Oregon Music News

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BLITZEN TRAPPER
Monday, 9/12 – 8 PM
Blitzen Trapper is one of the Pacific Northwest’s more eclectic indie roots-rock bands. Instead of honing a single vision like Fleet Foxes, the Portland outfit hops from genre to genre, all the while maintaining their twin loves: arty bombast and sharp, power-pop hooks. It’s an aesthetic that immediately calls to mind the classic Move-E.L.O.-Wizzard axis: With each successive album, singer and songwriter Eric Earley’s tunesmithing grows more varied and confident, a modern-day Roy Wood in terms of rapid transformation.

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WILLIAM TOPLEY
Monday, 9/12 – 5 PM
William Topley has developed a dedicated fan base in the U.S. ever since the release of Prince of the Deep Water in 1991, his first album with his band The Blessing. .Producer Neil Dorfsman (Sting, Dire Straits) described him as “the most original songwriter I’ve heard for years.” The influences, still recognizable in his music, were already there – The Stones, Van Morrison, the best of soul and southern rock. The album catapulted The Blessing into a world tour, videos in Jamaica, TV stations in Paris and soccer stadiums in Germany with Simply Red and Level 42.

TALKDEMONIC

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TUESDAY, 10/4 – 6 PM
Ruins is the fourth Talkdemonic studio album, and it effectively takes everything about the first three Talkdemonic records and blasts it into the stratosphere. It’s as though you’ve watched this band mature throughout the arc of their discography, with Ruins being the sophisticated culmination of a near-decade spent honing their craft. It would be difficult not to fill the vocalist void with melodic clutter, but Ruins never seems overstuffed. It ebbs and flows with the touch of an ace producer. From the eerie almost-human voices peeking through the cracks in “Cascading” to the tender soundscapes of col legno viola and deep toms in “Chimera”, to the screeching death-stomp of “Midnight Pass”, the tension/texture/release/euphoria ritual remains intact without ever sounding formulaic.

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JACOB FRED JAZZ ODYSSEY
Saturday, 9/24 – 4 PM
Since 1994, the JFJO collective has brought their impressionistic and improvisational vision from the Midwest’s Bible-Belt to many of the world’s finest music festivals and clubs. Music lovers are blown away by JFJO’s instrumental virtuosity and creativity, musical risk, and near-telepathic communication on stage. Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey is the evolution of an ongoing musical discourse that’s been developed during 16 years of touring.

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“Lloyd Jones is everything a great blues artist ought to be. I love his music because it lifts me up. I don’t think people have any idea what they’ve got in Portland. He’s got the depth of feeling to match his mighty voice. By that I mean he’s got heart as well as soul. And he always delivers the goods. He’s worth the price of admission every time.” — David Vest

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“…Shoegaze inflicted folk music, woozy pop balladry, swirling psychedelics, luscious vocal harmonies, and all around incredible song writing. Tracks like “Cold Comfort” combine all of these skills into one sweeping, roaring dreamscape of modern alternative rock…incredibly impressive debut…we should be hearing a lot from these guys in the years to come.”
Dan Goldin (EXPLODING IN SOUND)

“I don’t know why more people don’t know about these guys, Long Beach is something of an untapped wealth of great music that largely, and unfairly, stays within it’s own confines. I hope that’s not the case for this band, because I was just sent their latest album and it’s brilliant.”
Nada Alic (FRIENDS WITH BOTH ARMS)

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FONZARELLI
Saturday, 5/7 – 5 PM
Originally penned as a rock n roll epitaph solo project, Tannar Brewer ended up resurrected in the form of this new band, Fonzarelli. Powerfully catchy songs with clever lyrics, covering topics you’d expect in a eulogy to his decade of rock and the road, Last Chance Summer Dance delivers a fresh new collection of rock anthems. Fonzarelli are rock veterans serving up economically timed, precisely narrative sonic stories with a new wave kick. Sometimes dark, always true.

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PLUG IN STEREO
Thursday, 5/12 – 6 PM
Behind all great musical projects lies an artistic puppeteer that orchestrates the strings – for Plug In Stereo, it’s 17-year-old wunderkind Trevor Dahl. Trevor is a jack of all trades, a multi instrumentalist with a talent for easy-going and down to earth acoustic melodies. Plug In Stereo’s first full-length, Nothing To Something, is an album filled with acoustic pop jams that will have music listeners tapping their feet and clapping their hands. With influences such as John Mayer, The Shins, and Jason Mraz, Plug In Stereo’s new album takes a different route, straying from his older more synth heavy sound.