The Local Artist Speaks: PRIORY

Priory was one of the many fine bands who played at Rontoms during MFNW. 1071 FM KZME and KMHD2 did a live broadcast from the venue and things opened up with this fine band. They gave us one fine performance!

Greg Harpel is plays lead guitar for the band and shared some info about the band. Meet Priory!

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How long have you lived in the Portland area?
We've all had varying residencies here in Portland. Brandon and Joe grew
up here and never got it out of their system. Kyle and I are from central
Washington originally, really only burying the tent stakes here in
Portland until recently. Being part of this musical project has really
been a big part of becoming regionally rooted.


Give us a brief history of your band/project:
Kyle and Brandon started collaborating years ago during their undergrad
phases. But they followed some varying, separate leads in varying,
separate cities after that chapter. But in 2008 they found themselves
back in the same town, very much so on the same page when it came to
songwriting. They started working together again and writing what would
become the Priory material. I jumped in during the second inning, tagging
a hook when appropriate/possible. Joe got jumped on the train during the
3rd inning stretch.

What is the first song you ever learned to play?
Me personally? Smells Like Teen Spirit. It was junior high and we were
passing a guitar and that song around like a bad cold. As a band, a song
that we wrote, was Lady of Late. That song survived from first jam to
first record.


What is your favorite local venue to play? To see other bands?
Mississippi Studios has been good and generous, a fond environment for all
of us. Always ideal. We had our cd release there this summer, we'd do it
again. Great sound, great room, great coordinators. We'll go there most
often to see other bands too.


Speaking of other bands, who do you like on the Portland music scene?
Our friends and label mates in Blind Pilot are a great crew. Typhoon and
several of the TLE bands have also been inspiring acts in the community.


Tell us about a recent "Only in Portland" moment you might have had.
I passed a garage sale where you got a free chai latte with a purchase at
a garage sale.


Finish this sentence: "I cannot live without_____" Dr. Scholls insoles. God bless the good doctor.

three7: Media Blast for NW Hip Hop

Welcome to the Neighborhood has hosted The King of the Northwest, shared the Slum Funk and been a part of One Movement. We Out Here!

A lot's been happening since last month. In mid August One Movement visited the station to talk about their latest album and doing shows from Portland to Ashland. Check out the audio from that show here: One Movement on WTTN

Libretto of Misfit Massive visited the next week in support of his latest project Ride To Dat on Liquid Beat Records. He's been real busy recording and writing for multiple projects.

Theory Hazit and Ohmega Watts also made appearances talking about the album release party for Braille's latest Native Lungs on Humble Beast Records. Here's a link to part one of that show: Libretto on WTTN 1st hour.

I've been a fan of Luck-One Conscious for a while now and was so pleased to have him live in studio. We talked about his latest projects True Theory, The King Of The Northwest and the state of NW hip hop. He even kicked a freestyle to end the show. He is definitely an artist to continue to pay attention to. Here is audio from his visit to the show: Luck-One Conscious on WTTN

Hopefully you've been reading We Out Here Magazine on the regular. Started by NW MC The Kid Espi, it's becoming one of the best sources for information on music, fashion sports and northwest lifestyle in general. Check out audio from Espi and columnist Josh Seech here: WOHM on WTTN

Check out video clips from form the show here on the Vimeo starting with this clip of Luck-One:



We are doing another benefit for KZME coming up on Sunday September 25th hosted by yours truly again at the Skyway Bar and Grill, so come through and say what's up and be a part of the Northwest movement.

Until next time, y'all be blessed!

Klyph.

The Local Artist Speaks: AUTOPILOT IS FOR LOVERS

Adrienne is from Montclair, New Jersey. Paul is from Salem, Oregon. Adrienne is the great-niece of Henny Youngman, the "King of the One-Liners", author of such classic phrases as "Take my wife - please." When Paul was seventeen his choir sang at Carnegie Hall, but he and some friends were sent home early when a bottle of whiskey was discovered in their hotel room. They never even got to drink the whiskey. -

From www.myspace.com/autopilotisforlovers

Meet Adrienne of Autopilot is for Lovers!
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How long have you lived in the Portland area?
I've lived here for 9 years! Wow I am old.

Give us a brief history of your band/project:
I started out on my own, playing shows by myself with just a guitar in college before I picked up the accordion. Since I moved to Portland the band's gone through lots of different members. Currently we have Matthew Ulm and Dustin Daniels from the band Old Age - on drums and bass respectively - and Eric Tergerson on viola. We would LOVE to have a full-time cellist to play harmonies with Eric, but cello players are in high demand in this town.

What’s the first song you ever learned to play?
I think maybe it was House of the Rising Sun? Possibly Paint It Black? You can see how such upbeat songs might set the tone for the rest of my pop songwriting career.

What’s your favorite local venue to play? To see other bands?
Oh God, there are lots of great spots in Portland. Places that come to mind are the Knife Shop, the Someday Lounge, Ella Street Social Club, the Woods, Doug Fir, Saratoga...

Speaking of other bands, who do you like on the Portland music scene?
Again, almost too many to list, but I will try - Ezra Carey, Porches, Mike Coykendall, Schicky Gnarowitz, Ashia Grzesik, Grey Anne, Mike Midlo, On the Stairs, Y La Bamba, St. Frankie Lee, Lost Lockets, Alameda, Woodwinds, Donovan Breakwater, Loch Lomond, Wooden Indian Burial Ground...

Tell us about a recent “Only in Portland” moment you might have had.
That's a tough one. Yesterday I met a balloon animal artist with anger issues. He's personally cussed out some people I know (though I wasn't there, maybe they had it coming). He traded my friend a balloon heart for a cigarette.

