Sound Stories & Interviews

Fiddler in the greens.I hadn't exactly heard The Sweet Harlots when I arrived at a classically cozy house near Harmon Park. I'd heard of the duo, and I'd heard music by each of the members of the group, but it isn't until Laurel Brauns begins strumming her guitar and Julie Southwell commences massaging melodies out of her violin in the living room of the aforementioned house that I fully taste the Sweet Harlots.

The two names of this duo should be familiar to anyone with an ear on the local music scene. Brauns is a singer-songwriter who toured through Bend over the past few years before moving here last fall and releasing her indie-rock influenced folk record Closed for the Season. Southwell, of course, is the seasoned and classically trained violinist who has played with a range of local acts including Moon Mountain Ramblers, Blackstrap and David Bowers. The two met while cross-country skiing this past winter and their friendship soon descended from the mountains to Southwell's home for the practice sessions out of which the somewhat peculiarly named Sweet Harlots were born.
"It was always a dream of mine to have an all-girl band and call it The Sweet Harlots. People don't use the word 'harlot,' in everyday conversation…there's definitely some irony to it," says Brauns.

If you’ve got this much blood on your clothes, laundry probably isn’t your biggest problem.This week, two longstanding, albeit utterly different, popular music acts will arrive in Central Oregon to either get your fist pumping or your cowboy boot covered toes tapping. There's Brooks & Dunn, the popular country icons of the Coors Light genre, then there's Alice Cooper the original androgynous vampire, who now at 60 years old, isn't all that scary anymore. Here's how they look head to head - so pick your act and stick beside 'em.
Alice Cooper: Known for his pre-goth heavy rock.
Brooks & Dunn: Known for their Wal-Mart Country at the Honky Tonk.

Alice Cooper: Hit songs include: "Schools Out," "No More Mr. Nice Guy," "I'm Eighteen."
Brooks & Dunn: Hit songs include: "Boot Scootin' Boogie," "My Maria," "Hard Workin' Man."

Ties it all together. It's been almost a year since organizers of the 4 Peaks Music Festival stood onstage at the end of New Monsoon's headlining set and took a bow. They'd taken a ranch in Tumalo and turned it into a certifiably well-done music and camping festival - the only such event of its size in the region - and produced a vibe that was like a county fair for people (from kids to the silver-topped tourists) who would never dream of going to a county fair.

In a letter to neighbors of the pastoral Tumalo area neighboring the farm deemed "Rockin' A Ranch," 4 Peaks organizers announced last week that the 2009 festival will move to a yet-to-be-announced location for the festival's third installment. Wherever the festival lands, it's sure that this down-home vibe will follow, which is something any music festival strives for - a sense of identity in a crowded summer music market place.

Along with massively expanded campgrounds and a new site plot, the festival also wrangled in some larger scale touring acts (Zilla, Flowmotion, Hot Buttered Rum, and, of course, Poor Man's Whiskey, among others) while remaining within its means and also true to roots and jam music genre on which it was built. Tea Leaf Green is at the top of the bill for the festival, taking the penultimate lineup slot on Saturday night. The San Francisco piano-driven jam rock quartet released a new record (Raise the Tent) this week and their stop off at 4 Peaks is just one of the band's festival shows this summer, a season that saw them taking the stage at big-name events like Rothbury, Floyd Fest and the Mile High Music Festival, among others. Tea Leaf Green might be the reason a good handful of music nuts from Bend and far beyond flock out to the 80-acre ranch, but the quartet might not be what people walk away talking about. There's sure to be some chatter about the Everyone Orchestra, the band comprised of, well…just about everyone that is set to close out 2008's 4 Peaks Festival and basically tie the whole two-day shindig together.

Emo Idol, POp god, or Freedom Rocker? You decide. but choose wisely.When it comes to indie rock credibility, a few names come to the forefront: Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), James Mercer (The Shins), Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes). A marketing explosion later, it's all major label contracts, national tours and MTV face time for these bands. And Oberst has been riding shotgun throughout.

True to rock star form, Oberst snubbed this paper for an interview, stating that interviews and press were not part of the tour agenda for his new musical venture, Conor Oberst and Mystic Valley Band. (Actually, he's not doing ANY press for the tour, so we can't feel that bad.) He did however snub Portland, giving Bend the only Oregon date - a surprising coup for our little Midtown venue.

It’s a new venture for alt/pop/emo-god Oberst. His backing "Mystic
Valley Band" was pieced together from seasoned musicians that have
either recorded on one of his labels or supported him on tour. Included
in that mix is Rilo Kiley drummer Jason Boesel. A mature and
refurbished Oberst has emerged with his Mystic Valley Band and an album
full of songs that demonstrate truly polished emotion and lyricism, a
direction that properly post-scripts Bright Eyes. The songs "Lenders In
the Temple" and "Eagle On A Pole" are complete audible testament to
that evolution and embrace a 1960s folk revival. The album comes across
as a sort of cut and paste of everything I appreciated about Bright
Eyes and surprisingly more than I expected from Oberst. 

The writing is on the wall – DJS can shred.David Jacobs-Strain sings the blues like he's personally experienced them and channels blues greats like Skip James, Charlie Patton and Tommy Johnson. His fingers slide effortlessly over the fret board of his guitar while he picks at the strings with rapid-fire efficiency. But Jacobs-Strain is only 25 and he grew up in Eugene. So, while he may not be the first image that pops into your head when you think blues, he's definitely leading the way for this generation's blues scene.
 
"I've always been drawn to the trance-oriented, heavier, Delta blues-to the driving, passionate, raw, distraught sound of somebody like Son House," said Jacobs-Strain in his biography. The young blues performer has just released his seventh - yes, seventh - album entitled Liar's Day, produced by legendary bassist and recording guru Kenny Passarelli. If the politically charged title track doesn't draw you in with its catchy melody and funky edge, you'll be enticed by "Rainbow Junkies," a track laved with driving steel guitar riffs and Eastern-sounding breaks.
The song "Walkin' Blues" showcases the artist's skill and goes well with his soulful vocals. "Alright, let's play the blues," says Jacobs-Strain towards the end of the song. He then proceeds to shoot off a succession of notes while strumming at Hendrix's "Machine Gun" pace before slowing back down.

Dang, the Melvins sure look excited to be here.Dale Crover is one of the fiercest rock and roll drummers of the last 20 years, but you'd never guess it by his supremely subdued demeanor as he chats from his home in Los Angeles. The thundering Melvins' beat keeper talks humbly about the band's new record, Nude With Boots, but seems more inclined to talk about the demise of analog tape, musical history, or likening a touring band to a Major League Baseball team.
 
After some discussion of sea-side Puget Sound fishing towns, we finally begin talking about Nude With Boots, an 11-track album that features a quintessentially big-and-heavy Melvins sound, that some critics have referenced as the band's 19th record. The number is impressive in its own right, but Crover says the figure needs some tweaking.
"I think it's more than that, actually. I kind of stopped counting after a while. It's been a lot, but I think we've probably made a record for every year we've been a band," Crover says of the band's 24-year career and corresponding 24th record.