Wake up seven days a week with the Cascades Reader. Get local news, event information, podcasts, discounts and more. Sign up now!
The last weekend of September is upon us, which means that it's time to party. No, not party in the summer sense of the word, because it's now officially and sadly the fall season.
In stores October 20
With a melodic depth that catches the ear, Ryan Costello remains true to his roots as a member of indie rock band, the Oaks. Costello's use of 12 different instruments creates a soulful arrangement that sounds similar to that of Sufjan Stevens, who is a clear influence on Costello's most personal album yet.
Yard Dogs Road Show has a new EP, entitled September Summer, but that really doesn't especially matter because this is a band that almost certainly won't make any sense to you merely on record. And that's not to say YDRS, a San-Francisco-based traveling variety show (of sorts), isn't a collectively talented musical troupe, because it certainly is.
It's noon on a Monday and John Joseph McCaully III, riding in a bus somewhere between Colorado and Washington says, “We're basically trying not to die.”
The tour bus carrying the 24-year-old McCaully and the rest of his band, Deer Tick, has some sort of exhaust leak, or so says McCaully, who seems hardly worried about any real harm, or so it seems, given that they continue to drive. For a guy who's been on tour almost continuously for the past five years, vehicular malfunctions like this are probably old hat. The fact that his Americana-tinged rock band's latest record, Born on Flag Day, has escalated the Providence, R.I. quartet into the national media and onto many a summer festival stages, might also be a reason he's not too worried. Things seem to be going his way, so who cares about a little exhaust inhalation?
Singing Through the Hourglass
Anastacia
Grains of Sand
The region got its first taste of Anastacia's Grains of Sand this winter when she and her band won the Source's music video contest for the album's title track and now it seems the full release keeps the soulful energy of that cut going for the entirety of its 12 tracks.
The local singer-songwriter (full name: Anastacia Beth Scott) produced the album with Tim Prince at his Aptos, Cali. studio using a hand-picked group of NorCal musicians and the result is a smooth-flowing folk and pop record. For the most part, Grains of Sand proves softer than what you may have heard when she's playing live with her band of locals here in Central Oregon, but nonetheless strong.
Sexy dancing and crowded clubs. That's what this column will be about this week, because, well those two things are what have been cemented in the mind of Sound Check… and we just can't shake them free.
The crowded club side of things stems from Thursday night's incredibly well attended G. Love and Special Sauce show at the Domino Room. It was already getting cozy in the D. Room when local Eric Tollefson impressed us with a shockingly rocking, pleasantly bluesy set to open the show. But by the time I returned to the venue after crossing the street to check the score on the Oregon/Boise St. game and then see the subsequent “punch heard 'round the world,” things were different. First off, there was a “Sold Out” sign on the door and secondly, you could hardly move in there.
A lot has changed in the past couple of years when it comes to live music in Central Oregon. Venues have opened and closed, we've seen our numbers of summer concerts fluctuate and festivals have come and gone. But standing strong (and largely unaltered) amidst all this change has been the Sisters Folk Festival.
Now in its 14th year, Sisters Folk remains a stalwart in the local music landscape. The festival not only takes over the entire town for three days, it has a year-round presence with an education program and a winter concert series. Artistic Director Brad Tisdel says Sisters Folk will likely bring some 2,500 music fans to town this year for a lineup that's as diverse as any we've seen at the festival.
A songwriter himself, as well as a serious music junkie, Tisdel took some time out from festival preparations and the Americana Song Academy (the folk musician's summer camp that preceeds the fest) to talk about what acts you shouldn't miss at Sisters Folk. I combined my own list with his to create this Five Acts You Need to See roster:
When I tell Brett Dennen that I think I just may have broken my computer, he's quiet for a moment, then laughs and says, “Remember the old Nintendo games where you could just pull them out and blow on them? Everybody did that and it seemed like it worked.”
Anyone born this side of the Ford administration knows exactly what Dennen is talking about and probably performed this Nintendo maintenance procedure. Of course, Nintendo has nothing to do with Dennen's folky pop rock or his recent rise to national fame or his work with kids. And blowing on my computer isn't going to fix it, but the fact that he wants to talk about old-school Nintendo rather than the fact that the last year has seen him emerge as one of the biggest names in the singer-songwriter genre just might be the reason why people tend to love Brett Dennen.
Sonic Youth
Daydream Nation
Released: 1988
Filled with anthems, energy and angst, Daydream Nation portrays the best snapshot of the late '80s East Coast underground rock scene.
Sonic Youth's sixth studio record immediately plummets into an atmosphere of oddly tuned guitars and melody lines come incredibly close to the boundaries of pop. But, Sonic Youth doesn't want you to be comfortable. Songs like “Total Trash” pull you with a toe-tapping melody and then drop their Doc Martens on your foot with an exploding barrage of sound.
Thinking back to my days as a Source intern, several years ago now, one of my duties was to do the Cold Call section of the paper. I went out and asked people on the street the question of the week. Once, I asked which “Where are they now?” classic rock band would you like to see at The Amphitheater. No one really had an answer, but just about everyone I talked to wished Jack Johnson would come back. No, he's not coming back, as far as we know, but G. Love and Special Sauce, who toured with him back in 2004, is.
Get the best of The Source - Bend, Oregon directly in your email inbox.
Sending to:
