SALEMscenester

Brainstorm and Maggie Mo

2009-08-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

Back on August 10th I made a point of going to See Maggie Morris as she came on tour through Salem, stopping to play with Ghosties and Brainstorm. I've been a Maggie Mo fan for a couple years and I was really excited for a chance to see her live again. Sadly, the turnout was pretty poor that night. I know it was a Monday, but it was pretty disappointing to be one of only two people there who weren't playing in one of the bands or working behind the bar. Still, Maggie Morris rocked it, playing with a band behind her.

Brainstorm actually opened the show. They're a Salem band I hadn't heard to much about but I really liked there stuff. They're a two piece act, but they work in a number of instruments including keyboards and a tuba. It's experiemental, but they're doing some interesting stuff. Here's a taste:

I've got a Ghosties video from that night, too, but I feel like that's all I've been posting here lately, so just go to my YouTube profile if you want to see it.

High Scores and Records

2009-08-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

Devin Gallagher is not a big fan of being on stage. This is a strange thing to hear from someone who has played with over twenty bands and as many as nine at once in Salem and Portland. He’s a member of three bands now: Typhoon, the Black Black Black and Ghosties. But he’s happier when he can play on the floor—in the crowd. The Black Black Black famously set up their amps on the floor and play with the audience right on top of them. Gallagher made a similar choice on his most recent performance at The Space with his solo act, Ghosties.

The Space is looking really good these days. They knocked out the wall that once divided the interior. Now it’s a much wider, more inviting and open space. The elevated stage is new as well, but Devin didn’t use it.

He had just taken Ghosties on the road with a quick tour up to Canada to participate in the Music Waste festival in Vancouver, BC. At times he plays with a full band. Many of his talented friends from other bands will back him up to give his songs that layered, complex sound you hear on his many albums and EPs. Unfortunately the Canadian border agents can be touchy about letting visitors across with a bunch of instruments and no work permit. Devin’s solution was to strip down his act to the bare essentials and travel with just a ukulele.

The mini-tour included stops in Portland and Olympia where Devin has many connections to the local music scenes. He’s from Salem, but he has lived in Olympia and currently resides in Portland. Everywhere he goes he makes connections with local artists.

This comes in handy in his role as co-owner of Boy Gorilla Records. Founded in 2005 with Tyler Ferrin, another Salem native, they quickly became darlings of the Portland indie music scene. Boy Gorilla has since put out 23 releases featuring bands from Salem, Portland, Seattle, Olympia and San Francisco. The name Boy Gorilla has come to represent a collective of talented musicians as much as anything else.

On this night Devin was alone. He set up a chair in the middle of the floor out in front of the stage. He didn’t bother with a mic or any amplification. It was Tuesday, not the venue’s busiest night, but the laid back crowd lent to the intimate atmosphere. The audience sat around the room in a ring and listened to him strum on the uke and sing.

It was an auspicious time for this performance. Devin is in the middle of launching a new record label, High Scores and Records. Boy Gorilla is not the nimble venture it once was and at a certain point Devin felt he needed the freedom to try out some new ideas. But there’s no bad blood there. He describes High Scores and Records and Boy Gorilla as “sister labels”.

One of those new innovations is the digi-store at highscoresandrecords.com. A big influence on Devin has always been the independent labels that emerged in the late 80s. They were able to create buzz with small runs of cassettes that could be produced inexpensively in house. “Because of this, I’ve always romanticized tapes. But tapes are no longer the cheapest and easiest means of releasing music.”

MP3s are that new format. Once a recording has been made the songs can be distributed effectively for free online. His new digi-store reflects this. The new digital LPs by Ghosties and Guidance Counselor are sold for only $3.00 each. If you buy either right now you also get a free single by Masters and Johnson. The release of a new Ghosties EP is also imminent, to be priced at $2.00. They have a pretty impressive list of bands lined up as well: Typhoon, Support Force, el comé homé, The Last Slice of Butter, The Black Black Black, Total Bros, and Brainstorm.

Devin Gallagher’s tireless devotion to music is self evident. He is himself a prolific songwriter, performer and is now the founder of multiple indie labels. He is also a big supporter of the Salem music scene, of which he himself is a product. When I asked him about Salem music his greatest praise goes first to the venue he plays so regularly. “I cannot say how much I love The Space and want everyone in Salem to realize how lucky they are to have it.” I could not agree more.

