Fanny Pack

Kim, Andy and I hit up some post Xmas sales today and found some finds.

Snow Days

I was fortunate enough to be joined by the lovely Brittain Ashford for
these last few crazy snow days in Portland and Seattle. As always she
was a wonderful road companion as we ran back and forth between the
two cities for our shows.

I encourage Seattle friends to join us at the Josephine in Ballard
this Saturday as we play with Levi Fuller, Yonderlow and Luminous Craft.

Sunset on Alpine

On our way back from dinner in Harrisburg we pulled off the road to
appreciate a gorgeous sunset. Individual rays of pink stretched out
from the horizon like the spokes of a wheel. Too bad my iPhone camera
wasn't able to capture the image with much fidelity.

Green River

I was perusing the concert calendar looking for an entertaining show
for my out of town guest. I was more than surprised to see grunge
legends Green River listed in the evening's shows. I went to the show
and it was pretty fantastic. They were/are a force of nature.

Kim & Malcolm

The cat's meow

I was pretty tired and sad to leave my good friend, but the good folks
at Delta Airlines knew just how to cheer me up.

Grey Dog Cafe

We had a late last day lunch at this place called Grey Dog. The
grilled sandwiches we're amazing and the pie was to die for. We
happened to grab a table that featured a handpainted map of Washington
& Oregon. We took a couple of photos of each other at the table but we
are both making funny faces in the photos, so I chose to show this
upside down image of Seattle. Brittain noted that interstate signs
shouldn't be printed in comic sans

New York Public Library

For my last day in New York, Brittain took me out to the library (as
featured in Ghostbusters) and Grand Central Station. It was about all
that we could squeeze into the final fleeting hours of my two-week
visit.

The library is beautiful. My roommate had suggested I visit the
reading room and I wish I had taken her advice. It seemed like a great
place to read or simply update one's facebook profile.

Kitten Cookies

Actually they are molasses crinkles.

Laundry Day

I really hate the laundromat. I think someone should invent a gym /
laundromat / bar. That might be alright. I suppose you can catch up on
reading at the laundromat but otherwise your time there is just a wash.

Sexy Kitchenware

Brittain and I ran some errands in Soho. I got in trouble for taking
photos in this kitchen store.

Election Day

Today is day four of my visit to Brooklyn. We've been trying to keep
busy and working in making the most of these couple of weeks together.

Brittain is working today, an intern gig with a pretty cool music
distributor. It's election day so I tagged along with her to the local
polling place in Bushwick. It was a typical school basement room.
Hardly the kind of place that you'd expect to make important decisions
that affect the future of our country but it seemed efficient and the
voters were visibly excited to cast their votes. The woman pictured
above said, "is it only 9 o'clock?". They have a long day ahead of them.

I have a long day ahead of me as well. Brittain and I are meeting up
later this evening to get some beers and watch election results. Until
then I will try to get a few things done and maybe catch up with the
Loch Lomond kids who also happen to be in town for a few days.

Another NY Vacation

I'm on the plane that will take me to Brooklyn to Brittain for one
last time this year. It is bittersweet. I have had the time of my life
these last few months and I spent more time then I could have ever
imagined in NY with some of my favorite people, but now appears to be
the end of that chapter and the start of a new one.

I still need a job and I honestly hope to find one soon. I also want
to achieve a few more things before winter comes and goes. I have
plans and this is good, but I'm taking a moment to celebrate all the
good fortune that these last months have brought ... and then I'll
move on.

"Sometimes you eat the bar and, well, sometimes the bar eats you."

Wooly Bear

We found him at Alea's parent's house.

A helpful hint

Just when it seemed completely hopeless, I found a helpful hint.

I just overheard

"Is it a vampire who became a Nazi or a Nazi who became a vampire?"

Mountain Goats at The Wonder Ballroom

PDX: Stolen Gear

My friend Anne had all of her music gear stolen this weekend. Here's her post about the theft:

It was a weekend of parties.


Of parties, and dropping off people at places.


