contents
ELEVEN PDX MAGAZINE VOLUME 7
THE USUAL 4 Letter from the Editor 4 Staff Credits
ISSUE NO. 10
FEATURES Local Feature 14 Quinn Henry Mulligan
Cover Feature 18 NEW MUSIC
The Breeders
5 Aural Fix Son Lux Tiron & Ayomari U.S. Girls
COMMUNITY Literary Arts 26 Portland bookseller Craig Florence
8 Short List 8 Album Reviews Bonny Doon Look Vibrant Preoccupations Yo La Tengo
Visual Arts 28 PNW photographer Merlinda Bartolome
LIVE MUSIC 10 Know Your Venue No Vacancy
12 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.
more online at elevenpdx.com
HELLO PORTLAND!
EXECUTIVE STAFF EDITOR IN CHIEF Ryan Dornfeld (ryan@elevenpdx.com) CREATIVE DIRECTOR Dustin Mills (dustin@elevenpdx.com)
March is my birthday month, and I’ll spare telling you how old I am, but here I am thinking about fragility—of life, wellbeing, interests, relationships, possessions, etc. Starting to sound old here, I know… My dad used to tell me that we’re the only ones in this world who have our own interests at heart. And while life may bring finite collaborations that work in our favor, my old man wasn’t wrong. We have to advocate for ourselves; take care of ourselves; elevate ourselves. No one else is going to do it for us. In this month’s cover feature, Josephine Wiggs of The Breeders briefly touches on this subject—knowing that we don’t have infinity in front of us and that we need to enjoy the moment and make the most of the positive things. It’s safe to say that they’re doing just that, with a new album, All Nerve, out this month and an ensuing world tour for the following three plus months. Take note, fam. Do you. Dutifully yours,
- Travis Leipzig, Managing Editor
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MANAGING EDITOR Travis Leipzig (travis@elevenpdx.com) SECTION EDITORS LITERARY ARTS: Scott Mchale, Morgan Nicholson VISUAL ARTS: Mercy McNab GRAPHIC DESIGN Dustin Mills CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Cassi Blum, Tyler Burdwood, Matt Carter, Crystal Contreras, Brandy Crowe, Mandi Dudek, Lou Flesh, Christopher Klarer, Kelly Kovl, Samantha Lopez, Scott McHale, Gina Pieracci, Kelsey Rzepecki, Ellis Samsara, Tyler Sanford, Matthew Sweeney, Charles Trowbridge, Henry Whittier-Ferguson
PHOTOGRAPHERS Alexander Fattal, Eirinn Gragson, Greg LeMieux, Molly Macalpine Mercy McNab, Todd Walberg COVER PHOTO Marisa Gesualdi
ONLINE Mark Dilson, Kim Lawson, Michael Reiersgaard
GET INVOLVED getinvolved@elevenpdx.com www.elevenpdx.com twitter.com/elevenpdx facebook.com/elevenmagpdx
GENERAL INQUIRIES info@elevenpdx.com
ADVERTISING sales@elevenpdx.com 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!
new music aural fix
AURAL FIX
up and coming music from the national scene
1
SON LUX MARCH 12 | DOUG FIR
I started listening to Son Lux ten years ago to impress someone, but it was the music that ended up lasting. Ryan Lott’s experimental endeavors continue to rattle my senses, especially new release Brighter Wounds (City Slang). This is his fifth full-length, and the second album since bringing on drummer Ian Chang and guitarist Rafiq Bhatia in 2013. The additions are very welcome, as both are amazing artists on their own. Combined with Lott’s classical training, Chang’s innovative drumming and Bhatia’s dope guitar playing, they
checking to see if I was still listening to the same song.
take Son Lux to a new level. It’s chock-full of that hard-to-
“Surrounded” delivers us another treat with an extended
imitate voice of Lott’s over synths and rhythms that warrant
drum solo that you never want to end. Lott has an impressive resume outside of Son Lux,
a playlist stuck on repeat. Brighter Wounds is sonically complicated, but with each
which includes film scores (Mean Dreams, Paper Towns),
listen a new layer–a new favorite–is revealed. By the last
advertisements and dance theater. He’s definitely a master
track, you realize that each song is its own thing–they can’t
at orchestrating the perfect amalgamate of sound and is like
be compared. My first favorite is “Dream State,” a beautiful,
no other. The next closest thing I can think of is Baths or
yet dark anthem about nostalgia and depression. Lott asks,
Poliça, and only in the faintest sense. If you like listening to
"How do we feel in that photograph? And how do we feel it
an album and not being sure which genre you’re listening to,
again?" But then “All Directions” comes on a few tracks later,
then this band is for you. Their insane talent is underrated;
a brilliant six plus minute song that had me continually
enjoy it live this month at Doug Fir. » - Kelly Kovl
Photo by Ed Cañas
2
TIRON & AYOMARI MARCH 19 | HOLOCENE
There’s something to be said for a well-balanced pair of MCs, especially in an era where it seems that most successful hip-hop acts are either going solo or forming supergroups with more budding rappers and producers than you can shake a mic stand at. Enter TiRon & Ayomari, a Cali duo who’ve been steadily building an outstanding discography for the better part of a decade, though they have yet to really break into the upper-echelon of pop stardom.