Devin will be back in Salem on August 7th, playing The Space again as part of the big Boy Gorilla west coast tour this summer. It was planned as a Maggie Morris/Ghosties tour originally, but so many Boy Gorilla artists will be part of the entourage that it’s hard to say what band you’ll see on each date. You can be sure Devin will be there singing, drumming, playing guitar or on his ukulele, but whether he’ll be up on a stage remains an open question.

NOTE: This was an example article I wrote for a potential new arts and culture magazine based in Salem. I don't know that it will ever be printed due to various stalls in the process, but Devin was nice enough to grant me and interview and I wanted to share what I've written.

Ranch-Records.com

2009-06-29T00:51:00.000-07:00

I should have mentioned this earlier, but back in May I started work on a new website for the legendary local independent record store, Ranch Records. it can be found at http://www.ranch-records.com

The site is now live and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I am working on getting the staff to post regularly on the Blog. I know there are plenty of people around Salem who'd love to see David's recommendations each week. There will also be and online shop down the road at first for some of the more interesting and rare items, and perhaps more and more inventory as they have time to enter items.

So visit the site and be sure to subscribe to the feed. If you need a site for your small business I am available for hire. I've started a web design firm called Dirigible Web Design with my brother-in-law, Wes, and Ranch is but one of our growing list of clients.

Ghosties at the Space on a Ukulele

2009-06-18T00:24:00.000-07:00

Headed down to the Space Tuesday night for the first time in a while. They've remodelled since I was last there, taking out the wall opening the space up considerably. I'm told they just started doing happy hour during the week between 7-9 with drinks half off. They've also put in an elevated stage, though as you'll see not everyone uses it.

Devin Gallagher, AKA: Ghosties, played a solo set on a ukulele. He was just back from a trip to Vancouver BC for a musif festival and I guess they are weird about letting musicians in to the coutry with a lot of instruments without a work permit so a uke was just the thing. It was a cool, intimate show. Devin set up a chair in the middle of the room and played without amplification. Of course, the lighting wasn't great which had an impact on my video, but not the music. The above is an original Ghosties song. He also played and Elec Morin cover I captured:

Ghosties has a new album dropping on Jun 19th. It will be on the new High Scores and Records label Devin is launching. One of the original forces behind Boy Gorilla, the new label is focusing on vinyl releases and digital downloads. The new album is called "hone o oru".

Mr. C and the Sprague High School Choir

2009-06-15T21:59:00.000-07:00

Well, that may be puting it a bit dramatically, but I did take the chance to attend the final Sprague Choir concert of the year a couple weeks ago. Long time choir director, Russ Christensen, is leaving his position after much success and taking a job at OSU. As former students of Mr. C's and as big supporters of Sprague's choir program in general, my sisters and I made a point to attend the spring concert held at Willamette University at the end of May.

I had something of a rocky relationship with high school. I was only there for two year, leaving after tenth grade to get a GED after deciding I was wasting my time. Not the best choice I've ever made. It's one of the pitfalls of being a really smart teenager, often times no one will challenge your judgement even in cases where maybe they really should. At any rate, participating in Concert Choir was one of the highlights of my high school experience. Mr. C was a wonderful teacher and pushed us all to great heights. Sprague has one the Best in the Northwest festival held at the University of Portland every year since I was a sophomore. They contend year after year for first place in the OSAA state championship. Sprague's music program has also been honored by the Grammy awards for excellence in music education more then once in the last 12 years. I'm proud to have been a part of such an elite choir and I'm priveledged to have worked under Mr. C.

While I was at the concert I shot a few videos of the different groups performing. First is a song called "Mack the Knife" performed by Framework, Sprague's elite jazz choir.

Next is a couple videos of the barbershop quartet at Sprague. It's a tradition to have a quartet that started back when I was there, though the name of the group and the participants have rotated over the years. This years iteration was called Shave and a Haircut. I got two of their songs, "In the Jungle" and "Faith", a George Michael cover.

Finally, a number by the biggest and the best, Sprague's world famour Concert Choir. I'm afraid I don't know the name of the song off the top of my head. I had saved a program for reference but it has disappeared in the interveneing time. Still, a beautiful piece of chamber music.

My only disappointment was the lack of a cool Negro Spiritual to bring the house down. My favorites and the biggest crowd pleasers were always the spirituals arranged by Moses Hogan Sprague does on a regular basis. My sophomore year we did "The Battle of Jericho" and Moses Hogan was one of the judges at Best in the Northwest that spring. When our performance was over he came down and workshopped the song with us. It was a real thrill.

