitely knew how to produce records, and that he had a great set of ears. That was good enough for me.

Do you prefer recording or playing live?
They are completely different birds. There is something amazing about the fleeting and flowing energy of a good live show, and I do love that. Recording is really exciting though, because you have the ability to create something you can both hear, and hold in your hands. I’m on the fence with this one, because I love and hate things about both.

You recently got married and bought a new house. Does that make it tougher to go out on the road?
We haven’t actually toured since we’ve fallen into domestic bliss! But I will say, that as much as I love home, I’m starting to get a bit restless. It’s been over a year since I’ve really hit the road. I think it will be nice to get back out there, and to know that we have a wonderful home to return to. I think our cat is really what makes it the hardest to leave … I miss that tiny animal when we’re gone, but I’m very thankful that the husband comes along.

Are you bringing the band over to Europe as well?
We will be touring as a band all over the place! It’s the first time I’ve recorded and am touring with the same group of musicians. It feels like the right thing to do, and I am really looking forward to settling into the songs on the road.

“To Begin” - Alela Diane & Wild Divine

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Tags: Alela Diane, Alela Diane & Wid Divine, interview, Portland music, Rough Trade, Scott Litt

Joan of Art

Friday, March 4th, 2011 | pdX | No Comments

Yes, it’s all about the rock ‘n’ roll around here—but I’m cultured, too. While TDoL is more fartsy than artsy, I will be attending the opening reception for Portland artist Joan Hiller’s art show In Likeness this Saturday at Tiga.

The show features Hiller’s portraiture work from the past eight months (along with a couple of older pieces), including the stunning oil painting on the left of Irish-born author/philosopher Iris Murdoch. Oh, but Hiller is all about the music as well (she’s also publicity director for Riot Act Media), and some of her pieces feature the likes of country musicians Wilma Burgess and Loretta Lynn.

It’s her art show—you’d think Hiller would be working the room—but she’ll be busy spinning records for the first two hours. That’s how rock ‘n’ roll/Portland this art show is. She’ll be relieved by DJ KM Fizzy (that’s The Thermals’ Kathy Foster) later in the evening so she can finally enjoy the cheese and wine. This is an art show … lay off the PBR tallboys, you plebeians!

Joan Hiller’s In Likeness: Reception Saturday, March 5 at Tiga. 7:30 p.m. Show runs through March 31.

Tags: In Likeness, Joan Hiller, Portland, portraiture, Tiga