Eleven PDX Magazine September 2014 by Eleven PDX

contents

ELEVEN PDX MAGAZINE ISSUE NO. 4

THE USUAL 4 Letter from the Editor 4 Staff Credits

VOLUME 4

FEATURES Local Feature 11 Hustle & Drone

Cover Feature 15 OK Go

new music 5 Aural Fix Rey Pila Clean Bandit Chet Faker

FILM Watch Me Now 21 End of Summer Wrap-up Instant Queue Review: Robin Williams Edition

7 Short List 7 Album Reviews Pocketknife David Bazan & The Passenger String Quartet The Kooks Blonde Redhead

COMMUNITY Literary Arts 23 Portland writer Kevin Sampsell September Literary Events

Neighborhood of the Month 26 NE Alberta Street

LIVE MUSIC 9 Musicalendar An encompassing overview of concerts in PDX for the upcoming month. But that’s not all–the Musicalendar is complete with a venue map to help get you around town.

Visual Arts 27 Portland painter Maria G. Raffaele

more online at elevenpdx.com

HELLO PORTLAND! September in Portland is that month where even though people claim (not disingenuously) to be over the gorgeous weather and ready for the rainy winter, we desperately cling to these sunny, shortening days. There's just enough time for one more weekend hike, one more float, one more boat and one more adventure. For the pleasure of your in-between time, we have a beautifully diverse issue this month. Diverse, but tight. In particular, the interviewees that share this common thread: Creative ingenuity and fearlessness. The 91 year-old painter Maria G. Raffaele [pp. 20-30] has lost neither vibrancy nor keen wit. Writer Kevin Sampsell [pp. 23-25] dives into the Portland writing scene circa 1992. Enterprising cover feature OK Go [pp. 15-20] elaborates on their explorations that boldly go where no band has gone before, and local rising stars Hustle & Drone [pp. 11-14,] well, they hustle and drone. As the rains creep in, slowly but surely, we'll be here with you, along for the ride. Just remember, it's what you wanted! Thanks for reading. Âť

- Ryan Dornfeld, Editor in Chief

3 | ELEVEN PORTLAND | www.elevenpdx.com

EXECUTIVE STAFF EDITOR IN CHIEF Ryan Dornfeld CREATIVE DIRECTOR Dustin Mills

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P.O. Box 16488 Portland, OR. 97292

SENIOR STAFF SENIOR WRITER Wendy Worzalla VISUAL ARTS Mercy McNab

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COPY EDITING Megan Freshley COVER PHOTO Mercy McNab CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Brandy Crowe, Billy Dye, Eric Evans, Donovan Farley, Veronica Greene, Rachael Haigh, Casey Hardmeyer, Kelly Kovl, Alisha Kelsey, Travis Leipzig, Ethan Martin, Scott McHale, Aaron Mills, Kela Parker, Matthew Sweeney, Charles Trowbridge photographers Mercy McNab, Aa Mills, Todd Walberg, Caitlin M. Webb DISTRIBUTION / PROMO The Redcoats

ADVERTISING sales@elevenpdx.com online Mark Dilson, Kim Lawson Michael Reiersgaard eleven west media group, llc Ryan Dornfeld Dustin Mills SPECIAL THANKS Our local business partners who make this project possible. Our friends, families, associates, lovers, creators and haters. And of course, our city!

AUDIO CINEMA OCTOBER 17TH + 18TH

ARE YOU GOING TO LOSE YR MIND? NAOMI PUNK SUMMER CANNIBALS SUN ANGLE WOODEN INDIAN BURIAL GROUND + MORE... www.loseyrmind.com

www.elevenpdx.com | ELEVEN PORTLAND | 4

new music aural fix

AURAL FIX

UP AND COMING MUSIC FROM THE NATIONAL SCENE

REY PILA

Welcome to the world of tomorrow! Surprise! It’s actually yesterday. If you thought time was linear, think again. Time really is a flat circle and this will all happen again. If you ever find yourself yearning for the bull markets and coke parties of the eighties but want to avoid all the hair and jackets and shoulder pads, then let Rey Pila show you the way. This synth-heavy pop group will take your hand

great music to walk around to. Go on a long enough stroll and

and guide you to the promised land of yesteryear and then turn you around to face your uncertain near future. The music of today has been trending backwards towards simpler eras for some time now, and Rey Pila is poised at the apex. Coming soon to a theatre near you—The Breakfast Club II: Out To Lunch. Originally the solo project of Mexico City native Diego Solorzano, this ethereal, historical revisitation is both nostalgic and modern in its approach. At first it sounds so hip that you feel compelled to pretend that you like it, but after a few short moments you will find that you actually do. This excellent mix of electronica and moody guitar pop makes for

you may just find that the amount of creepy romance in the lyrics compliments the music perfectly. As far as the live performance goes, Solorzano’s stage presence approaches legendary status. Sometimes too much reverb has a tendency to produce an obviously false bravado. In this instance it’s the bravado that is obvious and the reverb only accentuates it. Get ready to dance your ass off and time travel into the future via the past with this band. Rey Pila knows that what’s next is what’s already been, only in a different way. Time is a flat circle and this will all happen again. Feeling like a kid again never felt so adult. It’s not a bad thing. Just let it happen. Batteries not included. » - Aaron Mills

Photo by Tito Fuentes

The works of Mozart and Beethoven ride again, and this time it’s on the breathless, smiling workhorse of UK dance pop. By pulling string arrangements and classical chord progressions up alongside pop vocals straight out of Adele’s songbook, the classically trained quartet aren’t necessarily breaking new ground artistically, but what they lack in originality they make up for with pleasing variations on familiar ground. Having released six singles off their 2014 album, New Eyes, they’re starting to make ripples felt on our side of the Atlantic. At their best, on songs like British chart topper “Rather Be,” they sound like Scissor Sisters starting a dance party on the set of the movie Amadeus. Occasionally the heartbroken robot voice made hip by Daft Punk speaks up,

CLEAN BANDIT

pushing songs like “Dust Clears” and “New Eyes” from pop inanity to compelling hits that you’re not embarrassed to make your friends listen to. But these are rogue waves in an often flat sea of bad lyrics and poor choice of featured artists.