Still, we had a great time. At the end of the show my systers and I even went up on stage with all the other alumni to sing the "Old Irish Blessing" as is tradition at the Spring concert. I wish Mr. C good luck at the next level and hopefully Sprague has another great director lined up to continue the tradition of great music at the school.

I’m ashamed to admit this…

2009-01-17T02:11:00.001-08:00

But I missed the Widgets reunion show featuring the Mopps. I’ve been having some really terrible back problems since November, but was hopeful upon my last update that the doctor’s appointment I had scheduled for December 22nd would lead to some relief enabling me to attend the show.

And then the ice storm came, preventing the doctor from making it to work. And my appointment was postponed until January 9th, this after waiting about 4 weeks for the first date!

I’ve been effectively housebound for almost two months and there was just no way I was going to be able to make it down to the Space the day after Christmas. That really, really sucked. I hope it went well, though. The photos I’ve seen looked like it was a good time. I’m bummed I didn’t get to chat with Becki and Nick, though.

If anyone has any videos taken at the show please send them my way. I’d like a chance to at least live vicariously through your technology and to feature a song or two from the reunion here on the blog.

On another note, the medication I’m on now has been working a bit better, so I’m hopeful I’ll be able to at least make it down to Ranch Records sometime next week to spend the gift certificate I received for Christmas. Wish me luck!

The Widgets REUNION?!?

2008-12-09T23:09:00.000-08:00

Whodathunkit, but it would seem the four original members of the legandary Salem rock band the Widgets have agreed to put their many, many convoluted lawsuits against one another aside, in the spirit of the holidays, in order to play a reunion show the day after Christmas at everyone's favorite rock and roll alcove, the Space.

Tickets for this extrordinary event will go on sale December 12th at Ranch Records for the low presale price of $5.00. If you wait to buy them at the door the night of the show it'll cost you $10.00.

Amazingly enough, the show will also feature a reunion of old Salem favorites--the Mopps! Consequently, tickets will also be available in Portland from the good folks at Boy Gorilla. They should have tickets available by the 15th.

And if that's not enough you'll get sets from Phantom! and The Paper Boats.

The promises to be an extrordinary night combining classic magic with some solid new blood. And I don't know how many more chances we'll have to ever see the Widgets or the Mopps play again, so don't be shy about putting this night on your for-damn-sure list of things-to-do.

It's like this every weekend!

2008-11-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

Seriously. I had the pleasure of hanging out at the Space again last Saturday after a too long absense. In these uncertain economic times It's been hard for me to make it out to local shows as much as I'd like, but we have to keep in mind that local establishments like the Space will struggle along with us.

The Space is the kind of club that Salem has needed for a long time. It's an intimate, hip little venue that puts together the best bills in town. Doug Hoffman, of the Widgets fame, knows the local music scene very well and always creates these great nights featuring up and coming garage bands, local staples and the next big thing from Portland. He even manages to attract cool bands from around the world like the Rippers from Italy or the Mint Chicks originally from New Zealand.

The Mint Chicks were the big deal out of towners playing the Space Saturday night. They play this great up-beat experimental pop music that has everyone in the room bouncing around.

The Mint Chicks:

When their set was over people were asking to buy shirts and CDs before they could even start breaking down their gear. Luckily they had some very reasonably priced 10 inch records on sale which I managed to score for my collection. It's always a good idea to buy merch from these out of towners when you get the opportunity. It's easier to get your hands on recordings from local bands thanks to Ranch Records commitment to supporting local music. And you never know when one of these cool indie acts is going to break out making you the lucky owner of a rare early vinyl recording.

Also playing Saturday was a band I hadn't heard of call Anopechi out of Gervais. It's a two piece act, drums and guitar/vocals, but they play with a track of previously recorded bass lines or other backing instrumentation. The drummer was really good and guitar hooks were fresh.

Here's a song from them:

Ghosties from Boy Gorilla Records also played a set. The Black Black Black had a show the same night over at the Ike Box, so Dave and Kyle were there to back up Devin on the drums. Tragically, on their way down from Portland, Devin had accidentally left their cymbals of the roof of his car. Predictably, they did not survive the trip which left him scrambling to borrow some brass. Devin was feeling pretty stressed out by this, but it didn't show in his set at the Space. I think being back in Salem helped to put him at ease.

