Wednesday seemed to be a vortex of endless good shows in Portland. Included in the mix was Boston’s iLa Mawana, an eight-piece reggae band, who made the masses happy at Mt. Tabor Theater.
Having toured the East Coast extensively, growing a large population of followers, and garnering some good music press, the band embarked on their first ever West Coast tour this spring, to promote their first full length album, Soldiers of Sound. Influenced by those they’ve toured with, including Grammy winners Burning Spear, they really do possess the ability to make likable reggae music.
You can listen to Soldiers of Soundnow to see for yourself.
Wednesday night, the sounds were energized, and positive — needed at a late show such as this — and plenty of people found the dance floor and enjoyed themselves. Self-described as a modern reggae family, iLa Mawana incorporates dub and roots, and of course a little Bostonian jam band flair, to bring forth a heap of good vibes.
Those who were at the show were lucky to share in the celebration of the band’s first West Coast tour and Portland premier. Surely, iLa Mawana felt the love as much as we did, and will be back for more in the future.
iLa Mawana is touring throughout the summer, spending a solid two weeks on the West coast promoting their first full length album, Soldiers of Sound. Be among the first the hear the band live in Portland, this Wednesday night. While you wait in anticipation, check out the album’s title track here.
And be sure to watch this video of iLa Mawana in action.
Doors at 8:30 PM, tickets $8 in advance or at the door, 21+
Matt Harmon and Kali Giaritta are original Junkies. These two Junkies are connected at the hip. They do everything together and now they’re engaged.
But as the two Junkies have grown closer together, they’ve also allowed others to sneak into The Ascetic Junkies–a band that started as two in Boston but has organically swelled to five in Portland.
Matt and Kali arrived in Portland two years ago with an indie-folk album written and recorded in Kali’s bedroom. Two thousand eight’s One Shoe Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was “almost entirely Kali and I,” says Matt, adding that they often had to coax friends to fill in the instrumental gaps on stage as there was no fixed line up for the East Coast Junkies.
Listen to “Dracula” (from their first album), which was written on All Hallows’ Eve during a train ride in Romania approaching the home of Vlad the Impaler.
Beginning a new stretch on the West Coast, their sound has filled out to pack the room with their distinct blend of pop, country, folk, bluegrass, and indie–it’s a boot clompin’ hoedown driven by rock’n'roll with harmonies and lyrics that will meander your mind for days. Any attempt to whistle or hum will automatically reveal a Junkie tune stuck in your subconscious.
Kali and Matt are more than happy to try as much as possible, especially with the steady additions of bass, banjo and drums in the form of Ryan Hilton, Graham Houser and Stephen Colvin, respectively.
“The band is much more collaborative now,” states Matt.
“We still write the core of the songs (lyrics, melodies, harmonies),” says Kali, “but we all work together to come up with the final version of the song. The Ascetic Junkies are all five of us.”
The Junkies are letting their sound evolve as well; their first release featured electric guitar, which Matt says he doesn’t even play anymore. But the most important growth has come from the new Junkies, like drummer Stephen.
“He’s much more of a rock drummer and he puts an energy in the songs, something rougher,” says Matt. “We still write what we want but then arrange it with the band.”
Much of the old material was influenced by old bluegrass and folk music and written with a duo in mind, which ultimately limited the final output. “We didn’t have a band and the old songs were written specifically for the two of us,” explains Matt. “But now we’ve realized we can make a lot of noise.”
Kali says the songs are still “lyrically folksy” but the Junkies now have an “urge to rock” as a complete band.
Their latest EP Don’t Wait for the Rescue Squad features two new tracks, written for two old friends back in Boston, and two remixes by two new musician friends in Portland (Cars & Trains’ Tom Filepp and Leigh Marble). Matt and Kali didn’t plan a theme for this EP but “we realized a theme after the fact,” says Kali, and “it worked out more cohesively than we realized,” adds Matt.
They’ve also been influenced by exploring new genres like electro, rock and jazz while experimenting and discovering “how to transfer the music to banjo and bass,” says Matt.
“People go crazy over the banjo,” Kali smiles, “asking Graham to take his shirt off.”
“He hasn’t done it yet,” laments Matt. “But I’ve been trying to convince him lately.”
Most importantly, The Ascetic Junkies’ music is intrinsically fun. Kali leans toward calling it “whiskey stomp” and their live sets feature both. They love to bring people on stage to stomp and sing along, especially during their vehemently demanded closer “French Girls,” off the new EP. (Listen below.)
Matt claims the “newer stuff is what we sound like live” which is “louder than you think,” while still “danceable and clap-able” adds Kali.
“My very favorite thing is having people dance and stomp around,” proclaims Matt. “We love to make noise and share that.”
The band is busy sharing their noise with Portland during February beginning with their Wednesday, happy hour residency at the LaurelThrist Public House where they’ll collaborate with a new artist every week. All the Junkies will be there playing originals, traditional bluegrass, covers, and trying out some new material. With two hours of stage time (6 to 8 PM), you can expect experimentation, backing, and solos from Sam Cooper of Horse Feathers (2/10), The Glyptodons (2/17), and Leigh Marble and Ezra Carey (2/24).
The Ascetic Junkies also signed with Timber Carnival Records and Pet Marmoset (literally just signed the papers before our interview) to help them do “the stuff we’ve been doing on our own,” says Kali, which means promoting their music to press and radio, booking gigs, and “hopefully we can play shows together,” says Kali.
Which is exactly what’s happening on Friday night at Holocene. The Ascetic Junkies share the bill with history laden, new label mates The Dimes as well as openers Goldfinch (minimalist folk rock) and singer/songwriter Kelli Schaefer.
Gigs like this are exactly why Kali loves Portland. “On any night of the week, you can see seven different bands, really talented local bands,” exclaims Kali.
“So what’s next for The Ascetic Junkies?” I asked. “Touring? Full length? Wedding?”
“It will be a really busy, fun year doing all of that,” says Kali, including more local touring with stops in Eugene and Seattle in the coming months. But for now the original Junkies are writing and playing music, allowing new Junkies to grow right alongside them.
— Download :Don’t Wait for the Rescue Squad EP for free on Bandcamp. “These songs are like gifts to friends, so we felt silly charging for them. Enjoy!” says Kali.
It was a Wednesday night at Sam Bond’s Garage in Eugene. Most people walking in from the street would have been mightily surprised by the sonic assault coming from the stage in the form of the Joe Manis Trio, a jazz group tighter than Steve Perry’s pants.
They ripped down the rafters, melted faces, shattered pint glasses, and performed every other physical feat made possible by analogous musical hyperbole.
Yeah, I liked this group.
Weaving cascading sax solos and wrist snapping drum breaks with disjointed melodic themes, the Trio, featuring Joe Manis on tenor sax, Kevin McDonald on stand-up bass and Kevin Congleton on drums, filled the bar’s cavernous confines with a set that mixed original tunes with standards by Thelonious Monk, Sam Rivers and Pink Floyd.
Juxtaposing traditional jazz composition with a modern groove-based style, the group kept their set fresh and diverse. The bassist, sporting a gel infused mo-hawk, anchored Manis’ acrobatics with an array of walking bass lines and relentless riffs. The drummer took the time signature and folded it like an origami peacock, throwing off tapping feet across the bar with his unorthodox beat displacement.
Joe Manis led the Trio with a veterans touch, knowing when to take over and when to let his talented band have their turn. At one point during a particularly Buddy Rich-like drum solo, Manis restrained the bassist from reentering, recognizing the moment and letting it run its course.
The group was a great jazz amoeba, fluid and amorphous, shifting form from one song to the next, yet maintaining its basic parts.
This free showcase represented a gift to the community from Joe Manis, who graduated from the University of Oregon’s music program before heading off to the New England Conservatory in Boston to receive a Masters of Music in Jazz Studies-Performance with Academic Honor.
Look for the latest release from the Joe Manis Trio entitled Evidence.
Sometimes the story behind a recording can eclipse the music itself, as it has repeatedly with local folk-pop outfit The Dimes.
Stories about the band tend to focus on its unusual subject materials — the songs on the band’s first album were the result of a discovery of a bunch of Depression-era newspapers under the floorboards of guitarist Pierre Kaiser’s house, while the brand new album, “The King Can Drink The Harbor Dry” is a postcard to Boston and its rich history, from the martyrdom of Mary Dyer through the Revolutionary War, the suffragette movement, Boston’s great fire and the local woman — Clara Barton — who founded the American Red Cross.
While that admittedly makes for a great story angle, using history as inspiration doesn’t automatically lead to great songs.
In anyone else’s hands, these topics might end up as boring history lessons, but as seen through the eyes — and especially ears — of The Dimes’ singer/songwriter Johnny Clay, they’re more strikingly personal vignettes than stodgy portraits. In fact, if you didn’t know that “Save Me, Clara” was an ode to Barton, it would simply sound like a brilliant indie-folk love song.
“I’m so glad the personal angle comes across,” says Clay. “I know some people may not understand, but it really isn’t anything new. People used to use story and song to talk about who we are and where we’ve been — it was the way we passed on our heritage and in a way those people live forever.
“I’ve thought about Woody Guthrie writing songs like ‘Two Good Men’ about Sacco and Vanzetti and the way prejudice led to their conviction and executions,” he continues. “There’s a lesson there — a lesson we still haven’t seemed to learn when you think of how Arab-Americans are looked at these days.
“But I was inspired by the fact that Woody Guthrie and so many other folk singers were playing that part for us — telling us our stories so we’d never forget.”
Clay’s a natural born storyteller — “Growing up, the house always seemed to be filled with stories and history, my grandparents or great uncles telling a story about the old days or WWII,” he says — so it’s no wonder he was inspired by the long list of Boston notables.