Finish this sentence: “I cannot live without_____”
My International Centromatic accordion, my wiener dog, and my jewelry studio.




Check out Adrienne on Hello Cruel World (thanks, John!):

My MFNW: Wheedle's Groove and The Kills

Music Fest North West assumed control of Portland on Wednesday with over 20 different stages at clubs and theaters throughout the city. With so many bands and venues it can be a tough call on who to see and who to miss; when I sat down to plan my schedule I had to make a few heart wrenching decisions. Wheedle's Groove, however, was an easy choice. Browsing through the MFNW lineup I came across the trailer for the film. I knew from about fifteen seconds in that screening at The Mission Theater would be my main event on Wednesday. Just watch it yourself.

See? Doesn't that look awesome? It turns out Wheedle's Groove is a bunch of things. A song,
 a compilation album of Seattle's Finest Funk and Soul, the movie itself and, most awesomely, a band comprised of surviving members of the Seattle soul scene. If you ever get a chance to see/hear any one of these things take it. Following the film there was a Q & A with the director and then the band Wheedle's Groove came out and played. I mean really played.

The band was hot. The lineup of the members changed around during the show, each version a reborn incarnation of one group from back in the day. One after the other they played their old tunes and set the place on fire. The crowd wasn't huge and was mostly confined to the chairs they were sitting in but where there was room people danced. Everyone seemed to be  enjoying the hell out of themselves. I could give a rundown of my favorite highlights (like Robby Hill, Patrinell Staten and Portland's own Overton Berry) but really the whole thing was a highlight and to shine a light on any one performer would do a disservice to the rest of the band. I don't know how often these guys play out but it would be worth a drive up to Seattle to see them.

When they played their last song and said goodnight the crowed wouldn't have it. The bandleader yelled, "Are you sure you want more?" We indicated that we did. They jammed on for another twenty minutes or so as they introduced each member of the band, finally bringing it to an end with an uptempo, funky-soul version of Paul McCartney's Blackbird. They smoked. I left very happy.

Being that it was only 11:30 or so I thought I might take a stroll over to the Crystal Ballroom to see if The Kills were still playing. They were. I wondered in. It was freaky hot and loud in there. The first thing I noticed was that The Kills are awesome. The second thing was that somebody around me smelled pretty ripe. I moved. Not just get away from the smell but also to get a better view. The view got better but the smell didn't. Panic began to set in. I was thinking, "My god, is that me?" It took me a bit before I was able to  confirm to myself that it was not... it was everyone else. The entire place smelled like b.o. and backsweat. I guess that is all I wanted to tell you about The Kills. They bring awesome, freaky hot, loud and smelly rock and roll.

The Local Artist Speaks: CELILO

Celilo was one of the bands who played our our pre-launch party last year and I developed an immediate crush on the band. A couple of the fellows even drove all the way out here to Gresham to record an in studio performance for my former podcast, The Z Spot. You can check out that show by clicking here.

From their MySpace page:
Celilo (pronounced suh-lie-low) from Portland, Oregon, USA gives a slight nod towards Dark Side era Pink Floyd, 70's Neil Young, and the Fleet Foxes straddling the boundaries between indie rock, psychedelia and atmospheric folk. A banquet of dreamy soundscapes, surreal rhetoric, and an early Genesis-like tendency to shift gears mid song to emerge from a dark forest of sound onto the modern sunlit plain ...

They have a new album coming out on September 27 called Buoy Bell which I'm sure is going to be quite a listening treat.

I caught up with Sloan Martin, lead singer for the band, earlier in the summer. Meet...Celilo!

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How long have you lived in the Portland area?
Since the 4th grade, I'm almost forty, do the calculus, long time!

Give us a brief history of your band/project: I quit drums cold turkey, got turned onto bluegrass, drifted into songwriting via Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams, continued drifting back to some of my Led Zeppelin roots, met the folks in my band now, booked some gigs!

What’s the first song you ever learned to play? When the Levee Breaks (drums), Harvest (guitar)

What’s your favorite local venue to play? To see other bands? Doug Fir Lounge

Speaking of other bands, who do you like on the Portland music scene? Dolorean, Ezza Rose, Lost Lander

Tell us about a recent “Only in Portland” moment you might have had. Colonel Sumner Park, total bohemian San Francisco late 60's scenes revisted but with crusty anarchist hipsters instead of hippies.

Finish this sentence: “I cannot live without_____” coffee/weed.... hee hee

More on this band at their MySpace page - click here. They will be playing at Jimmy Mak's on September 9th with Holcombe Waller and y la bamba for MFNW.

Kory Quinn & the Comrades

Last Friday I was fortunate to be able to attend NW Documentary's Homegrown DocFest and the premiere of the documentary Treeverse, which was absolutely excellent. I'd love to write about that, but this a music blog. That being the case, it WOULD be appropriate to tell you about Kory Quinn & the Comrades, the musical act that played before and after the films. They played some great bluegrass and folkish americana that was almost exclusively original and entirely enjoyable.

I'm not straight on if what I saw was technically Kory Quinn & the Comrades. I feel like sometimes there are probably more Comrades than that. This was just Kory and another fellow who played the lap steel and the banjo. It is hard for me to ascertain whether or not someone is actually good at the banjo, but when this he played the lap steel it was clear that he was very, very good at playing the lap steel. Like really good. I kept wanting to yell, "Lap steel solo!" But I didn't because that didn't seem like a very good idea.

Kory is a good singer and performer but I think he really stands out as a songwriter. There is a travel weary authenticity that comes through and you get the sense he is a bit of a bindlestiff road kid. I get the impression that he is from Illinois somewhere (Chicago? Aurora? Waukegan?) but he is a Portlander now and you can (and should) go listen at one of their upcoming shows.

Find out when these shows are and more about the band here:

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