There’s also something to be said for dropping a summer album in November, which they’ve done with their latest project, WET: The Wonderful Ego Trip. It’s a 15 track journey that manages to be musically experimental while still staying grounded in classic hip-hop themes and references. Acoustic guitar-centric riffs and vibey percussion serves as the basis of the production, with a healthy dose of philosophical samples sprinkled throughout and spaces for the duo to wax poetic in some impressively dense acapella verses, though there’s no shortage of solid bars over classic sampled breaks as well as more contemporary programmed drums. There are moments where TiRon & Ayomari sound like Outkast in their heyday, moments where they sound like Kendrick circa To Pimp A Butterfly, but overall the pair has crafted a sound that’s decidedly unique, though clearly rooted in the sunny So-Cal environment they hail from. They’ve also amassed an impressive list of dope features over the span of their career, the standout here being Portland’s own The Last Artful, Dodgr on "Ffake Ffrends," whose unmistakable crooning flow steals the show. In what is perhaps another ode to the City of Roses, the duo’s sarcastic homage to club bangers is called "Holocene (Is the List Closed?)," and may or may not take its name from the venue they’ll be playing here in town on March 19. Whatever happens, it’s guaranteed to be a trip. » - Henry Whittier-Ferguson
www.elevenpdx.com | ELEVEN PORTLAND | 5
MY LIL’ UNDERGROUND PRESENTS
EVERY SUNDAY 11AM-2PM @THE TOFFEE CLUB 1006 SE HAWTHORNE BLVD
6 | ELEVEN PORTLAND | www.elevenpdx.com
new music aural fix
3
U.S. GIRLS MARCH 27 | MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS
Over the past decade, Meg Remy has been making music behind closed doors under the moniker, U.S. Girls. She’s even been referred to as “a woman who clearly spends a lot of her time in her apartment with the shades drawn.” In the span of Remy’s six studio albums, we’ve witnessed U.S. Girls transform from moody and mysterious with heavy percussion and very few lyrics, to a dreamy, blendedgenre band with a lot to say about living in the modern world. From the beginning, U.S. Girls has always been sinister and a bit dismal. While making Remy’s debut album, Introduction, she was equipped with a reel-to-reel tape recorder, using harsh and aggressive percussion and warped vocal recordings to create an ominous and disconsolate sounding album. This dark phase carried over to the next album, Go Grey, but on U.S. Girls on Kraak, Remy’s sound started to shift towards a new path. The strident percussion and distorted sound was replaced by evocative vocals and a live-band vintage rock feel.
Remy relocated from Philadelphia to Toronto and her sound continued to evolve. Half Free displayed Remy’s radiant voice and lucid storytelling laid on top of polished melodies and a mix of ‘60s dream pop and ‘70s disco. U.S. Girls latest work, In a Poem Unlimited, is a blend of glam rock, surf rock, hazy pop, jazz and disco. It describes a woman’s angst toward politics twisted with a dark sense of humor. Over the years, Remy has thrived on contrast and always offers us something new. » - Mandi Dudek
QUICK TRACKS A “M.A.H.” This anti-war anthem is a sparkly mix of glam rock and dream pop with hints of Madonna, Blondie and Bowie.
B “VELVET 4 SALE” The opening track to In a Poem’s Unlimited has girl power written all over it, using psychedelic synths and dreamy guitar solos to start the record off with a bang.
