Pimps of Joytime is an east-coast native band with a funky and rare soulful sound that has the ability to haunt its listeners with the howls and a one-of-a-kind beat interpretation that can only come from a deep understanding of what funk was, is, and can be. Performing roughly 90 shows a year, Pimps of […]
Sound
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Smell the Blood and Roses
The Smithereens get dangerously close
The Smithereens have been around for a long time. In the last 36 years of its existence, the band has released every single type of record imaginable, from Christmas albums, to greatest hits albums, to records filled exclusively with Beatles covers. The band has shown a drive that downright makes the rest of us look […]
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Cover Me
Madeleine Peyroux has that jazz
Madeleine Peyroux has been around long enough for a Greatest Hits record, which she is touring on right now. “Keep Me in Your Heart for a While: The Best of Madeleine Peyroux” is the first anthology release of her 20-year career and probably the first of many as she’s still very much going strong. Peyroux […]
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Album Review: “Birth of Bravey”
Bravey Don
There is a local folk epidemic in Bend, as lead member of Bravey Don, David Gillespie, points out. “We want to rid this town of their incessant banjo addiction. It’s time to embrace rock and roll.” Is Bend ready for something like this? Could it be that although our beloved harmonica-enhanced folk is what is […]
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Boss Baptism
Thirty-eight years on E Street
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will play the Moda Center in Portland on March 22, but I won’t be there. It’s a troubling notion, kind of like breaking it off with a significant other after a 38-year relationship. It’s not you, Bruce, it’s me. It’s not a permanent breakup–the timing just wasn’t right […]
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The Sea Itself
Lit-folk quartet Darlingside amazes
Hearing Darlingside find its sound over the course of two full-length albums and an EP is astounding. The biggest change being that, between the first full-length album and the second, the group went from being a quintet to a quartet, losing a drummer, but finding something approaching excellence. Darlingside is made up of Dave Senft […]
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Jah Bend
Rebelution’s DIY reggae returns
The best way to describe Rebelution’s sound is White Jam Band Reggae. There are aspects of roots reggae, Santana-esque electric guitar solos and California easy listening involved as well, so it’s pretty hard to lock down exactly what Rebelution is after when it comes to its sound. However, since they had the best selling reggae […]
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Bringing New Orleans to Bend
Join the Bumper Jacksons on the second line
The Bumper Jacksons have a classic sound that spreads all the ways from the Appalachian holler traditional to smoky jazz club juke joints. The 2014 release, “Sweet Mama, Sweet Daddy, Come In,” showcases exactly what makes The Bumper Jacksons special in an ever-saturated market of jazzy, blues infused, old-timey crowd pleasers. One major thing that […]
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Mariachi Sol de Mexico
A festive sound comes to the Tower
Mariachi Sol de Mexico is a 13-piece band that plays the traditional sounds and experiences of Mexico. This genre of music is said to have originated in the 19th century in the southern state of Jalisco and is a mostly male-dominated style of music. In a culture that is very much patriarchal, it is said […]
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Come “Back to Oregon”
An auditory obsession has been released
Trailer 31’s debut album, “Back to Oregon,” is the most basic definition of what makes music so great. Many people get stuck in a music rut, too stubborn to expand their horizons, while others thrive off of the newest sounds from the newest bands in the smallest towns. Whichever preference or position taken, “Back to […]