I’ve never seen Widespread Panic live, but apparently that’s the only way to really experience what they’ve got going on. Like Phish or the Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic’s music is more complex than the average jam band and the sound is just as playful and digressive. According to guitarist/singer John Bell, they never play the […]
Source Bend
Posted inCulture
Mt. Bachelor Riverhouse Jazz
Putting Bend on the music lover’s map
With Mt. Bachelor and Smith Rock just a short drive a way—and an excess of lakes, hiking trails, and high desert forest areas to explore—Bend is a dream come true for the active, athletic, and outdoorsy. While nature enthusiasts flock to the area from all over the U.S. for camping, climbing, and skiing, Bend has […]
Posted inMusic
Persistence Pays Off for The Receiver
It shouldn’t be this hard to sell music
The Receiver, a synth-pop-centered duo from Columbus, Ohio, had to go quite a ways to get a stalled career restarted: all the way to England, in fact. Things got off to a reasonable enough start when brothers Casey Cooper (vocals/keyboards/bass) and Jesse Cooper (drums/vocals) started out a decade ago as The Receiver. Signed to a […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters 6/15-6/22
In response to “Somebody has to Pay,” (6/9) IP 28 money is intended only to assure that the unreasonable wage increases the governor negotiated with public employee unions and the overspending that has occurred during the last two legislative sessions controlled by a Democratic senate, house and governor have been approved absent any money to […]
Posted inNews
Sex, Lies & Snapchat
Locally-based novel focuses lens on sex trafficking in Central Oregon
La Pine junior Zoey James mustered her social energy and drove with her sister Camille through the snow to a party being thrown by a classmate. A stereotypical rural teen scene ensued: Cheap liquor. Hip-hop beats. Dizzying grinds on the dance floor. Only a few sips into a vodka drink, the room started to spin […]
Posted inNews
Senate Bill 1533 and Inclusionary Zoning
A reader named Krista recently wrote to the Source Weekly about Senate Bill 1533. She wondered whether the bill really accomplishes anything in terms of helping create affordable housing, and expressed concerns about the bill’s definition of affordable housing: “Affordable housing” means housing that is affordable to households with incomes equal to or higher than […]
Posted inOpinion
Taking Responsibility for River Trash
Local government and businesses have rolled out the red carpet for river runners. Parks and Rec launched the Ride the River shuttle long before we had a public bus system. Sun Country Tours rents float tubes to families at Riverbend Park Beach. Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe has helped create a veritable SUP armada on […]
Posted inMusic
All Stars
The return of Smash Mouth
Smash Mouth came on the scene in 1997 with the album “Fush Yu Mang,” which is the noise you make make while screaming expletives at the person that just smashed your mouth. With that album, the San Jose, Calif.-based band jumpstarted a resurging Ska craze almost single-handedly, becoming totemic to the idea of a “Summer […]
Posted inCulture
Bite Week
Taste meets hands-on learning
Synonymous with fine dining and craft spirits, it’s no surprise that Bend is home to Central Oregon’s largest food festival, the Bite of Bend, which runs June 17-19. This well-attended community event attracts foodies for three days of feasting and playing, featuring 40 food vendors, a bartender brawl, a beer run for the grown-ups, and […]
Posted inNews
Kids, Weed and Sending Messages
The public debate about cannabis legalization has been dominated by one core argument in favor of keeping pot illegal. Legalization “sends the wrong message” to children, leading them to see pot as relatively harmless, and will cause more young people using cannabis. When California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, federal […]