A Ghosties song:

Ghosties just released a new CD available from Boy Gorilla. I think it's available at Ranch, and you can always order through boygorilla.com.

Finally, the show closed out with Massive Moth. This is Doug Hoffman's band with Kevin Rafn and Jason. Together they are an incredibly tight band. Doug is pretty much the best drummer I've ever seen, he even closed out the show with a five minute drum solo on the spur of the moment. And they definitely bring the rock down pretty hard. Jason gave me one of their demo CDs which sounds great, but it's a live experience not to be missed. They'll be back at the Space again soon, so check 'em out!

Massive Moth in moving pictures:

All in all a great time saturday. You have to check out the Space. It's run by people passionate about music who have created a really great hang out. I know times are tough, but if you can support local businesses, local bands, have a cold drink, make some friends and see a great band you didn't know existed in one night, that just sounds like sound financial planning to me.

Put Salem in your Stereo

2008-09-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

I've been neglecting this look at the exciting double disc release of Stereo Salem for far too long. Part of the problem, to be honest, is it's a rather daunting task. We are talking about two CDs stuffed to the digital gills with a broad cross section of what the local scene has to offer.

And really, that's the most impressive part of the endeavor. Salem Soundwave is the new non-profit behind the CD release. They have deep ties with Culture Shock, Radio Free Salem and the Salem arts community writ large. It's gratifying to see how they've reached out to every part of the community to create the compilations. It's not just about getting rock, pop and hip hop on the same album, but making sure that every age group and culture is represented.

The Funhouse Strippers and The Falcon both have tracks in the compilation. Good ones, of course, but there's plenty here new to me. The level of production is also uniformly high. An appropriate amount of attention has been made to making sure each track fits in with the rest. There isn't a single song that stounds out for reasons of recording quality.

It would be tempting to give you my track by track impression of the whole set, but I'm not sure I could do a fair job of it. I don't think I could give you a very accurate genre breakdown of each act, even if I wanted to. I've never been good with all the various sub-labels that get thrown down. My knowledge certainly isn't vast enough to do justice to everything contained here. Even broad categories like rock, pop and hip-hop are problematic. For me it's a philosophic problem. For to attach a label is to place a limitation without benefit.

That being the case, I won't try very hard to tell you what's here and what isn't except to say this: as you listen to the CDs you will contantly be struck by a song requiring you to investigate the artist. And it will happen so many times you'll keep forgetting the names and having to check again. So do yourself a favor and check out the website at salemsoundwave.org, ask for a copy at one of our fine local record shops, keep a post-it of what struck you most on your monitor and make a real effort to go see these bands live.

Well, that sucked.

2008-09-05T03:31:00.000-07:00

Whelp, I haven't updated for a while, have I? Truth be told, I've had a pretty sucky summer. I graduated from Willamette University in May and since then I've been on the job hunt. But a job, as it would happen any job, continues to elude me. This was all well and good through May. I sold a bunch of stuff I wasn't using. I even parted with some of my more valuable vidja games (my original copy of Final Fantasy VII sold for almost $90 alone!).

That was enough to squeak me through June. By July I was forced to leave my apartment and move into my parents' garage. I kept looking for work as my financial situation continued to deteriorate. I literally have nothing left in my checking account. My credit lines are maxed out and very close to going into default. I'm pretty much boned at this point.

These financial issues are what have kept me from updated the blog lately. I've not been able to afford to go to any shows. I've also settled into something of a depression for the last couple months. I just did not have a good exit strategy for my post college existence. Once the financial aid dried up I was pretty much already at the brink. My graduate school plans did not pan out due, in part, to situation outside my control (professor screwed me over). All my friends from school went back where they came from so there isn't even anyone local to comiserate with...

Right now I'm trying to get my head on strait again. I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that living at home again is going to be a longer term solution than originally planned. My sister Ashley is scheduled to go back to school, this time in Portland, later this month so at the least I'll have the chance to get into the house propper before the weather gets really cold.

This also means I can accept a shittier job than originally envisioned. So if you know of anything in the Salem area, drop me a line. In the meantime I've got a couple projects to distract me from my world crashing in around me. First, I am now thrice and uncle:

Lillian is almost a week old and very adorable.

I've also just started a band with my little sister Melanie called Weapons of the Future. We recorded a cover of a song written by one of her friends just today. I played the guitar on the track posted to MySpace. I'm also still planning on delivering that Stereo Salem review I promised.

Hope you all had a better Summer than me! Until next time...