Electro dance pop as a genre has never claimed to be high

Both songs featuring regular contributor Love Ssega are easily

art, preferring instead to appeal to the broadest fan base

the two weakest songs on the album, reminding many of us

possible by sticking to its tried and true formulas. Yes, electro

how electro pop can clear the dance floor of everyone except

dance pop wants to sell singles, climb charts, and pack dance

the people you despise from your graduating class.

floors with college kids across the globe, and Clean Bandit

The good news is that the four young Brits who make

is a group that pursues this agenda unabashedly. Yet they

up the band proper are bona fide musicians fully capable of

manage to stick to the pop program while pulling in some high

bringing Shostakovich back into your life in a way we can all

art to give the dance floor a much needed and sexy IQ bump.

relate to: on the dance floor. » - Ethan Martin

5 | ELEVEN PORTLAND | www.elevenpdx.com

new music aural fix

SEPTEMBER AT

1st TOGETHER PANGEA KINS

CHET FAKER

Shlohmo, Gold Panda, Amon Tobin, and James Blake elements inspire and are reflected in Australian producer and singer Nicholas Murphy’s music. The 26-yearold combines his efforts into a chill package of electronic, indie, soul, rhythm, blues, and definitely sex that he calls Chet Faker. In fact my first thought before even hearing his vocals was, 'this is going on my music-to-make-love-to playlist: The Kelly Sessions.' And then when I heard lyrics like “The shit we do could warm the sun,” I knew he was a keeper. Well actually, he had me when I saw his killer red beard. But back to the music: his viral cover of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” is a great introduction for any new listeners on how he uses his turtle paced voice to dominate over his staple keyboard/ piano, drum machine, and synthesizers. After that, work your way through a couple of his extended plays, especially Thinking in Textures, and this year’s full album Built on Glass. The award winner’s main shtick is his mumblesinging that works well with pliable beats. Faker is still experimenting with what he

Photo by Lisa Frieling

wants to sound like, and that’s okay. In fact, the B-side of Built on Glass is riddled with sounds that set him up so he can take his next album in new directions—especially the electronic sector. He gives the aficionados what they want without sacrificing originality. » - Kelly Kovl

QUICK TRACKS

GUANTANAMO BAYWATCH

“I'M INTO YOU” From Thinking in Textures, this track will give you lines that will work left and right on all the boys (or girls): “I'll find it harder to ignore / The things I want you for.”

PIGWAR

4th CASTANETS

17th ZAMMUTO

ALAMEDA OLD LIGHT

LUKE WYLAND (OF AU)

5th SHOOT TO THRILL AC/DC TRIBUTE

18th IL SOGNO DEL MARINAIO

6th BANDS FOR BEANS

20th ROCCO DELUCA

ROOT JACK

GENO MICHAELS & SOUL CITY NORMAN SYLVESTER

7th PICKIN' ON SUNDAYS FEATURING ST. EVEN 3PM FREE

BARRY BRUSSEAU

8th TOBACCO

THE STARGAZER LILLIES OSCILLATOR BUG

9th COLONY HOUSE & KNOX HAMILTON ADVENTURE GALLEY

10th OWEN PALLETT AVI BUFFALO FOXES IN FICTION

HOSANNAS • THANKS

His warm, buttery voice croons, “I wanna make you move with confidence / I wanna be with you alone” all over a steady beat with a sexy saxophone creeping throughout the song.

(WITH MIKE WATT) LITE MOTOPONY

21st A MINOR FOREST PRIZEHOG JONNY X AND THE GROADIES

22nd SON LUX

HELADO NEGRO

23rd ORENDA FINK

KING DUDE

11th RAGS & RIBBONS “TALK IS CHEAP”

*MAJOR ENTERTAINER* MIKE H.

16th CLAIRY BROWNE & 3rd PANTHER ATTACK THE BANGIN' POINT JUNCTURE WA RACKETTES HATS OFF!

7th EARTH A

14th NEIL HAMBURGER

OUR FOX

24th THE NEW AND MASTERSOUNDS 25th THE NTH POWER 26th CLEAN BANDIT LITTLE DAYLIGHT

27th SEAN HAYES ERIC AND ERICA

29th PINBACK

TERA MELOS

12th MONEY

HAWKS DO NOT SHARE

13th ANAIS MITCHELL REED FOEHL

happy hour 3-6pm

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new music album reviews

ALBUM REVIEWS

Boudreaux’s (Summer Cannibals, New Moss Records) expressive and sultry vocals melting over the lush arrangement of guitar tones, crisp drum beats, and rich bass. The chorus is simple, executed perfectly, and catchy as hell—believe me when I say you will have “It was the push of love / It was the push of love / It was the push of lo-o-o-o-ove” in your head for

This Month’s best

days on end.

R Reissue

There is a good chance vocalist Marlin Gonda is a little tired of

L Local release

L Pocketknife

Short List Delta Spirit Into The Wild Interpol El Pintor Ani DiFranco Allergic To Water Imelda May Tribal Death From Above 1979 The Physical World Karen O Crush Songs

Dying To Pretend Self-Released Earworm hooks, shimmery synth,

and catchy lyrics are the heart of this Portland synth-pop group. In true Pocketknife fashion, the opening track and lead single “Treasure” will have you jumping right out of your seat, dancing around singing, “Woah oh oh!” without a care in the world. Another hard-hitting tune, “The

album’s fourth track, “Really Really Gonda’s Moz-esque vocals with beautiful harmonies and soaring keys courtesy of Boudreaux. Pocketknife is known for delivering synth driven pop songs topped off with a heavy dose of energy. With their latest fulllength, Dying To Pretend, this quartet does what they do best. » - Wendy Worzalla

Push of Love,” features Jessica

Moonface City Wrecker

its instrumentals rocked my mind

Holiday Friends Major Magic

that seemed too dangerous for the

between a space of eerie self-reflection

This Will Destroy You Another Language

level of exposure in a public park and

Alt-J This Is All Yours

any badminton match—from measure

optimistic excitement of dominating to measure. This review would really be a coin flip. The power of string instruments

Weezer Everything Will Be Alright In The End Witch Mountain Mobile Of Angels Buy it

the similarity is undeniable in the A Lot A Lot.” This gem showcases

King Tuff Black Moon Spell

being compared to Morrissey, but

Steal it

Toss it

over the human psyche is undeniable. In the first listen, the movements in the songs were engrossing and

David Bazan & The Passenger String Quartet Volume 1 Undertow Records

entrapping. At first. By the end of the album and in the second listen, I was bored by the lack of diversity—my biggest critique of the album. Bazan’s lyrics and voice were profound,

I change my mind about this

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satirical, and often hopeful in the

album as much as it changes my mood.

emergence of an autumn season—

Between the violin of the string

symbolic of the beginning of loss.

quartet and David Bazan’s Armstrong-

Letting it sit for a day and going back

esque rasp, the sound can bring you

to it was all that was required to

down if you are feeling high or pick

rejuviante its intrigue. I keep going

you up if you are feeling low. Walking

back to it, and I still experience a swing

through Laurelhurst park listening

that’s as great as a toss up. It can be

to it for the first time, the bow of

good and bad at anytime. » - Billy Dye

new music album reviews

The Kooks Listen Virgin EMI Records The Kooks burst onto the indie scene back in 2006 with Inside In/ Inside Out, a well-regarded debut that immediately positioned them as 'next' of whatever the next thing was going to be. While they didn’t disappoint, they never managed to hit that same peak with their successive follow-ups. The Kooks had a sound—melodic, uptempo indie rock—but while the group’s