And somehow, an unlocked car door.


And, hence, a missing...

1) Off-white/yellow Luna hollow-body electric guitar with f-holes in a black case with a red Where The Wild Things Are monster sewn on it.


2) Busted up accordion with one brown tooth, and one wire-fixed strap. Blue straps. A busted case with blue velvet inside that says the following on one side in gold ink: "She seemed to throw off heat like a big iron radiator. She was appallingly human.
~ Vonnegut"

3) Boss 20 looping pedal--originally in a gold-and-white checked square zip-up cosmetic case.


4) bag of cords, with stickers with my face on them (so they wouldn't get lost.) Bag is blue and white zip-up with blue handles and kittens on it.


5) Pretty busted Shure microphone.


If you want, pass this along to other Portland music people. And if you see these instruments or their cases, or if somebody tries to consign them, I guess call cops. And email me.


Can't play now. Feel very stupid, and so, so, sad.


~Anne.

No Soap

There was no soap at this party.

Uni

I dropped by the post office to mail off a couple of packages. When I
arrived the place was completely empty, but by the time I had my
packages prepped there was a line out the door. It took about a minute
for a dozen people to file in. Anyway our postal clerk is a talkative
one. While I waited I listened to him vent about life behind the
counter to a succession of hapless customers. He eventually admitted
that he was suffering from shorttimer's. He's leaving the company and
finishing his education. It was kind of inspiring.

Live From Portland

I caught a couple of performanes a week ago at Dekum Manor that were
part of a live DVD taping session featuring a ton of Portland's finest
bands. I suppose it'll be similar to the Burn to Shine videos except
we didn't getting burn down the house at the end.

P.S. House shows make me feel ten times older.

Oregon Coast

We spent the last couple of days on the coast and it was wonderful.

More kittens and owls!

Kitties made of felt

Sewmanycats.com I just met this lady selling kitties at Doug Fir Fest.
She loves Suicide Kittens! So do I.

Chapman Elementary Swifts

I brought my mom and sister out to see the migrating swifts. It is
pretty amazing but a swift deficated on my head.

Kitten Time

I stayed with my good friends Kim and Andy and their two adorable
kittens, Echo and Banjo, yesterday. I love kittens but they make me
sneezy. Maybe one day I'll be able to afford a hyperallergenic kitten.

Seattle

We played Seattle's Nectar Lounge on Sunday night. The turnout was
light but we killed that night. It's a huge pleasure to play with
Matt's band.

Doug Fir Green Room

Here's all that was left of the complimentary refreshments at midnight
on Saturday in the green room. The kind MFNW staff stocked the tube
with near beer at the end of the night. I'm not sure if they did that
to sober us up, to make a joke or because they ran out of booze.

Perfect From Now On

I loved MFNW but I ended up missing a bunch of shows so that I could
learn Matt's songs by Saturday night (Matt invited me to join the band
on Wednesday).

One show that I was happy to catch was Built To Spill at the Wonder. I
just barely got in to see the sold out show. The band played Perfect
From Now On in its entirety and it made me very nostalgic.

Telemegaphone!

I just heard about this on PRI's Geo Quiz. There's this megaphone installation up on a mountainside in Western Norway that YOU can call! There's a cellphone connected the megaphone and it is uncensored. Apparently they get a lot of singers on the line. Give them a ring: +4790369389.

Catching up

I typically update this blog from my iPhone. There's an email-to-blog feature that works pretty well most of the time. Last week it suddenly stopped working fir me for reasons beyond my understanding. I stopped posting after a few failed attempts.

Since then, I was invited to play Musicfest NW at the Doug Fir as well as a Seattle gig with my good friend Matt Sheehy. We only had the benefit of one full band rehearsal in Ryan Dolliver's spacious, foam-lined practice room.

Palin in Comparison

Sarah Palin isn't quite the savvy attack dog the GOP is promoting.

Musicfest NW 2008 Picks

I happened upon a free Musicfest NW bracelet this week so I've been thinking about which shows I'll attend. As with any music festival there are some serious decisions to be made.