Stripping in the Funhouse

2008-06-19T03:19:00.000-07:00

After spending the afternoon and early evening with my folks this past Father's Day I managed to excuse myself and slip down to The Space for a rare Sunday evening show. Well, maybe they're not that rare, but I don't usually make it down on Sundays. I made an exception because I'd been hoping for a chance to see The Funhouse Strippers again and get some video for the site.

The Strippers play a kind of raw, throwback punk music, fast songs with sharp hooks. They also usually feature a couple of female dancer/backup singers, though Sunday it was just the one (and I've seen them without at times). So far they've released an EP, a full length CD and one of their songs is featured on the "Stereo Salem" compilation that just came out (more on that soon).

Here's a music video they produced last year:

And here's a video from the show Sunday:

Recently the Strippers have also had one of their songs acquired by Nike for use in an internet video on Kobe Bryant's website featuring some of the Jack Ass guys and a monster dunk. It's pretty cool and it's awesome to see some local musicians garnering that kind of interest.

The Strippers are playing again tonight with The Falcon at Copperjohns downtown. That's a pretty sweet bill so get down there if you can.

Ghosties and Doubledutch on the radio

2008-06-07T22:07:00.000-07:00

KPSU, a community radio station in Portland associated with Portland State University, has long been one of the go to places to hear interesting, if little known, music. They are also long time supporters of the various Boy Gorilla bands, many of which have been invited to the station for live in studio performances and interviews.

Most recently Ghosties and Doubledutch made the trek down to play a couple live sets. Luckily for those of us not within reach of KPSU's broadcast signal (that is to say most anyone not close to the PSU campus) they post mp3s of every show on their website. For your convenience:

Ghosties on Live Friday
Doubledutch on the Hour Long Hour

The interview with Devin during the Live Friday show was really interesting. The music for both is, of course, really beautiful.

The Secret History of Eskimo and Sons

2008-06-02T03:14:00.000-07:00

Eskimo and Sons first came to our attention through their association with Typhoon and the Boy Gorilla cabal. In accordance with agency policy all persons who come into contact with the members of Typhoon are subjected to a thorough background check. When this check was executed for the individuals in Eskimo and Sons, however, something very strange became clear. There is no record of any of their existence prior to 2005.

The discovery was troubling, and the initial fear was that they were a sleeper cell under the control of some foreign power. Resources were immediately diverted to perform a more in depth investigation.

After some weeks of careful research, surveillance and clandestine evidence gathering, our first clue came as our facial recognition software matched band member Dhani to a 19^th Century mimeograph on a public database. The picture showed an artillery regiment in the British army during the Crimean War. Dhani was standing in the center of the image, one hand resting on the breech of the smooth bore cannon. According to the accompanying inscription, “Daniel Rosen” went missing shortly after the picture was taken and presumed dead.

This discovery sparked a huge argument within the agency. Most insisted that this was simply the image of a distant relative of Dhani’s. A small minority refused to accept this interpretation and maintained that the resemblance could not be explained by a familial connection.

The situation was further complicated by the discovery of a second image, this time of a flapper from 1922 who bore an uncanny resemblance to Danielle Sullivan. This created a sensation among the involved analysts who generated many more questions, but few answers. A new working group was established with a huge budget tasked with unraveling the mystery of Eskimo and Sons.

Six months of intensive investigation and budget overruns followed. At a meeting in DC with the director of operations the task force presented their findings. The prevailing theory suggested that every member of Eskimo and Sons was, in fact, a time traveler. Stranger still was the conclusion that none of them had the resources to build or operate such a device. There must, then, be an unknown individual who had traveled through time, essentially collecting these people before depositing them together in Portland, Oregon sometime in 2005.

The evidence to support this claim came in the form of a safe house discovered in southeast Portland. A forensic evaluation showed that each member of the band had spent at least several months living in the home. There was also one room for which the inhabitant was unaccounted. Where Dhani and Danielle’s rooms contained particulate evidence linking each to the 19^th Century and the 1920s, respectively, the extra room contained fibers dated by most to the 17^th Century. Before the results of that analysis were known it was believed by most that the room must belong to the mysterious time traveler. This interpretation was cast into doubt until the investigation of the basement confirmed it.

The basement was essentially empty and typical of those from the area built between 1950 and 1974. The lower floor had not been used as a living space. The plumbing and writing were all exposed between the floorboards that made up the ceiling. The floor was bare cement and unremarkable, but for the scorch marks in the center of the large room. They were arranged in an overlapping pattern suggesting multiple events. Each set features a pair of parallel scorch marks several inches wide, two meters long and one meter apart.

