Mike Bookey

mike@tsweekly.com
Posted inMusic

Book ’em, Bret: A talk with Bend’s concert genie

promoter extraordinaire Bret Grier on a break from the usual midtown mayhem. There’s really no logical reason why Bend gets as much live music as
Mike Bookey

promoter extraordinaire Bret Grier on a break from the usual midtown mayhem. There's really no logical reason why Bend gets as much live music as it
does, but we'll offer one semi-rational explanation: Bret Grier. This
is the local promoter that has brought us Flogging Molly, John Butler
Trio, and Pinback (and that's just in the last couple of months)
through his company Random Presents. Bret is nearing in on a decade of
bringing us niche favorites as well as bands whose tour buses barely
fit in the Midtown Music Hall parking lot. Despite his very public work
Grier guards his privacy. So we were pleasantly surprised when he
agreed to an interview with the Source. Here’s a snippet of our recent
interview with Bend’s music man.

Posted inMusic

Got Power?

Cat Power weaves an austere sound that draws you in. Like Peggy Lee, Nico, Patti Smith and others before her, Marshall uses silence in song as much as shimmering notes to evoke a specific emotion.
Mike Bookey

You gaze around the crowded smoke filled room. The party is a cacophony
of people laughing, drinking and in different stages of discourse and
intercourse. Staring out the window is that one strange girl who
doesn't really want to socialize, but has an allure that everyone wants
to know. Chan (pronounced Sean) Marshallm better known as Cat Power, is
that girl. A storyteller whose story needs to be coaxed outward, but
when you invest the time to listen, it pays in huge dividends.

Posted inCulture

A Waterlogged Plot: Scenery can’t rescue Fool’s Gold

I told you we’d be able to find something worthless on the bottom of the ocean.All that glitters may not be gold, but if you’re
Mike Bookey

I told you we’d be able to find something worthless on the bottom of the ocean.All that glitters may not be gold, but if you're willing to check your
brain at the door, you’ll find a brief respite from winter in the new
romantic/action comedy, Fool's Gold. Director Andy Tenant (Sweet Home
Alabama) leads us on a treasure hunt set in the Florida Keys. (It was
actually filmed in the Bahamas and Australia's Great Barrier Reef.) The
result is a watery plot embedded in warmth-inducing scenery.

Posted inCulture

This is Still Cowboy Country

Rick Steber is a local literary hero, the author of more than 30 books, many of them set in Central Oregon. But it still took
Mike Bookey

Rick Steber is a local literary hero, the author of more than 30 books, many of them set in Central Oregon. But it still took more than 100 pages for me to start to care about the main character in his new novel, Forty Candles on a Cowboy Cake. The novel focuses on a character with the awkward handle of Waddy Wilder, a buckaroo on a ranch outside Sisters. It didn't help that Waddy is a malcontent, unhappy with the scourge of developers, but equally irritated by environmentalists working on behalf of "an army dressed according to L.L. Bean, Cabela and Eddie Bauer."

Posted inCulture

Air-Power to the People: Pirate Radio USA gives media to the masses

Mike Bookey

These pirates don’t have scurvy.This is one of those highly entertaining, insightful, humorous,
fact-filled documentaries that can be enjoyed by those on both sides of
the political fence, despite its clear agenda.
I saw this movie
at the BendFilm Festival and was glad to see our local community radio
station KPOV 106.7 FM bringing the documentary to McMenamins on
Wednesday. As a DJ on KPOV, I confess that I'm somewhat biased -
sharing an affinity for the free-speech rights of local broadcasters
over large media conglomerates, having volunteered at the station for
more than three years.

Posted inMusic

Life in Sci-Fi: Talking Star Wars with Pinback

Like to rock, don’t like talkRob Crow is in a band, but doesn’t seem all that jazzed to be talking about his music. He’s polite
Mike Bookey

Like to rock, don’t like talkRob Crow is in a band, but doesn't seem all that jazzed to be talking about his music. He's polite and seems to appreciate that we're writing about him, but not all that enthused to discuss his much-revered new record. But when I bring up Star Wars … there's a little extra spark in his voice.
The men of Pinback obsess over science fiction to the point that Crow says he should get a tax break for his devotion to the genre. At times, it's hard to tell whether Crow, the band's multi-instrumentalist, is a musician that's into sci-fi movies, comics, and video games, or if he's maybe a sci-fi nut who just happens to be a damn good musician.

Posted inOpinion

Hamburgers!

Mike Bookey

Has anyone tried the restaurant at the Bend Airport? 3456 Cafe on Powell Butte Hwy.

Fabulous breakfasts with regular menu and some "game" additions. Very
good service and certainly the "extras" are from a fine dining area.
The syrup for the Belgian waffle for breakfast was heated! Ramekins of
butter and real napkins.

Posted inOpinion

Help a Young Nebraskan

Mike Bookey

Dear Citizens of Oregon,

I am in the fifth grade at Northeast Elementary in Kearney, Nebraska. I
have adopted your state as a class project to research. I will be doing
a report and other projects. Then on May 3rd my class is having a
"States Fair." I will be displaying my report and any other information
or materials I receive about your state. I am hopeful that some of your
readers will be able to help me with my project. I was able to research
your city and newspaper on the Internet and I'm excited to learn more
about your state.
  

Posted inOpinion

Age of Uncertainty

Mike Bookey

Not since the beginning of World War II has there been such a feeling
of uncertainty as there is at the present time among the general public
in this country. Most people don't say much, but within most lives is a
strong feeling that all is not well. To know what to do about it leaves
most people with a feeling of helplessness because as individuals we
can't really do much to change the course of history for this nation,
as it rests in the leadership. Leadership seems to be lacking while
power by some seems to be shooting off in hundreds of directions. We
have lived through trial and tribulation before, but this time it is
different, and I think a bit more complex.

Posted inOpinion

Time for the Truth About 9/11

Mike Bookey

Some say that Americans are particularly weak in the subjects of math
and science. This is unfortunate, since these are the disciplines which
prove that 9/11 was a false-ยญflag inside job.
Other nations are now
having open discussions about the evidence which supports that 9/11 was
done by a rogue element within the United States government working in
unison with certain foreign factions.
A Danish news channel
interviewed an observer who said one only needs to be able to count to
three to figure out something is wrong with the official story of 9/11.
Two planes flew into two skyscrapers and pulverized three huge
buildings into dust and 30-foot lengths of steel.

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