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new music album reviews
ALBUM REVIEWS THIS MONTH’S BEST R REISSUE
L LOCAL RELEASE
Short List Sunflower Bean T wentytwo In Blue
Bonny Doon Longwave Woodist
Andrew WK You're Not Alone Prism Tats Mamba Deathlist Fun
L
Suuns Felt Snoop Dogg Bible of Love
Detroit’s Bonny Doon have made it to the sophomore level with their upcoming release, Longwave, out this month via Woodsist Records. The four-piece pick up right where they left off from their self-titled debut album, and that comfortably carries
The Decemberists I'll Be Your Girl
L
Guided By Voices Space Gun Holy Wave Adult Fear Jack White Boarding House Reach Editors Violence David Byrne American Utopia Candace New Ruins
L Buy it
Stream it
Toss it
facebook.com/elevenmagpdx @elevenpdx
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Look Vibrant The Up Here Place Self-released
As the wailing eclectic collection that Look Vibrant has put together all the way from their home of Montreal, Canada comes into a noiseclamored expression, the band’s first full-length release drops with an unmistakable energy that is hot and ready to devour. The Up Here Place is charged with strange yet uplifting vibes from start to finish. Notable
the lo-fi, downtempo indie rock torch–and does it well. Fans of bands like Silver Jews, Nap Eyes or much of the Woodsist roster for that matter will happily take notice because it’s an entirely-solid, bare bones kind of musical journey. Stand-out tracks on the album include lead single “I Am Here (I Am Alive),” with a sweet, strolling guitar melody that’s an almost poetic conversation of its own, and the self-reflecting lyrics “Time, feel like I’m wasting time / Just wanna be where I’m going.” Another strong showing on the album is the track “A Lotta Things,” which highlights the band’s truth in heartfelt songwriting, moving lyricism and their strength with guitar work that takes you right up to the finish (or wherever it is you were going). Longwave is an album I would take on a road trip in the spring, evocative of introspection and new horizons. » - James Carson
tunes such as “My Nerves” are prepped and delivered in the atmosphere of a truly out-there music video filled with Cheerios, birthday cake and Cheetos, while the high-pitched vocals strike a conceptualization of drugs and confused delirium. The album clangs and crashes throughout with gems like “Cauliflower,” showcasing the creativity and near absurdity of the record. The lyrics “I’ve been unhealthy and I’m craving a pastry,” take shape around delicate yet wobbly guitar riffs while explosive high pitched vocals interject, continually morphing into distorted croons that dissipate into an innocent and uplifting sanity. This album has the aspects of an emotionally reckless and beautifully unique circus. There is an undeniable originality that at some points seems to be overwhelming, but as soon as this sentiment is felt the direction sways into a redeeming and curious continuum. Look Vibrant has accomplished a truly original and complex dynamic that is sure to draw in curiosity and respect from the indie/noise scene. » - Ellis Samsara
new music album reviews
Preoccupations New Material Jagjaguwar Two years ago, facing backlash and show cancellations, Viet Cong decided it was probably time to change up the band name rather than fight a (probable) losing battle. So, in April 2016, the band settled on a new moniker–Preoccupations–followed quickly by an eponymous “debut” album that received generally positive reviews. Full of growling, post-punk bravado, the second Preoccupations album, New Material, picks up where the band left off, with a heavier
Yo La Tengo There's A Riot Going On Matador
Music is strange in the way it often evokes a sense of the time and place where you first heard it. It can be hard to tell whether this sense is a subjective feeling, a kind of synesthetic link between an experienced moment and its soundtrack, whether there’s something
influence on the industrialized sound that poked through momentarily on self-titled Preoccupations. The lyrics throughout New Material are dark. The album itself is an exploration of our more depressive tendencies that result in seemingly endless spirals of self-doubt, frustration and anger. On “Espionage,” vocalist Matt Flegel storms his way through the opening lines, “The chances seemed so slim / They will never get out of this trench alive… The pains of unknown origin / Wilt like a rotting flower.” Sung over a pounding bass line, staccato snare and wavering synth, the lines take on less of a “poor me” feeling, instead sounding like someone clawing his way through a wall, searching for peace of mind. “Antidote,” the second single released, is a sneering critique of our willingness to mistake information for answers. Flegel chastises, “Trying to untangle the map / Everything slips right through your shaky hands... Information overdose / Looking for antidotes.” The song sounds like it’s being played at the bottom of a hole: the tinny percussion pushes treble edges, and Flegel’s vocals sound as
distant as ever, drifting upward like he’s singing while sinking further away. Still, for an album that deals with the rougher edges of human nature, many of the tracks take on balladesque qualities. In “Manipulation,” you keep waiting for the explosion that never comes, instead getting pulled along with the syrupy reverb and repeating keyboard lines. Album closer “Compliance” is more soundscape, feeling like an instrumental chaser that pulls together the sounds you’ve just waded through and roughing you up with fuzz that devolves into the outro. New Material is complete and sneakily clean. The meticulous production by Justin Meldal-Johnson (M83, Wolf Alice) feels earned, with a stellar balance of jagged, industrial features rounded out by a mellow rawness in the instrumentals. Though the album is relentless, it never completely overwhelms, which is perhaps a purposeful juxtaposition with the lyrical subject matter. New Material brings out the best in Preoccupations as it wrestles with our simultaneous capacity for hurt and hope. » - Charles Trowbridge