Blonde Redhead Barragán Kobalt Records Despite almost 20 years of making records, Blonde Redhead have never had that breakthrough album that moved them into the upper echelon of American indie bands. They came close with 2007’s 23, their most critically and commercially acclaimed album, which managed to briefly crack the Billboard Albums Chart at #60. One could say Blonde Redhead’s relative lack of notoriety may be due to not being

songwriting skills grew, that sound never really managed to grow with it. It’s not a new narrative for a band. Most never recover. The Kooks? Yeah. They recovered. Their upcoming fourth studio album, Listen, is an entirely entertaining, rollicking, and funky collection of musical joy. There is no easing-in moment with Listen. From start to finish, the energy is palpable. It’s not go-for-broke so much as gofor-great. The album has a distinct rhythmic flavor that pops up again and again, notably on the opener, “Around Town,” and the first released single, “Down.” The vocal lines—courtesy of Luke Pritchard, and impeccable from beginning to end—careen around the backbeats, buzzing on the 1 and popping on the 2. The guitars flit in the background, bubbling to the fore to build easy crescendos. The rhythm section attacks, on point every time. “Down” is easily the truest funk on the record. Backed by staccato guitar picking, the vocal line wends its way with some real soul. Its funk

is restrained, relying solely on the depth of Pritchard’s voice to convey the necessary feel. It falls in the middle of the album—a suitable midway point—bookended by “Bad Habit,” a rockish tune that pushes the pace, and “Dreams,” an acoustic-backed track that hints at spaghetti Western. “Sweet Emotion,” the final track, is a thoroughly interesting conglomeration of all the singular elements present on the rest of the album. There’s the high-fret guitar pick, the bass thump/ kick drum backbeat, the piano, and Pritchard’s flawless vocal work. It clocks in at five minutes—almost a full minute longer than any other track. But as a conclusion, it’s got it all: restated thesis, main points, final thoughts. It’s not too often that a group manages to not only step out, but embrace the jolt that a reworked sound offers. Some bands lose themselves, and some reinvent. In The Kooks’ case, it’s easy to see how they could have arrived at this point. The phenomenal part of it, though, is that they did. » - Charles Trowbridge

from a major scene, arriving over five years after Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine—Redhead’s most obvious influences—had their respective heyday. Their string of albums released in the mid to late nineties sound very little like their indie contemporaries of the day— not as diverse as Slint or Tortoise, and not as rooted in guitar rock as Pavement, Yo La Tengo or Built to Spill. It seemed the band was destined for a life of moderate obscurity. Nevertheless, Blonde Redhead are set to release their ninth album, entitled Barragán, this month on Kobalt Records. The Sonic Youth-isms of Blonde Redhead's early career are nowhere to be found, instead embracing the sound of their former label's 1980s protoshoegaze darlings. The band wears their former 4AD brethren Cocteau Twins and Pale Saints influences on their sleeves, with dreamy, downbeat melodies and pleasant enough atmospherics—but the group struggles mightily to bring any life to their ideas. Barragán's songs seem to drift aimlessly from one lifeless loop to the next, eschewing verses and choruses in favor of skeletal

drone and monotony. The production is dull, lacking any and all of the richly textured 23’s finer orchestral-shoegaze qualities. The performances are about the same. The band appears content to let half-spun melodies drift into an abyss of digital reverb and delay while Simon Pace’s usually impressive drumming sounds entirely uninterested in adding to the proceedings. The group tries at times to establish a krautrock motorik groove which, on paper, could suit the minimalist dream-pop material well. But the rhythms aren't given enough time to establish themselves to drive Barragán's minimalism into the hypnotic. There isn't anything particularly offensive about the album, but it's in its apparent lack of interest in engaging the listener where Barragán's true problem lies. Only on the icy, electro groove of “Droppings” can one find a pulse. Perhaps what makes Barragán most frustrating is that it sounds like the work of a band that just doesn’t care anymore. Let’s hope that Kazu Makino and the Pace brothers find a reason to care again before their next release. » - Casey Hardmeyer

www.elevenpdx.com | ELEVEN PORTLAND | 8

live SEPTEMBER crystal ballroom

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Doug fir

830 e burnside

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Roseland Theater

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1332 w burnside

Passenger Interpol | Rey Pila Lykke Li | Mapei Dave Rawlings Machine Guided By Voices | Stephen Malkmus | Pure Country Gold Build To Spill

mississippi studios 3939 n mississippi

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live SEPTEMBER wonder ballroom 128 ne russell

holocene

1001 se morrison

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rontoms

600 e burnside

eastburn

1800 e burnside

7 8

Dinner and Live Bluegrass (Thursdays) The Bylines Outta Limits Eric John Kaiser Inherit Earth Jazz Night w/ Ian Christensen Trio Buddy Jay's Jamaican Jazz Band Kelly Bosworth King Cardinal

bossanova ballroom 722 E Burnside

The Skatalites

kelly’s olympian 426 sw washington

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features SEPTEMBER bunk bar

11 1028 se water 5 Don't | The Slutty Hearts | Hot Toddies 16 Hustle & Drone | The Dig | The We Shared Milk 17 Lowell

the know 12 2026 NE Alberta 1 2 3 4 5 8 12 13 14 16 19 22 24 26 27 29 30

LOCAL FEATURE 4 5 6 7 8 11 12 13 18 24 25

o achieve success at nearly any one thing, comfort levels must be abandoned and both the body and mind committed fully to an objective. Having Here Comes Everybody | Michele Van Kleef all the variables of that formula in a row, Fernando Y Los Cochinos | Trujillo | KBS the only logical outcome to the unknown Johnny Boyd | Karen Lovely Dean! | The Harmed Brothers for Hustle & Drone is prosperity. Led by Maurice Tani & 77 El Deora | The Cabin Project former Portugal. The Man keyboardist The Rhythm Runners | Pete Krebs Ryan Neighbors, Hustle & Drone play Drunken Prayer | The Low Bones | The Resolectrics a soulful blend of electronic beatDavy Jay Sparrow & His Western Songbirds The Ukeladies driven bass and synth heavy power pop. Charles Ellsworth | Jasper T | Siren & The Sea Following a two-year period since the BLVD Park | Del Phoena | The Blackberry Bushes release of their self-titled debut EP, the trio is back with their debut LP Holyland, white eagle 836 n russell out September 2. I had the pleasure of Singer Songwriter Showcase (Mondays) enjoying several libations with Ryan over Grandhorse | Bike Thief | The Hugs a discussion about his departure from Pretty Gritty | Promise The Moon | Powerhouse Heather Maloney & Darlingside | Doogan Holler PTM, the making of the Holyland, and The Hill Dogs how Red Bull not only gives you wings Mexican Gunfight Marc Ford | Elijah Ford | Jonathan Warren & The Billygoats but also helps musicians across the globe.

knock back 13 the 2315 ne alberta THE SECRET SOCIETY 14 116 NE RUSSELL

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ELEVEN: Ryan, you played keys with Portugal. The Man for five years before leaving to pursue Hustle & Drone. Can you give some insight into that decision? Ryan Neighbors: Well as you said, I was playing with Portugal for five