An assortment of trace evidence could be found in the immediate area, but the most notable feature was the local disruption of causality. The site has since been turned over to the Department of Defense’s Contra-Physics Division for additional research.

Educational materials found in the house and interviews with neighbors suggest it acting as something of a halfway house for the occupants as they grew accustom to life in the modern era. Presumably, the time traveler skipped back and forth from the past, depositing his human acquisitions in the present where, for a period of months, they were instructed in all relevant social, political and technological trends.

To what end they have been brought here remains a mystery, as does the true identity of the individual responsible. Where he or she is now (evidence strongly indicates a man) is also unknown. To date, no era of origin has been established for the remaining three members of the band, Thomas, Clayton and Dylan. Evidence from the house was inconclusive suggesting only that they came from a time prior to easily dated manufactured goods.

So far we have no indication of any ill intent from either the band or their patron. Still, time travel is a great power and one we must be vigilant in our efforts to safeguard not only this nation, but the world. We will continue to monitor the situation in hopes of learning more. It has been determined that a direct confrontation of Eskimo and Sons would be ill advised, but surveillance will continue.

The Secret History of...

2008-06-01T00:41:00.000-07:00

If you're familiar with my work at thewidgets.com, you may have already read The Secret History of The Widgets. I wrote that quite a while ago out of desperation as much as anything else. I had built the site to include a page about the history of the band with the expectation that they would write up some kind of biography for me to post there. That never happened and since the button was already made I decided to write something myself. Now, I'd know the band for a long time so it would have been possible for me to slap together a passable account of the actual history, but that didn't sound like much fun. Instead I wrote a fictional account of the bands formation and posted it.

After it was up I didn't really think about it for a long time. It probably wasn't until a year later that someone actually mentioned to me how much they liked it. Looking back now, it's not my best writing, but it's full of a bunch of inside jokes about the band and stuff I was into at the time. I didn't think much about other people reading it, but from what I understand it was pretty popular in some sects, particularly with parents of band members. I was glad to hear people had actually read and enjoyed it and I eventually followed up that piece with a short story I called The Continuing Adventures of The Widgets which cast the band as super heroes. At one time I actually had the idea of serializing the band's exploits, each time choosing a new genre to place them in. That never came to pass.

Since that time I became acquainted with Typhoon. I knew them to be Widget fans from way back so when they asked people to submit a fake bio about them, not unlike the one I've been known to write, I decided to take a stab at it. The result was The Secret History of Typhoon. I was really pleased with how it turned out, and so were they. A fast friendship was formed and I've become something of a official biographer for Boy Gorilla Records.

So far I've also written a Secret History of the Black Black Black and I am currently finishing a Secret History of Eskimo and Sons. I have a lot of fun doing it but I usually wait until I have a good idea to pair up with a specific band. I've also written a Secret History of Evolver's Remorse, unaffiliated with Boy Gorilla. That one's actually just about a musically inclined friends from school who now lives in Seattle.

Right now my plan is to start posting any future secret histories here first, starting in the next day or two with the final version of the Eskimo and Sons bio. Until then I encourage you to read the other histories. They aren't long, I think they're pretty cool and I imagine all the histories take place within a single continuity.

Need to Know: Boy Gorilla, part 3

2008-05-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

Now, I already covered most of what I consider to be the core BG acts, but it would be really difficult to pin down the full line-up given their proclivity for new band creation. Every few weeks it seems there's something new going on and I'd be fighting a losing battle if I tried to keep up with everything. What's more, the Boy Gorilla family is growing all the time as connections are made with bands from outside of Portland and Salem. Some of these bands are really fantastic and you should be aware of them as they have been known to make the trek to Salem for the odd show.

First up in this category is a Seattle band called The Last Slice of Butter. It's a two piece act with drums and an electric bass for the most part. They also play over a tape of random audio they'll hook up to the PA at shows. I think I've mostly recognized old speeches, but there is other weird stuff on these tapes as well. In any case it's really hard to hear over the blaring, dirty and driving music. They've released their own CD which you can get through Boy Gorilla's store and they're working on a split 7 inch with the Black Black Black. Here's a video of the Last Slice of Butter playing the Ike Box last year:

I'm also really excited about Maggie Morris from San Francisco. She's a singer/songwriter that toured with Typhoon in California last summer. I hadn't heard any of her stuff until the Boy Gorilla birthday bash in April. Here's a video from that show:

I was so impressed I bought her CD that night. She's recently started posting videos on her own YouTube account. It's beautiful stuff. I highly recommend you check her stuff out and I'll be sure to mention if she comes back to Oregon.

