Jeff Trainor

Speed Still Kills

Central Oregon's struggle against methamphetamine

• By Jeff Trainor
• Tags: Culture Features

Kool Keith: Genius or Madman? Examining the evidence on a hip hop legend

• By Jeff Trainor
Exhibit A: Institutionalization You're crazy, not me.In the interest of public safety, we hereby present biographical information on Bronx-based hip hop MC and accused madman, Keith Thornton. The first exhibit in evidence: Reports that Thornton was once a psychiatric patient in the Bellevue mental hospital, New York, New York. Thornton denies the hospitalization, which reportedly took place shortly before the 1985 debut of his former rap group, Ultramagnetic MCs. He attempted to brush off the widespread reports of the event as mere products of the music industry rumor mill in a recent phone interview with the Source Weekly:

On the Horizon

• By Jeff Trainor
Wilco Confirmed! Famous last words, right? Indeed, if Modest Mouse has taught us anything, it's that announcements of hugely awesome flannel shirt≠≠≠-related (we hereby declare a moratorium on the phrase "indie") bands playing shows at Les Schwab Amphitheater are best taken with a grain of salt.
• Tags: Sound Stories & Interviews, On Stage

Ye-eah! Fake Metallica tears up the pub

• By Jeff Trainor
just like the real thing, except in a much smaller stadium.In the spirit of fearlessly exploring the oft-scary phenomenon of tribute bands, Sound Check moseyed over to the Reed Pub Company last Saturday night to catch a face full of Motorbreath. Around a hundred souls were holding down the wee pub's peanut shell-sprinkled floor and spilling out into the smokers' patio outside when we showed up. Once the openers were done, the smoke machines had the joint socked in and the audience had had their fill of obnoxious Nickelback hits on the sound system, the main event started at darn near the stroke of midnight.
• Tags: Sound Stories & Interviews, On Stage

Pinback Au Naturale

Smith (left) and Crow (right), deep within the realm of sickly soul.Pinback is a band of human beings. We suspected as much, but we had

• By Jeff Trainor
Smith (left) and Crow (right), deep within the realm of sickly soul.Pinback is a band of human beings. We suspected as much, but we had to see it to believe it. The members of the San Diego-based band have a reputation for superhumanly intelligent melody and prolificacy, and their sound on studio recordings is a strangely precise exercise in dense, viscerally ethereal, rock-bred think-pop.
• Tags: Sound Stories & Interviews, On Stage