The Days of Lore

It’s now Horse Feathers’ duty to completely drain you

Friday, August 20th, 2010 | musiX, pdX | 1 Comment

Is Nirvana one of most oft-covered bands of the past two decades? I know I’ve unleashed my version of “Polly” at every party I’ve been to since 1994. But that’s me.

Portland’s Horse Feathers actually bring something new to their interpretation of “Drain You.” The song—which they performed recently at the Doug Fir—will appear on Horse Feathers’ forthcoming 7-inch. I’m still holding out for an acoustic version of “Milk It.”

Tags: "Drain You", Horse Feathers, Nirvana, Portland music

Loch Lomond unleashes a storm

Thursday, January 15th, 2009 | interviewZ, musiX, pdX | No Comments

By the time he was 8, Ritchie Young had started his own newspaper and managed to convince the neighbor kids to help him create “Ritchie Park.” He must have been a charismatic little bugger … hell, when I was 8 I was selling lemonade and reading Spider-Man comic books.

This story came as Young explained the title of Loch Lomond’s forthcoming record Little Me Will Start a Storm. And he is charismatic. In fact, the entire time we were on the phone I had this strange urge to want to fetch his slippers. Although Young says his business savvy peaked at 8, one can’t help but see a slight parallel. Over the past five years, Loch Lomond has gone from a solo project to a full group of revolving musicians ranging in size from six to nine members (the group has included members of the excellent Horse Feathers and Norfolk and Western). By the time the group released 2006’s Lament For Children Loch Lomond had ceased being simply another side project for the members.

Things have been going quite well ever since. Young and his cohorts released the more expansive Paper the Walls in 2007 and in 2008 landed a tour with The Decemberists. Loch Lomond also shot the video for “Blue Lead Fences” (from Little Me) over two days in McIver Park with photographer Alicia J. Rose.

“The reality of the situation is that it was [filmed at] a Frisbee golf course and we were dodging Frisbees the whole time,” Young confesses. You can’t argue with the results. It’s an eerie piece of work where grainy film seamlessly meets Loch Lomond’s lush, dreamlike chamber pop.

Now set at a solid seven members, Young says Loch Lomond will remain busy in 2009 and beyond with the release of Little Me Will Start a Storm. The group is performing at the Noise Pop and SXSW festivals and will warm up Saturday, Jan. 17 at the Aladdin Theater with The Old Believers and Blind Pilot.

While no release-date has been set, the new record looks to match the tone of “Blue Lead Fences”—with Young’s vocals always at center—and, as Young puts it, will step away from the group’s folkier leanings.

“It’s kind of like a cross between the stuff we were doing and early Genesis,” Young explains in an almost confessional tone. “Not the prog-y stuff, but the more sweeping songs.”

Hey Ritchie, you don’t have to tiptoe around me with the Genesis stuff … as long as you don’t get the urge to make the next Abacab.

“Carl Sagan” - Loch Lomond (Paper the Walls)

Video for “Blue Lead Fences”

Tags: "Blue Lead Fences", Alicia J. Rose, Horse Feathers, Lament For Children, Little Me Will Start a Storm, Loch Lomond, Norfolk and Western, Paper the Walls, Ritchie Young, The Decemberists