Photo by Mercy McNab

years, which consisted of constant touring, writing, and recording—which is something I absolutely love doing, but it also led to a five year break from being able to write my own music. I mean, I still wrote songs and demos in Garageband, but I knew I never would've been able to truly see how far my songwriting could go if I didn't devote myself to it 100 percent. It was a very difficult decision, because I had a routine and a comfortable life and a full-time job playing music. But at the end of the day I wasn't happy, and that is kind of the most important thing. Plus I was about to turn 25, and it takes time to get a band off the ground—so I figured it was now or never. 11: You churned out a debut EP immediately after leaving PTM. Now two years later you’re back with a debut full-length, Holyland. Was there anything different about your process? RN: When we started recording the EP, we gave ourselves a deadline. Portugal had a tour booked at the beginning of April [2012] and I wanted there to be no confusion as to what I was up to and why I wasn't on tour. So if anyone asked the dudes, "Where is Ryan?" they could give a clear answer and people would be able to go find the music. So we spent the next month

writing demos—we had about twelve, and we picked the five strongest and did our best to complete them. I think we did a good job, but what I have noticed from recording Holyland is that time and breath and space do wonders for songwriting. We treated Holyland very differently. Because in my opinion, if this record isn't the best I can possibly do, what the fuck am I doing with my life. We had about 40 demos for Holyland that I sent to my buddy Sonny DiPerri who I knew from some Portugal recording sessions. He has a great ear and knows his shit about synths and sequencers. He sent me back like four paragraphs about each demo with in-depth, well thought out notes. I called him and said, "Too bad we can't just make a record together.” And he of course said, "Let's do it.” Bringing in an outside ear brought a lot to the table. Some musicians get very set in their ways, and until I was able to hear things differently, I never would've known what would work—synth and drum sounds that I just didn't have access to. Having a dude around who wouldn't even crack a beer until the work day was done, which I personally could never do. . . but someone needed to be that person. He was also the guy to wake us up in the morning when it was time to get up and finish songs. We worked with Sonny for two weeks in Portland and two weeks at a beach house before parting ways with solid instrumentals of each song while I finished up lyrics. Leaving things open did so much for the record. We ended up adding a song (“I Just Need Some Money”) right before mastering. It wasn't even going to be on the record, but we let ourselves have that option. There would've been a time when I would've said, “No, we can't add a brand new song— the record is done already." I am really glad I didn't do that.

features SEPTEMBER SLABTOWN

1033 NW 16TH

alhambra theatre 4118 se hawthorne

hawthorne theatre 1507 se 39th

Photo by Todd Walberg

11: So you spent some time at the coast while recording. How was that? RN: Writing at the beach was amazing. It's great to just escape your job and your friends for a bit. I mean I love my friends, but I don't get much recording done when there are shows every night that everyone I know is going to. So we went out to Pacific City and stayed in an amazing house right on the beach. We worked about 12-hour days, lounged, and ate awesome food. There wasn't really anything else to distract us from working on the record. I will personally continue to leave Portland when I really want to finish something important artistically. 11: There was a change in your lineup during the process of making Holyland. Did that affect the way the album turned out? RN: Well, I started the band with my good friend Kirk Ohnstad, and a couple weeks after we got back from a recording

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MOLOKO

Taste the nightlife of Mississippi. Over 40 house infused liquors. Specialty absinth cocktails. Open until 2am every day. N PORTLAND 3967 N Mississippi (97227) 503.288.6272 molokopdx.com

19 ALADDIN THEATER 3017 SE MILWAUKIE 20 VALENTINES

232 SW ANKENY

Salif Keita Home Free Jars Of Clay Trever Hall | Mike Love Pomplamoose | John Schroeder Matt Boydston | Sonnet Simmons | Dina Valenz Katchafire Living Color

EAST END

203 SE GRAND

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features SEPTEMBER the goodfoot

22 2845 Se stark 6 11 13 16 17 18 20 25

Sonic Forum Open Mic Night (Mondays) Radula (Tuesdays) Shafty: Phish Tribute Band (Wednesdays) Soul Stew w/ DJ Aquaman (Fridays) McTuff Asher Fulero Band DJ Anjali & The Incredible Kid Buddy Jay's Jamaican Jazz Band Jelly Bread | The Get Down Crew Candelaria Wil Blades Trio | Crack Sabbath I Know You

owl social club 23 white 1305 se 8th theater 24 star 13 nw 6th 2 5 13 17 18 25 26 27 28

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26 ROTTURE/BRANX 315 SE 3rd

2 Hessian | Blood Of Kings | Weresquatch | Pushy 30 Trust

LOUNGE 27 TONIC 3100 NE SANDY 2 5 6 11 12 17 18 19 20 24

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session at the beach house he decided to leave the project. He was having second thoughts about pursuing music full-time, and I can't blame him for that. I was very upset at the time—in fact I had no hope at all. I didn't think I could finish the record on my own, piece the live band back together, or replace the gear that didn't belong to me. It changed the record drastically. Because for one, it removed the songs he had written, and it helped shape a lot of the songs lyrically for me. One of the songs, "Holdin' On To It,” is completely about that experience of Kirk leaving the band and my denial that it had actually happened and that maybe he would come back and have a change of heart. Ryan Moore was already playing keys and doing vocals for us live, and my younger brother Liam suggested I ask long-time friend Andy Black to play bass. Andy grew up playing music with Liam, and I knew he was an amazing musician who currently wasn't in a band. So I asked him and he was down

and it kind of just worked out perfectly. I think the next record will be much more definitive of our current three-piece band, whereas Holyland turned out to be mostly me and Sonny. But the three of us have been writing in practice and already have about 50 demos for the next one. It's sounding way more live and collaborative, because it is—and I am actually very thrilled about it all. 11: So I’ve seen your billboard and your amazing new music video for “The Glow,” and I’ve heard rumor of a Hustle & Drone action figure. Red Bull is involved with this, correct? What is your relationship with them? RN: Well it all started when we played a Red Bull Sound Select show last December. We became a part of this platform and met a bunch of rad people who were stoked on the band. When the record was done I sent it over to Bim Ditson, who passed it on to a bunch of

features Photo by Aaron Rogosin / Red Bull Content Pool

SEPTEMBER dantes

350 w burnside

FIRKIN TAVERN 1937 SE 11TH

Donkey Driver Slim Bacon | Pat Kearns | Anna Horvitz

the waypost 2120 n williams

5 25

HOLLYWOOD THEATRE A not-for-profit organization whose mission is to entertain, inspire, educate and connect the community through the art of film while preserving an historic Portland landmark. NE HOLLYWOOD 4122 NE Sandy Blvd (97212) 503.493.1128 | hollywoodtheatre.org

Laurelthirst pub 2958 ne glisan

other Red Bull people he worked with. A month or so later they decided they wanted to release the record digitally. And of course if you are a company like Red Bull, you don’t really half-ass anything. So I told them about a music video idea I had that takes place in a gym with a bunch of crazy stuff happening, and Aaron Lutze [Field Marketing Manager at Red Bull] suggested we try to shoot it at the MODA Center, which we were actually able to do. And then Red Bull had billboards put up for all of the Sound Select artists that were a part of Musicfest NW. So now we’re on a billboard. It's all very surreal and amazing. So far everything we have done together has been awesome—just a bunch of cool ideas and cool people figuring out how to make it happen. We had the action figures made for a media kit to send out to a bunch of larger publications, which again is an insane idea and it actually happened. It's just crazy to see everything coming together for this record to be released.