Looking at the performers, I'm glad that I passed on Bumbershoot this year. Nearly every band that I would have wanted to see at B-shoot is playing MFNW.


[WEDNESDAY]

Berbati's Pan
9:00 pm The 1900s
10:00 pm Norfolk & Western
11:00 pm Langhorne Slim
12:00 am Old 97's


Crystal Ballroom
9:00 pm Griffin House
10:00 pm Xavier Rudd


Roseland Theater
9:00 pm Fuck Buttons
10:30 pm Mogwai

[THURSDAY]

Ash Street Saloon
9:00 pm Sharpening Markers
10:00 pm Pure Country Gold
11:00 pm Coconut Coolouts
12:00 am Scared of Chaka


Berbati's Pan
9:00 pm Love As Laughter
10:00 pm Port O'Brien
11:00 pm Pseudosix
12:00 am Nada Surf


Crystal Ballroom
8:20 pm Eskimo and Sons
9:00 pm Calvin Johnson
10:00 pm M. Ward


Dante's
8:00 pm Ian Moore
9:00 pm Richmond Fontaine
10:00 pm Sleepercar
11:00 pm The Blakes
12:00 am The Whigs


Doug Fir
9:00 pm Hungry Ghost
10:00 pm The Thrones
11:00 pm Iommi Stubbs
12:00 am Red Fang
1:00 am Steel Pole Bath Tub


Holocene
8:00 pm Silver Summit
9:00 pm Oxford Collapse
10:00 pm Bodies of Water
11:00 pm Starfucker
12:00 am Deerhunter


Roseland Theater
8:00 pm Animal Farm
9:00 pm Cool Nutz & DJ Fatboy
10:00 pm The Cool Kids
11:00 pm Del The Funky Homosapien


Wonder Ballroom
5:30pm No Age
7:00pm Battles


[FRIDAY]


Ash Street Saloon
8:00 pm TK Webb and The Visions
9:00 pm Graveyard
10:00 pm Akimbo
11:00 pm Danava
12:00 am Witchcraft


Backspace
7:00 pm The Rainy States
8:00 pm Southern Belle
9:00 pm Typhoon
10:00 pm Best Fwends
11:00 pm Matt and Kim


Berbati's Pan
9:00 pm Nick Jaina
10:00 pm Portugal. The Man
11:00 pm Alela Diane
12:00 am Langhorne Slim
1:00 am The Builders and the Butchers


Crystal Ballroom
8:30 PM Lackthereof
9:30 PM John Vanderslice
10:30 pm Vampire Weekend


Dante's
8:00 pm Rapids
9:00 pm The Muslims
10:00 pm Colour Revolt
11:00 pm These Arms Are Snakes
12:00 am The Night Marchers


Doug Fir
8:00 pm Micah Blue Smaldone
9:00 pm Laura Gibson
10:00 pm Dolorean
11:00 pm Death Vessel
12:00 am Crooked Fingers


East End
9:00 pm The Whips and the Whales
10:00 pm The Bugs
11:00 pm Hey Lover
12:00 am Cafeteria Dance Fever


Hawthorne Theatre
8:00 pm Gray Matters
9:00 pm Living Proof
10:00 pm Sandpeople
11:00 pm Jedi Mind Tricks


Holocene
8:00 pm Joshua Morrison
9:00 pm Dyme Def
10:00 pm Pwrfl Power
11:00 pm Truckasauras
12:00 am Throw Me the Statue
1:00 am U.S.E.