It’s particularly worth noting that he was quite taken with the crop of strong females that Boston has produced. A cursory stroll through the album’s song titles reads a bit like a love letter, with nods to Barton, Susan (B. Anthony), Abigail (Adams) and Dyer, amongst others.
“What can I say,” he laughs. “I’m drawn to strong women. When I started reading about Boston’s history and all the amazing people that have come from there, I came across so many people I’d never heard of — people whose stories I’d never been told. I think that’s what drew me in most, especially with the women.
“I’d heard the name Clara Barton somewhere growing up, and I knew Susan B. Anthony was on a coin, but I didn’t know why. When I found out that she (Susan B.) went down to a polling booth and demanded to vote, rattling off Constitutional law until she was finally allowed to vote… That’s inspiring stuff,” he beams. “To think that a woman wasn’t allowed to cast a vote — it’s crazy. Of course she was later arrested for breaking federal law — ridiculous. But had she not done what she did in her life, our lives might be a lot different.”
Clay is currently back in school pursuing a degree in — you guessed it — history. But for someone who started his academic career as a music major, his twin passions seem to be dovetailing quite nicely.
“I’m letting the writing take me where it wants to take me at this point,” he says in regards to future material. “I’m working on a couple of songs about Abolitionists, some pretty incredible people — and not from Boston this time. One of them was inspired by Lovejoy St., a street here in Portland I’ve always wondered about — in a roundabout way, that is. I’d come across the name Elijah Lovejoy when I was reading about The Liberator and the Abolitionist movement, and I wondered if that was where Portland’s Lovejoy St. got its name. Turns out it’s not, but it still got me started on the song. We’ll see what happens, but I’m not setting out to write another themed record…not right now anyway.”
What he is setting out to do is create a more supportive local community, and to fully realize the potential of his band. The Dimes have recently expanded into an eight-piece ensemble — a remarkable number of people for a band with such a delicate, minimal sound.
“We all have to play less!” laughs Clay, when asked about how band dynamics literally work. “But that’s how the record was made — there are little details on the songs that we wanted to bring to the live show. It took some getting used to — all of the sudden, the Rhodes is there, the mandolin is there, and the acoustic guitar doesn’t need to fill as much space. It’s certainly a work in progress, but we’re having a blast with it.”
They’re also having a blast with like-minded musicians in bands like Derby and the Ravishers, often working with each other and sitting in on each other’s sets.
“Having such a great community of friends and musicians is incredible,” says Clay. “I remember working on ‘Winslow Homer’ and Dave (from Derby) mentioning that I should try some call and response vocals. That’s my favorite part of that song now. Another friend I used to play in bands with suggested I try a mandolin, said I wouldn’t be able to put it down. I did and I loved it — it’s all over the record. Pierre got really into slide playing on this record and I know he and Dominic (from Ravishers) talked slide tone for hours on one particular road trip. They’re just great people – and great players.”
“It’s been great to find not only talented musicians, but great people as well,” says Derby’s Dave Gulick. “I feel blessed to have met up with such great genuine people. When you can have a group of like-minded people creating great music and supporting each other it’s just fantastic.”
What’s ultimately fantastic is The Dimes’ new album. If you’re a history buff or someone who wants to dig beyond the surface of these lovely folk-pop songs, the band has cleverly created an interactive map on their website. But you don’t have to be either to love these gentle, genteel tunes. They stand on their own two feet, even as they inspire you to seek out the deeper story.
A staple in the Eugene jazz scene, Joe Manis will take his trio and fill the rafters of Sam Bond’s Garage with a soothing brand of smooth jazz.
You might think you’re in an elevator, until the Trio launches into a frenzy of notes and rhythms that assaults the senses, batters the brain, and generally results in incredulous stares and an abundance of happiness. Plus, there’s beer.
As a graduate of the University of Oregon’s music department in 2005, Joe Manis went on to receive a Master in Music in Jazz Studies-Performance with Academic Honor from the New England Conservatory in Boston in 2007.
He has toured the country as well as Europe with groups such as the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, the Ken Schaphorst Big Band featuring trombonist Andre Hayward, The Temptations, and the many incarnations of the Joe Manis Trio.
The Trio’s music spans the gamut from up-tempo blast your face jazz to the slow variety where the bass player walks a mile and the drummer treats the head of his snare drum like a canvas. Binding these styles together are three guys who are straight-up players.
Don’t miss this chance to see world-class jazz musicians for free at Sam Bond’s Garage on Nov. 18th, 2009. 21 and over.
Wednesday seemed to be a vortex of endless good shows in Portland. Included in the mix was Boston’s iLa Mawana, an eight-piece reggae band, who made the masses happy at Mt. Tabor Theater.
themselves. Self-described as a modern reggae family, iLa Mawana incorporates dub and roots, and of course a little Bostonian jam band flair, to bring forth a heap of good vibes.
The Ascetic Junkies also signed with 
It was a Wednesday night at Sam Bond’s Garage in Eugene. Most people walking in from the street would have been mightily surprised by the sonic assault coming from the stage in the form of the 
A staple in the Eugene jazz scene, 
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