11: Do you mind if I ask about the title Holyland? Is there a religious or spiritual connotation? RN: I guess you could say that. Holyland is about finding a happiness or inner peace—a place where you can be, where everything is good. I spent half my life thinking Jesus was happiness, and it wasn’t. I spent five years touring in a successful band and that didn't do it for me either. It's all kind of about exploring new things in your life and finding something that makes you happy— something to fight for and live for. I think that it is a constant struggle, because obviously goals and passions change. But yeah, that's what Holyland means to me: getting to your place. »

Hustle & Drone celebrate the release of Holyland September 16 at Bunk Bar

Freak Mountain Ramblers (Sundays) Kung Pow Chickens (Mondays) Jackstraw (Tuesdays) Sink & Swim | Andrea & The Enablers McCoy Tyler & Midnight Kitchen | Crow & The Canyon Tree Frogs | Baby Gramps Amanda Richards | Jerry Joseph Acoustic Trio Christina "SweetBeets" Boyden | Matt "Yum Yum" Del Omo Handmade Moments | Well Swung Corner | Ron Rogers & The Wiling Wind Lewi & The Left Coast Roasters | Jimmy Boyer Band Joe McMurrian & Woodbrain | Counterfeit Cash Jonathan Warren & The Billygoats | The Moonshine

analog cafe & Theater 720 se hawthorne

3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13

Rose City Underground (House Music Night) 4 Jet Force Gemini | The Brothers Of Destruction | the Kept Men 5 Smoochknob | Smoochgirls | Collected Souls | Crazy Like Me 6 Eclectic Tuba | Captain Squeegee | Target For Tomorrow 7 PROBLEM | Jon Conner 9 Rose City Underground (House Music Night) 11 The Phantom Surfers 12-13 Shamanic Sound Presents: Taste For Bass 18 DJ Anjali & The Incredible Kid 19

Want to have your show listed? E-mail listings@elevenpdx.com

www.elevenpdx.com | ELEVEN PORTLAND | 14

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features national scene

K Go is a band very much of the Internet Age. Already a young group with a rapidly growing fan base, the Chicago-based four piece was propelled to worldwide fame on the strength of a continuous string of inventive and breath-taking videos that have gone beyond viral and garnered over 150 million views online. Such drastic and massive 'internet fame' put the band squarely on the radar of fans across the globe, but also has provided the band with its own unique set of challenges—from finding a way to monetize their success, to avoiding becoming a cute, fly-by-night internet sensation that is easily forgotten in today’s 24-hour news cycle, to surviving beyond being a (massive) one hit wonder. OK Go’s story is also the story of the music industry as a whole at a crossroads—a place where the old, failed business model has been outdated and proven inefficient by technologies that are literally advancing at the speed of light. Beyond the inventive and 'did you see that?!?!' videos is a relentlessly hard-working band that has now been crafting smart pop-rock songs for over fifteen years and will be releasing it’s fourth record, Hungry Ghosts, this October via their own Paracadute label. Described by front-man Damian Kulash as a “21st Century Maker of Creative Things,” the intriguing endeavor has released records by Lavender Diamond, Infinity Shred, and bassist Tim Norwind’s Pyyramids side project. It has also spread its wings with video projects and even an app developed by band member Andy Ross. The band was inspired to start Paracadute after their immense frustration with the major label system reached a boiling point and they asked Capitol to drop them from their contract—an act that many bands would consider utter madness. The confident move is just one of several in a band history that reads like a timeline of the industry in the new century: creative young minds understanding the potential of all this new technology for blurring the traditional lines of art and distribution while the Old Money in charge of the major labels struggles to keep up. It’s an intriguing story, and I was lucky enough to sit down with Kulash and Norwind ahead of their recent show at the Hawthorne Theatre to discuss that and other topics.

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features national scene ELEVEN: I wanted to first ask about the decision to part ways with Capitol Records and not only start your own label, but a multifaceted company that “makes stuff.” Damian Kulash: When we left Capitol Records, we had to quickly decide if we were going to go with another major label, an indie one, or start our own thing. But it was a pretty easy decision to go our own route because most of the problems we had with the label weren’t specific to that particular company. It more had to do with the label system overall. If we wanted to do things like plan tours, release albums, make our videos on our own, and do things like release the app, we needed a “company” for all of these endeavors to fall under. We actually tell other people not to call it a record company because it’s really just the business office of whatever stuff we want to make. We’ve done some traditional things like release records for other bands, produced video content for other people, and stuff like that. . . but I guess in terms of the business entity, it’s there as a matter of convenience and helps us shape whatever ideas we may have by whatever means are necessary. 11: One thing that probably wouldn’t have gone over well at the label was the idea to release an EP that is basically a preview of your upcoming LP.

Ok Go live at The Hawthorne Theatre. Photo by Caitlin M. Webb

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DK: Ha, no. They probably would have just said, “Well how do we make money off of that?” We believe in the record and wanted to go ahead and get it out there. We really love getting things like that out to the fans. 11: Once the decision was made to leave the label, how long did it take you guys to come up with the basis for this new label/business venture? Tim Nordwind: [laughs] Well we were touring the record at the time... DK: Yeah so Capitol had released our album and it had been less than a month when we got them to let us off the label. We basically said to them, “Look, it’s not worth it having these same arguments over and over about how we want the money spent or what we should be doing. If we can’t get on the same page, can we just have our record back?” It was basically the nuclear option, and fortunately they relented and gave us the record back. So we knew right then we had to come up with a company to deal with things like getting the record out into the world. You’d think setting up Amazon and iTunes stores would be easy, but even the smaller steps take time since you have to learn all that on the fly.

features national scene 11: And you were in the middle of a tour when you were trying to figure all this stuff out? TN: Ha, yeah! We were actually in Europe! 11: Oh wow. That probably didn’t help. . . DK: [Laughs] No, it didn’t. Fortunately we already had a bit of a digital team in place, so it was a matter of getting with them and learning a new set of skills. Now what we’d like to do is expand that into a broader platform. What’s great about the existing defined categories of touring versus videos versus bands is that everything is easy to find and is accessible. When we make things like songs or a tour, we know where to put them so to speak. But the downside is that it can be really limiting for a band like us who wants pursue different creative endeavors when you need to go on tour for a year and a half. Our band can only be four people, and we’ve collaborated with so many great artists—from dancers to engineers to technologists—that we want our creative and entrepreneurial entity to be able to tie all these different facets together into whatever comes next for us creatively. We want to have the freedom that when an awesome idea comes around then that’s what we concentrate on, instead of the traditional forms of releasing albums and then videos and

