The Local Artist Speaks: Wax Fingers

Wax Fingers recently played at a KZME sponsored show at Mississippi Studios. I didn't get to go to the show, but heck - this is better!

Meet....Wax Fingers!

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How long have you lived in the Portland area?

Zac - I've lived in Portland just over 5 years from Florida.
Pete - I've lived in Portland for 7 years from Chicago.
Tommy- I'm from Portland, I will never leave.

Give us a brief history of your band/project:

We met on Craig's List...we're a Craig's List band. We all met on the "casual encounters" section, but decided our time would be better spent playing music.

What’s the first song you ever learned to play?

Zac - Taking Care of Business by Bachman Turner Overdrive.
Pete - No way, me too!
Tommy - I hate you guys.

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

Zac - Doug Fir is a great venue...the sound is wonderful and the staff is attentive and professional. Always fun playing there.

Speaking of other bands, who do you like in the Portland music scene?

Zac - Off the top of my head: Nice Nice, Yeah Great Fine, No Kind of Rider, AAN, Red Fang....I think I need to listen to more Portland based bands...most of the music I listen to comes from the Balkans.

Tell us about a recent “Only in Portland” moment you might have had.

Tommy - I stopped by a convenience store in NE Portland, like right around Killingsworth and 40 something... to grab some beer. A hooded guy burst through the door carrying a gun, I was right at the cash register with cash in hand as this was happening. The dude who was behind the cash register seemed to know the drill automatically, he kept his cool and began taking out the money and neatly placing it in a paper bag. It was eerily quiet in the store, I was the only customer in there and I was so scared I could barely move. The armed hooded guy's cell phone starts ringing, and his ring tone was that one song off of Yo La Tengo's album If Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out. I can't remember the name....anyways, I thought that was somehow a funny and terrifying Portland moment.

Finish this sentence: “I cannot live without_____”
Zac - Pete's guitar riffs.
Tommy - Yellow raisins.
Pete - My mommy.

Follow them at:
www.facebook.com/waxfingers
waxfingers.com
@waxfingers on Twitter

The Local Artist Speaks: No Kind of Rider

No Kind of Rider will be playing at Mississippi Studios on November 15 along with yeah great fine and Wax Fingers.

I caught up with Jonathan Van Patten and he answered these very important questions.

Meet....No Kind of Rider!!!

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How long have you lived in the Portland area?

- We arrived in Portland by Caravan on September 6th, 2008.

Give us a brief history of your band.

-The band, with its five members, has been together approximately five and a half years. We began playing together in late Feb/early March of 2006. Four out of five of us, Wes, Sam, Joe and myself(Jon), knew each other from high school in Tulsa, OK. The other member, which was Jeremy, became known by Sam and Joe from university. I had been playing in another band for roughly a year in Dallas, TX and by end of that year the band had dissolved over a period of a couple months. I moved back to Tulsa to work and go to school. Three months had gone by and I had been feeling restless, began looking for some people to play with and miraculously, got in touch with Sam through this weird website called Myspace. I think our moms had something to do with it. Moms. It was odd because I had never really been close friends with Sam or any of the other members, but we knew of each other and found to our delight, the five of us all got along quite well from the very beginning. Musical interest as well as personality was on par, which is rare. At the end of the night, after setting up and playing together for the first time, I looked around at the guys and said, "I'm gonna leave my drums here." They looked at me and the general consensus was, Yep, that seems like a good idea. And now, here we are, five and half years later.

What is the first song you ever learned to play?

- The first song No Kind of Rider wrote together is a song off of our new EP, Away Colors. The song is called 'Song 1(Bulletproof Tiger).' Though we only just released the song, it was the first song the five of us collectively wrote.

What is your favorite local venue to play? To see other bands?

- We've pretty much always been a fan of places like Doug Fir and Mississippi studios. They have a good atmosphere and good sound. Also, there are good people working at those places.

Speaking of other bands, who do you like on the Portland music scene?

- I can't speak for everyone here, but I'm pretty sure most of us fall in the same boat with a lot of this stuff, so I'll just mention some of the bands we've come to love collectively over the past couple years. We're big fans of Jen Moon's project, Old Wars. Also, Hello Electric, Yours, Wax Fingers, Greylag and the list goes on. If I'm forgetting anyone, please forgive me. I'm definitely forgetting people, but there is so much happening in the lovely city, sometimes it's difficult to keep up.

Tell us about a recent "Only in Portland" moment you might have had.

- That's a tough one. Every day in this city seems to be an "only in Portland" moment.

Finish this sentence: "I cannot live without______"

- I cannot live without Parks and Recreation(the show). . . Also, the parks in this are quite nice as well.

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