Remember the Falcon?

2008-05-27T03:30:00.000-07:00

A few years ago one of the most exciting local acts was a band called The Falcon. Known for the sexed up, dirty 70s rock and roll sound, they released a CD called Hello Panther before a spat with another band over the Falcon name and other drama put them out of action. For a while some of the band members played under the name Righteous Animal. Those days are over now as The Falcon made a triumphant return Saturday night to help The Space celebrate their first night as a licensed purveyor of alcohol.

The turnout was great, easily the most packed I've ever seen the venue. It was also the loudest I'd ever heard a band there. I made the mistake I standing right next to a stack of speakers and my ears were ringing all Sunday. The crowd was into it, the band was slicked up to hell and back and everyone bought drinks. A successful night by any measure. The Falcon have a few more shows lined up for the next month or two and I encourage you all to check them out. Hopefully Mickey, Chris, David and Timmy are working on a bunch more songs and will favor us with another record soon.

In the mean time, here's The Falcon playing "Alcohol and Nicotine" from Saturday night.

Need to Know: Boy Gorilla, part 2

2008-05-24T18:51:00.000-07:00

In this, my second installment on Boy Gorilla, I must begin with the band that is by all rights the second tent-pole act on the label. Eskimo and Sons can't be considered a Salem band, but they did play some of their first shows here in town. They became involved with Boy gorilla when Danielle Sullivan, lead singer for Eskimo and Sons, met some of the guys from Typhoon at Portland State University. Her voice, incidentally, is absolutely beautiful. That, combined with Dhani Rosa's haunting lyrics create the band's signature sound. Here's a video of the band playing someone's backyard:

As may already be clear, there are a lot of "side projects" associated with Boy Gorilla. It's all very incestuous as various members of Typhoon and Eskimo and Sons form new bands together and start playing shows with a flexible lineup. I've already mentioned that the Ghosties live band includes individuals from both Typhoon and Eskimos. Another interesting side project you should be aware of is Doubledutch. Combining the songwriting talents of Dhani Rosa from Eskimos and Jordan Bagnall of Typhoon fame, the result is a more experiemental and electronic sound with hip hop inspired drum loops and a high level of production. Here's a video of the live version from the BG Birthday show:

Elec Morin is another Salem boy on the label. He's a singer/songwriter with more of a country/folk sound. He has also been known to join Typhoon on stage to sing or play the tamborine. Here he is playing "I'll Travel" during the BG Birthday show:

Stay tuned. There's still more BG stuff to talk about.

Need to Know: Boy Gorilla, part 1

2008-05-22T01:33:00.000-07:00

Consider this a primer on one of the most exciting arenas in local music. True, pretty much all the people involved with the indie label known as Boy Gorilla have moved away from Salem, mostly to Portland, but their parents still live here and they play our fair town with some regularity. In fact, in April when Boy Gorilla was celebrating its 2nd birthday party the epic show was held at the Ike Box.

There's a lot to cover as far as Boy Gorilla bands. The label was essentially started to facilitate the release of Typhoon's first album. Their self titled, self produced full length debut is the first recording released under the Boy Gorilla imprint. If you've seen them live, and you really should, you know Typhoon is a really large act. The actually lineup has evolved somewhat through time, but there's a stable core of about 9 band members. That number can balloon to upwards of 13 on stage when the stars are right.

They sound, well, they sound absolutely brilliant. Their epic size translates to an epic sound when they want it to. There's a certain fascination with archaic forms in the song writing. They've written and recorded a number of "sea shanties". The lyrics of the first song on the CD are entirely in Latin which evokes the chanted nature of medieval chamber choirs. One of my favorite songs is simply called "Gypsy Song" and lives up to the billing with passionate fiddle work. As the band moves from song to song they swap out various instruments to achieve a certain sound. Here's an accordion, next we'll need some banjo, we've brought in someone to play a saw on this one, and don't forget the ship's bell for the big finish! Here's an example of Typhoon at their best from a show in Port Townsend, WA last summer:

Next we should talk about the Black Black Black. This loud and aggressive rock trio is actually a subset of the members of Typhoon: Kyle Morton, Devin Gallagher and Dave Hall. It is also one of the oldest bands under the Boy Gorilla umbrella. They've got a very distinct sound and their own separate following. They're playing at the Ike Box coming up on May 31st and I'd urge you to check them out. Here's a video of them in action:

Next in line would be Ghosties. This band is actually the brainchild of Devin Gallagher of Typhoon and the Black Black Black. So far he's produced a number of CDs as a solo effort, writing and recording himself on every instrument. There is also a Ghosties album of Typhoon remixes. Recently, the Ghosties have been playing live with a full band including members from several different Boy Gorilla bands. Here's a song from the BG 2nd Birthday bash:

Well, that's a start, but there's a lot more to talk about so I'll post again soon.

Eddie Vedder was there

2008-05-18T02:03:00.001-07:00

So, what did you do Friday night? It was really hot, huh? Yeah. I decided to get out of town and, just my luck, there was a show at the Hawthorne Theatre in Portland I wanted to see. You see, the always brilliant Typhoon have been playing with bigger and bigger bands lately. In April they opened for The Thermals, but sadly I could not make it to that show. Even better, Friday they opened for Quasi. Yeah, that Quasi. The one with Sam Coomes from Heatmiser and Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney. The Quasi that toured with Elliott Smith and still backs up Stephen Malkmus. The Quasi that was the epitome of indie cool out of Portland during the 90s. Not bad, eh?

I was excited for the show in large part because, despite being a huge Quasi fan since David of the Widgets first suggested Featuring "Birds" to me, I'd never managed to see them play live. I can now say I've had that pleasure, and the additional pleasure of sitting right next to Sam Coomes most of the night while he sold Quasi merch and I helped with Typhoon's. I played it cool, though, like I wasn't impressed at all. That, and I was too shy to strike up a real conversation.

Typhoon played 2nd. There's like 12 of them so it took them forever to set up. I was a little disappointed by how short their set ended up being. But they played a few new songs and that was exciting to hear. Hopefully it means the new full length CD is coming sometime this year. Here's a video. I think I cut off the big finish, but it had one of those false endings.

Quasi's set was simply fantastic. Sam started on keys and they played a bunch of their classics. He was really wild and you got the feeling he had a lot of pent up energy from not having played live for a while. Janet pounded it out with vigor and at times it felt like the walls would come down around us. Halfway into the set Sam switched to the guitar and they started some new songs that, presumably, will be on a new album. They played an encore of older material to close out the night.

Oh, and apparently Eddie Vedder was in the audience.

In the Beginning there were the Widgets

2008-05-18T00:53:00.000-07:00

And they were good.

It's been about 10 years since they started playing around Salem and their influence is still felt. I've been active in the local music scene since, well, since a bunch of my friends started a band called the Widgets. I created and ran their official website which I keep up for posterity. It's funny to go back and look at where they were playing when they first started. Salem just did not have any venues that interested in hosting local bands for all ages shows. It use to be that a band would need to rent out a space at their own expense if they wanted to play.

Things got better as the Widgets became more popular. Soon places like the Governor's Cup would gladly host free shows and the kids would pack the place to the gills. They could play on an outdoor stage during the Summer in the City festival or in some of the local bars. They even got enough attention to play a few gigs in Portland, Corvallis and Eugene. They never toured, though, and after two CDs the band broke up. They would remain a local legend, but that still meant a lot.

Today in Salem we have venues like The Ike Box and The Space which cater specifically to the needs of local musicians and fans. Many of the coffee shops downtown include live music from local and touring artists as part of their regular weekend business. And there are a lot of Salem bands, many of them featuring members who came of age going to Widgets shows downtown.

Lots of kids these days escape to the greener pastures of the Portland scene at their earliest opportunity, but they cut their teeth in Salem and carry that influence with them. Take the boys and girls of Typhoon, for example. They bill themselves as a Portland band these days, but we know where it really started.

And that brings me to today (well, tonight, properly). For a long time I've enjoyed the fruits of local music and I've always been sure to share my passion with as many as possible. Running thewidgets.com offered me an outlet for a while, but I wanted a broader canvas upon which to express myself, so I've started this blog. I plan on using it to record my experiences in the local music scene and hopefully share my excitement with the rest of you. I can't promise to restain myself to only those bands with explicit Salem ties, but I can tell you I rarely go to a show these days without a local act on the bill.

So stayed tuned, and if you're in a Salem band, feel free to get in touch!