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features national scene touring. We want to start a festival next year if we can that would be a music festival, but one where we can bring a lot of our various interests into the live arena that would have lot of the feel of a rock show but would also be totally different. We’ve been calling it a “conference,” which is a really annoying and business-y term, but so many of the great people that we work with only have access to people in their own fields and communities—and that’s so limiting. The biotech people only work with the biotech people, for example, but when you put them in a room with a bunch of really smart choreographers, something amazing happens. And in between our videos and designing the stage show, we’ve been a part of a lot of amazing collaboration. But it would be nice not have to have the band be in the middle of that, and that’s where the company comes in. 11: Does the band have a powwow and decide when it’s time to begin this huge creative process over? It seems like a Herculean effort. DK: It is. We love all the different parts, but you’re right— it’s a very large undertaking; getting the press’ attention, getting radio’s attention, reminding people we’re still here. It’s really non-stop usually, but the last six months or so Tim released two records with his other band Pyyramids, I produced a Lavender Diamond record, and we released the app. So we all got a small break from OK Go, but we were working on projects through our label all the same. But usually as soon as we come back from touring we start writing or working on the next video or something. 11: And with OK Go the videos have become such a part of the band’s identity, and people expect so much—does that ever begin to feel like an added weight or pressure? TN: Well other bands probably have a little of that. It’s just that with us, we’re so hands on with the videos and so much thought goes into them. DK: Even in a standard performance video, there is a production company that spends a month working on it. With us, we’re the production company that’s doing the extra work. To be honest, it’s a sort of naive and a wildly inefficient business model, but we do a little bit of a lot of things. If someone is going to make a 3 and a half minute film about the band, we want it to be us. But that means you have to learn to be filmmakers. I know more about camera lensing than I ever dreamed I would. And for me that’s thrilling, but I know that for a lot of musicians that’s incredibly tedious. There are times I wish we’d come home from tour and have a month off rather than going right back to work, but if we didn’t have all these different parts I think we’d start to feel repetitive. I love that when we’re done with a tour we start a big art project. TN: We put the pressure on ourselves; if we’re not interested in doing something, then we’re not going to have someone else telling us we need to be doing it.

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features national scene 11: Since Portland is filled with creative types who’d love to emulate your success, what advice would you have for them?

11: And there is obviously a bit of risk involved with that. . . TN: There definitely is, but that’s what keeps it exciting for us.

DK: I’ve found that often you make your DK: Yeah, exactly. But to best work when you bring it back to what you were don’t know what exactly saying, if I had some advice it is you’re creating. for young artists it would It’s really hard to stay be along the lines of when honest to yourself early something breaks through on; you see something is for you, trust it. Whether it’s Ok Go live at The Hawthorne Theatre. Photo by Caitlin M. Webb being successful and you recording a simple song or want to emulate that. I remember starting songs and thinking, beginning a wild trans-media project, believe in the purity of “This isn’t what we sound like. This isn’t really us,” because your vision. It’s hard to embrace that feeling of “I don’t know we’re a rock band with four white dudes. . . but that was totally what exactly I’m making,” in the beginning, but it can be very wrong. Whatever idea is most interesting to you is the right rewarding. Don’t be a filmmaker who's trying to make a short one, and the one you should pursue. In a weird way, the videos so they can get a commercial, and then in turn get a featurereally helped us follow our hearts and our “craziest” ideas length film made. Just be an inspired person who creates musically, and are probably part of the reason each of our something and start from there. Chase your best idea. » records have sounded so different. We try and use the ideas that are turning us on at the time and don’t try and repeat past success.

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film

WATCH ME NOW

FILM AND TELEVISION

END OF SUMMER FILM WRAP-UP

s we close out another long, hot summer, let's take a few moments to digest the films that dominated the landscape. First, let's look at what an incredible season it was for science fiction films and films from the various comic universes. There were more palatable blockbusters like Guardians of the Galaxy, Godzilla, and X-Men: Days of Future Past, which eased the blow of more absurd fare like Tom Cruise’s sci-fi Groundhog’s Day, Edge of Tomorrow. The chilling, contemplative Under the Skin absolutely takes my pick for best science fiction film of the summer. Unlike that clunky, obtuse other summertime Scarlett Johansson vehicle Lucy, (She is EVERYWHERE nowadays), Under the Skin contains a deep subtext about the power of lust and its mutually destructive wake. Both the tone and aesthetics of Under The Skin refer back to the surreal, immersive science fiction films of the 1970's, like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or 2001: A Space Odyssey. Admittedly, I haven’t seen Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by James Gunn (previously known for the comedyhorror film Slither), but I couldn’t be happier to see Marvel play with more world building. I have been lobbying for Chris Pratt to be a superstar since the first season of Parks and Recreation, so hopefully this is his moment. Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent—which I held such high hopes for—was a soporific, neutered alternative take on one of Disney’s greatest villains. At least the costuming was badass. My little sister’s favorite film of the summer was the tear-jerker The Fault in Our Stars. This film was surprisingly authentic, avoiding false sentimentality and most cloying emotional stereotypes. Smaller, less flashy films also held sway this summer. Richard Linklater’s Boyhood has become the standout independent film of the summer. Filmed over twelve years with the same cast, Boyhood follows a boy named Mason who literally grows up before the camera. In Boyhood, Linklater utilizes subtle visual cues to signify leaps in time, and peppers the narrative with pop-cultural emblems, music being one of the the most effective. Mason’s story is punctuated with the heartbreaks of youth, but Linklater deftly avoids the gimmicks of melodrama associated with putting nostalgia on screen—sad moments exist on the same dramatic level as the happy ones. Boyhood is incredible in its technical scope and the deftness with the intimacy of the narrative. Another smaller film that made a huge splash was Obvious Child, starring SNL alum Jenny Slate (and the voice of Marcel the Shell). Slate plays Donna, a stand-up comic who goes through a breakup and finds solace in a one night stand. Afterwards—

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spoiler alert—she finds herself pregnant. Unfortunately billed as an 'abortion comedy'—which I find an incredible ignorant description—director Gillian Robespierre treats the subject matter without any clichés or a glib approach. Obvious Child is brutally honest, filled with candor and a hint of gallows humor. There are moments of deep pain and struggle. It touches on themes of arrested development—needing to grow up and to accept responsibility for who you are both onstage and off. It's always a little bittersweet when summer movie season comes to an end. Thankfully, there are a ton of great movies to ease the blow. Here is a quick overlook of the early fall films to get excited for:

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY SEPTEMBER 12

Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy play a husband and wife, and the movie is going to be split in two in order to tell the story from each one’s perspective. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is an exploration of how a married couple in New York City deal with emotional, life-altering experiences.

TUSK

SEPTEMBER 19

I am probably anticipating this movie way more than I should be. A horror film written and directed by Kevin Smith, Justin Long plays a podcaster who travels to Canada to interview a mysterious seafarer who ends up torturing him mentally and physically, eventually modifying his body into becoming a WALRUS. It's going to be absolutely bonkers.

GONE GIRL OCTOBER 3

Based on the widely-praised novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl stars Ben Affleck as a husband under suspicion for his seemingly saintly wife’s disappearance. But not all is how it seems! Directed by David Fincher, it has that classic Fincheresque mood and aesthetic—excited for this adaptation.

ST. VINCENT OCTOBER 24

Bill Murray plays the babysitter we all wish we had as kids as St. Vincent de Van Nuys, a misanthropic, hedonistic war veteran who lives next door to a young boy to whom he becomes an unlikely mentor. Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts, and Chris O’Dowd co-star. Well thats a wrap for summer! I hope you all savor those last minute moments of sunshine past 4:30 pm, warm-weather cocktails, and the rest of the lovely things summer brings. » - Rachael Haigh

film Instant Queue Review Tragically, the end of summer found us mourning the genius that is Robin Williams. Like many, I was shocked and deeply saddened by the news. Luckily, we can drown our sorrows in some of his best films that are currently streaming. Warning: tears are inevitable. » - Rachael Haigh

HOOK

(STEVEN SPIELBERG, 1991)

Even 23 years after its release, every particle of charm still remains. Directed by Steven Spielberg, Williams plays Peter Banning, a middleaged lawyer who has become a distant workaholic to the disdain of his children and wife. His wife’s grandmother just happens to be the titular Wendy Darling, and soon Peter discovers his true past.