Jimmy Mak's
9:00 pm DJ Santo
10:00 pm Trio Subtonic
11:00 pm Velella Velella
12:00 am Rupa and the April Fishes


Mission Theater and Pub
1:00 pm THE GITS MOVIE


Rontoms
5:00 pm Blue Horns
5:30 pm Team Evil
6:00 pm Dakota Slim
6:30 pm The Skinnyz
7:00 pm Invisible Rockets
8:00 pm Autopilot is for Lovers
8:30 pm Kurt Hagardorn
9:00 pm The Love Language
10:00 pm Anders Parker
11:00 pm The Mommyheads
12:00 am Oh Captain, My Captain


Roseland Theater
9:00 pm Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
10:00 pm Jaguar Love
11:30 pm TV on the Radio


[SATURDAY]


Ash Street Saloon
9:00 pm Diesto
10:00 pm Totimoshi
11:00 pm Pierced Arrows
12:00 am Nebula
1:00 am Flipper


Backspace
7:00 pm Strangers Die Every Day
8:00 pm Monica Nelson
9:00 pm We're from Japan
10:00 pm A Weather
11:00 pm An Intimate Evening With Mirah


Berbati's Pan
9:00 pm Black Elk
10:00 pm The Joggers
11:00 pm Trans Am
12:00 am Polvo


Crystal Ballroom
8:00 pm Mimicking Birds
9:00 pm Blitzen Trapper
10:00 pm Fleet Foxes
11:00 pm Menomena
12:00 am The Helio Sequence


Dante's
8:30 pm Looker
9:30 pm The Fucking Eagles
10:30 pm Fireballs of Freedom
11:30 pm Supernova
12:30 am Seaweed


Doug Fir
8:00 pm Matt Sheehy
9:00 pm Weinland
10:00 pm Loch Lomond
11:00 pm Fernando
12:00 am Bobby Bare Jr.
1:00 am Centro-Matic


East End
9:00 pm Monstrous
10:00 pm Logan Lynn
11:00 pm Hazelwood Motel
12:00 am The Upsidedown


Fez Ballroom
8:00 pm The Freddie Steady 5
9:00 pm The Slants
10:00 pm Blind Pilot
11:00 pm Hypatia Lake
12:00 am Outtasite
12:30 am Sir Mix-A-Lot


Hawthorne Theatre
8:00 pm Dirty Mittens
9:00 pm Dykeritz
10:00 pm Copy
11:00 pm Dan Deacon


Holocene
9:00 pm Horse Feathers
10:00 pm Panther
11:00 pm The Shaky Hands
12:00 am Thao with Get Down Stay Down


Jimmy Mak's
9:00 pm Tony Ozier
10:00 pm Barry Hampton & The Triple Grip
11:00 pm Copacrescent
12:00 am The Devin Phillips Band


Mission Theater and Pub
1:00 pm BEAUTIFUL LOSERS


Nemo Design
1875 SE Belmont St (MapQuest) 503-872-9631
Wristband or FREE! at the door.
MFNW 2008 Panels presented by The Recording Academy® Pacific NW Chapter


Roseland Theater
8:30 PM Bitchin Summer
9:30 PM Bouncing Souls
11:00 pm Hot Water Music


Rotture
9:00 pm Carrie Clarke & The Lonesome Lovers
10:00 pm The Wherewithals
11:00 pm Lael Alderman
12:00 am Morgan Grace
1:00 am Blue Skies for Black Hearts


Satyricon
7:00 pm Street Plant
8:00 pm The Strange Boys
9:00 pm Crystal Antlers
10:00 pm Past Lives
11:00 pm Sex Vid
12:00 am Fucked Up


Slabtown
8:00 pm Scotland Barr and the Slow Drags
9:00 pm The Dry County Crooks
10:00 pm Michael Dean Damron & Thee Loyal Bastards
11:00 pm Hillstomp
12:00 am Rachel Taylor Brown
1:00 am Chris Robley & the Fear of Heights


Someday Lounge
8:00 pm Iretsu
9:00 pm Flaspar
10:00 pm The Retrofits
11:00 pm Pleasae Step Out Of The Vehicle
12:00 am Another Cynthia
1:00 am Caves


The Towne Lounge
9:00 pm Paper/Upper/Cuts
10:00 pm Atole
11:00 pm Eskimo and Sons
12:00 am Chicharones


Wonder Ballroom
5:30pm Ratatat
7:00pm Les Savy Fav