THE FISHER KING

(TERRY GILLIAM, 1991)

The coupling of Terry Gilliam directing Robin Williams is a masterpiece of tragi-comedy. Williams plays Parry, a homeless man who forms a bond with disgraced shock-jock (played by Jeff Bridges) after his callous on-air persona incites a tragedy. One of Williams' best dramatic roles—his emotional depth is inspiring and heartbreaking.

THE BIRDCAGE

(MIKE NICHOLS, 1996)

This film continues to be a go-to movie for all occasions. Williams plays a gay cabaret owner. He and his drag queen companion—a genius performance by Nathan Lane—agree to “act straight” so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's (such a young Calista Flockhart!) ultra right-wing, moralistic parents. Williams plays the role of a gay man without the slightest hint of disdain or unnecessary camp.

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community literary arts

Photo by Mercy McNab

LITERARY ARTS Portland writer Kevin Sampsell

ack in 1990, Kevin Sampsell started publishing books with Future Tense, an independent small press. Along with designer Bryan Coffelt and editor Tina Morgan, they now prints chapbooks for the Scout Books series, the most recent being Girly by May-Lan Tan and Pity the Animal by Chelsea Hodson. They also print full-length works. Excavation by Wendy Ortiz, an intense memoir that explores a difficult relationship with a teacher started at the age of thirteen. It has already received accolades from substantial media outlets. I sat down with Kevin at Glyph, an arts-oriented cafe in the park blocks, after he finished his day working at Powell’s. We talked about many things, from the old days of literally cutting and pasting his books together, to his recently released novel This Is Between Us—a masterfully presented portrayal of real love told in a very palpable first-person narrative. Kevin has a knack for writing real life well, and finding talented writers who are not afraid to delve into most personal sexual experiences in an often humorous and honest way.

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ELEVEN: What made you start Future Tense? What was it like in Portland then? Kevin Sampsell: I started Future Tense when I was in Spokane, and then I moved here in ‘92. It was really different back then, obviously. It was really a small scene. There were two places where poets would go hang out for open mic nights. There was Powell’s, of course, with readings there, and the Arts and Lecture series. Sometimes someone would organize a reading at a cafe or the Clinton Street Theater. So now, and especially in the last five years, there’s a reading series every week in every corner of town. I guess it’s just due to the influx of people moving into town and the expansion of the city. I started it just because I wanted to make something of my own. I think at the time, I was familiar with zines, or small presses—it’s funny because back in the eighties and nineties they were referred to as little magazines. So I was handing stuff out to these little magazines, and was initially inspired by independent music labels. I even put out one spoken word tape. I basically started it to create my own stuff, and it was a real vanity kind of thing at first. 11: How did you first break into the scene here? KS: Actually one of the first things I did in Portland that got people’s attention was I started this little zine called Deadstar. It started when River Phoenix died, and a lot of my friends and I were bummed out about it. So we decided to write some poems about him. We made this little one-page

community literary arts zine and folded it so it looked like a menu, and just handed it out around at cafes around town. Then a few months later John Candy died, and then Charles Bukowski. I don’t even think I had email back then. I would just call people up and ask, “Can you write a poem about Bukowski in a few hours?” Then I would drive around and pick everyone’s work up and glue it together in this purposefully shitty layout—it was almost collage-like. I actually ended up getting a lot of mail with that, and met a lot of people around town. I’m really glad for that period because I learned a lot about how to make and present something creative. 11: You mentioned collages. I saw that you had a showing of collages at The Waypost recently. How did you get involved in that? KS: I started doing word collage stuff in that kind of William Burroughs cut-up way back in the nineties when I was getting into his writing. So this year I just decided to get back into it. I have this envelope full of cut out words from the newspaper. I just decided to play around with images and words. I was really inspired by the ingenuity of some of the work of contemporary collage artists right now. It’s a really accessible art that anyone can do. So I started cutting up pictures from old magazines. I’ve always been charmed and intrigued by the old images in magazines from the fifties and sixties. The way people looked, and the way photography looked, and the color of it all. . . I just kind of became obsessed with it. I started reading up on collage artists and joining all these groups on Facebook, and my friends would send me things. It’s kind of like how I was when I first started writing and publishing. It’s been kind of the same process and it’s a really exciting charge for me. 11: How does the internet play a role with your small press today? KS: We’re definitely embracing it. I don’t think the internet is making people dumb, or not wanting to buy books anymore. It’s important to Future Tense to have a Facebook page, and to sell books through our own and other websites. The internet has helped even out that field. If people are looking for a type of book or author, they’re not going to care if it’s a smaller press or a big press. If they can buy it online, the most important thing is the accessibility. Even with the tiniest micro-presses with a print run of a hundred, you can usually find it online! We are also doing e-books now, and are working on establishing an exclusively e-book section of non-printed books that should be launched soon. 11: Your first novel is a memoir called A Common Pornography. Where did that title come from? KS: It’s a multi-sided kind of title. Part of it is the concept of pornography being this shameful sort of thing that you hide. . . and “common” in that I think it was pretty commonplace that kids hide these kinds of things. So as you get older, you

making waves at Portland State since 1994

KPSU

Portland’s College Radio broadcasting 24/7 at kpsu.org

find that these are really common things and there’s no reason we shouldn’t talk about it—whether it’s your own sexual awakening or the embarrassing moments of your life. So it’s kind of a tricky play on that concept of pornography being this shameful thing that you hide away, and yet it’s really common. Also people may feel that they’re exploiting themselves or their families about writing memoirs about that stuff. The word “pornography” is often talked of in terms of exploitation, so A Common Pornography is just your usual exploitation and airing of dirty laundry. 11: So let’s talk more about honesty in writing. You don’t seem afraid to reveal some of the more embarrassing events from your life, where some people might shut these things out or shed a different light on them. How important is it for you as a writer to do this? KS: Well it’s really important for a writer to do that, especially because in my day-to-day life I sometimes pretend to have a normal life when I really don’t. So for me to be able to to dig deep and reveal things that are a little uncomfortable, because sometimes it’s hard for me to present that stuff in real life to anybody. . . but when complete strangers are reading it, there’s something about that that’s freeing—like an unloading of baggage. 11: Now in your new book This Is Between Us it seems like you’re revealing some intimate details about your life, but this is fiction?

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community literary arts KC: Yes it’s fiction. A lot of people are confused by this because the previous book was a memoir, and I’ve had

LOCAL LITERARY EVENTS written by Billy Dye

some other personal essays come out—but I wrote mostly fiction before I wrote the memoir. So this book was the first exposure to me for a lot of people, and I’m happy that there is some confusion about that. Because then I believe that I’ve succeeded on that level of achieving some sort of intimacy, and it’s feels personal. And of course when you write fiction, some of your real life seeps in. There are no characters' names mentioned in this book, and that’s probably another reason why there is an illusion of intimacy about it. When I first started writing, I didn’t realize it was going to be a novel. I was just writing these little fragmented things, and I really like using “you” and “I” because it seems so direct and it’s the language that you see in things like poetry or love songs. It’s these things that people really connect to on an emotional level. Also, when you’re writing about a relationship, it can be really dull if you just go over the surface of it reporting about what’s happening. I wanted to go deeper and reveal his inner thoughts. There are a lot of scenes in the book where he’s thinking about something but he’s not really communicating it to his girlfriend. It’s a “this is what people really think” kind of inner dialogue that makes it work. » - Scott McHale

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DEAD AS 1 SEPTEMBER 6 | GLYPH A release party and reading of Robyn Bateman’s new book. Bateman is most notorious for her—ahem— enthusiastic performances at poetry slams around Portland. Her narrative poems are made for theatrical delivery, as they are a brilliantly crafted blend of perversion, profundity, and humanity—all arched in a story that leaves the reader feeling partially disturbed and somehow wiser.

14 STORIES, NONE OF THEM ARE YOURS 2 SEPTEMBER 15 | POWELL'S BOOKS (HAWTHORNE) What: Luke B. Goebel debuts his novel in a live conversation with Vanessa Veselka. Goebel is from Portland, but now resides in Texas working as an Assistant Professor of English at UT Tyler. Fourteen Stories has already won the Ronald Sukenick Prize for Innovative Fiction, which comes as little surprise for people who follow Goebel—who is known for his ability to raise the lessons of heartache with his humor, fearless honesty, and shoot-from-hip writing style. »

7 - The Know 8 - Little Big Burger 9 - Bolt 10 - Pine Street Biscuits 11 - Townshends Teas 12 - Optic Nerve 13 - Japanese Bistro Hana

community neighborhood of the month

NE ALBERTA STREET NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE MONTH N W 6

NE 24TH AVE

3. OTHER GREAT USES FOR HEMP

Portland Hemp Works - 1524 NE Alberta St

BEST OF NE ALBERTA ST

Location photos by Mercy McNab

NE 23RD AVE

2. TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Trade Up Music - 1834 NE Alberta St

NE 22ND AVE

1. FUSION TACOS

Cruz Room - 2338 NE Alberta St

NE 21ST AVE

NE 20TH AVE

NE ALBERTA ST. NE 19TH AVE

NE 18TH AVE

NE 17TH AVE

NE 16TH AVE

NE 15TH AVE

4. PIE OH MY (OPEN LATE!)

Random Order - 1800 NE Alberta St

5. DEEP CUT DRINKS

Hilt - 1934 NE Alberta St

6. LOUD AND PROUD ART

Screaming Sky Gallery - 2025 NE Alberta St

7. MUSIC VENUE

The Know - 2026 NE Alberta St

8. FAST FOOD, PDX STYLE

Little Big Burger - 2032 NE Alberta St

9. FABRIC BOUTIQUE

Bolt - 2136 NE Alberta St

10. BISCUIT BRUNCH

Pine State Buscuits - 2204 NE Alberta St

11. TEA TIME Townshend's Tea - 2223 NE Alberta St

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community visual arts

Photo by Mercy McNab

VISUAL ARTS Portland painter Maria G. Raffaele

was more than slightly overwhelmed by the sight of Maria's basement gallery space. She has displayed her personal work in a manner much like traditional royal galleries. Floor-to-ceiling, with every inch covered in one after another gorgeous oil painting. All of it came from the mind—then the hand—of Maria Raffaele. As a professional art instructor, I suppose one would easily acquire a large amount of artwork. To think, however, that one woman made all these paintings is truly an inspiration. Canvases hanging perfectly in such a manner literally made my jaw hit the floor. Maria has been painting since she was about 18, and she's 91 now—so you could say she's been at it for a while. ELEVEN: Maria, what is your medium? Maria G. Raffaele: Macchiaioli oil technique. It’s a traditional style of oil painting that originates in Italy. I studied under a master, and I taught this method for several years at Mt. Hood Community College. 11: How did you learn this technique? MGR: I saved up for several years and went to school in Italy. I studied under Nerina Simi. Her father was a very

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famous painter named Filadelfo Simi. Filadelfo came to my studio one time and said my work was very good, and we were all happy and danced around in celebration. He thought my painting was the work of his pupil, not his daughter's pupil. It was a very proud moment. My family was always supportive of my choice to paint, but said I would only appreciate the education and finish it completely if I paid for it myself. It took me years to save up enough money to get to Italy, but I finally did—and that was fantastic. I did study here in the States under Syndey Brown, who studied at the Royal Academy of England. I studied with him for ten years, and for ten years I was allowed only to draw in order to show my ability. Later I would get to actually painting. The hours weren't like Ms. Simi though, who had me working six hours a day 5 and a half days a week. If you notice this one drawing on the wall among all the paintings. . . That's the drawing that, after so long studying with Sydney and then with Ms. Simi, she looked at me and said, "You're ready to paint, aren't you.” Can you imagine being in painting school and having to draw for ten years before you ever get to touch any paint? In Ms. Simi's school we used soft Italian bread as erasers to begin to learn how to dab away the excess marks that didn't belong. No smudging is allowed in the macchiaioli technique. This was applied to the drawing process first and then eventually the painting process.

community visual arts

"Untitled" oil on canvas, 1986

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community visual arts

"A Great Loss" oil on canvas, 1969

11: Where did you grow up? MGR: Here! I was born and raised in Portland. My parents were Italian but they met here. One was from the North of Italy and one was from the South, and it was always funny because the North and the South are always competing with each other. My Father spoke so well of Italy, and he just loved it. My mother on the other hand never liked Italy and never wanted to go back there. 11: Will you tell us about the Macchiaioli process? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a style where you lay down values next to each other. No blending happens with the process. you use a gradient of value to create the blending look. The colors are laid down one right next to the other. It's similar to impressionism, except it looks great close up or far away. 11: What are five things you could never live without? MGR: [laughs] Um well, do I have to come up with five? Okay. . . I suppose painting, painting, painting, painting, and interpretive ballroom dancing. 11: What is your most memorable moment as an artist? MGR: I think when I had a painting sent to be displayed in a veteran recovery center on the East Coast. I was really

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concerned for the soldiers who were coming back from Vietnam and into a culture of young people who blamed the soldiers for being injured because they went to fight. Do young people still feel this way about soldiers? Anyway, I made a painting that was inspirational to veterans and it went to a wounded veteran recovery center. Everybody keeps telling me the Smithsonian needs to have this painting. I finally tried contacting the First Lady Michelle Obama but haven't heard back from her yet. 11: You have taught the Macchiaioli style of painting also, yes? MGR: Yes, that's right. For several years I taught at Mt. Hood Community College. Even after I was finished teaching there, I still had a student who used to call me up and say, "I'm stuck on this painting, do you think you could take a look at it for me and help me?" She lived right up the street and would come down with her painting and we would talk about it and I would help her. 11: Maria, do you have any advice for artists? MGR: Keep at it. You have to be persistent and never give up! Âť - Veronica Greene Please enjoy Maria's piece "Alla Saluti" (oil paint on canvas, 1975) decorating our inside back cover this month.