universal about what’s conjured up by a particular song or album, or more likely, whether the answer lies somewhere in between the two. There’s A Riot Going On, by Yo La Tengo, sounds to me like snow in a city where there’s not usually snow. It sounds estranged from itself in the way that things are when they’re covered in a thin, cold layer of blue and white. It sounds like an excitement that’s also a nostalgia, like a sense of wonder still present, though dulled by time. That might be a good way to describe the band as well. The March 16 release of There’s A Riot Going On marks their 15th full-length album in a discography stretching back to the band’s 1986 debut, Ride the Tiger. 32 years is an astoundingly long run for any band, especially an indie-rock trio, but Yo La Tengo persists, preserved somehow in the semi-ambient atmosphere they’re able to consistently create. There’s A Riot Going On is undoubtedly an atmospheric project,
unafraid of long instrumental sections between Ira Kaplan’s unmistakably airy vocals. Even amongst the band’s extensive discography, this album stands out as one of the more experimental, having been essentially self-recorded and pieced together over the last few years by the trio’s bassist, James McNew. The mix heightens the ambient tone as well, centering around the understated complexity of Kaplan’s rhythmic guitar lines over McNew’s driving bass, with Georgia Hubley’s percussion dancing lightly around the periphery. The record’s title seems to be an allusion to Sly Stone’s 1971 album of the same name, sans a “g,” but unlike that directly political project, Yo La Tengo’s version seems more of a counterpoint to any kind of political statement, a response that refuses to be interrogated on terms other than its own. The riot is out there. In here there’s just the music. » - Henry Whittier-Ferguson
www.elevenpdx.com | ELEVEN PORTLAND | 9
live music
Photo by Molly Macalpine
KNOW YOUR VENUE No Vacancy | 235 SW 1st Avenue
I
passed this place many times during my MAX commute through Old Town. Big windows, bricks, booths and an ornate wooden bar that I could see through dark windows. “Why is it empty?” I asked, daydreaming about it becoming a bustling brunch spot or a new place for a nightcap. I waited, but still it sat. My schedule changed and I didn’t take that route anymore, so I forgot about the building and it’s idle possibilities. I heard someone had renovated the old McCormick and Schmick's building into a new bar and venue, but I didn’t realize the irony until I found myself on its doorstep. My vacant dream-bar is now the swanky No Vacancy Lounge. The building came to life in 1886 with cast-iron architecture. It served as a personal office for long-ago Portland mayor Henry Failing, before becoming a J.K. Gill department store,
10 | ELEVEN PORTLAND | www.elevenpdx.com
a few other small businesses and eventually McCormick and Schmick's flagship restaurant from 1977 to 2009. From there it fell quiet, before landing into the cumulative hands of entrepreneurial partners with creative backgrounds in tech and design. “No Vacancy” was the name of the underground dance parties that these young professionals started throwing in 2014–live streaming local artists and DJs in the form of a packed office party until the wee hours. Eventually they ushered the crowds to rooftops and warehouses, and then venues like Doug Fir and Holocene, and even pulling off a secret Diplo set at Black Book (now Maxwell). Things kept expanding, so when someone bought up the empty space, they got to work. “We fell in love with it, this place has so much history.” says partner Rick Sheinin, as he discusses the custom designs that fellows Jessey Zepeda and Billy Vinton put into the takeover. “The idea is to be a true lounge, not just a venue or bar. A place to grab a great cocktail and food during happy hour, but also have great entertainment every night with cross-genre shows.” There’s a unique lighting system and a four-point EAW Avalon sound system to fill the space. Shows alternate between live bands below and a DJ booth obscured behind a large picture frame window above. March will showcase Blossom, Billy Kenny, Swing City (electro-swing and burlesque from Portland’s High Step Society) and
Photo by Molly Macalpine
live music
Photo by Molly Macalpine
Telepopmusik, a French electronic music legend who hasn’t toured in a while. A full kitchen provides charcuterie plates, Karaage vegetables and skewers. But the food also coordinates with the music–like fried plantains and jerked chicken paired with a Haitian band. You can order Cava, Scotch and Rose Gold High Balls, but there’s also an express bar with craft cocktails on tap; we’re talking rotating concoctions of Vieux Carres and Bulleit Old Fashioneds. And then there’s the liquor lockers. The concept is that you’re here to socialize. Adding a speakeasy-style membership helps to fit that niche. “Were really trying to do something a little bit different, and for people that like to go out, there’s a lot of value in what we have to offer,” explains Sheinin. Becoming a No Vacancy member is comprised of renting a locker to store spirits to be served during visits. They receive discounts on purchases and perks like champagne flights and appetizers in the aforementioned “Members Mezzanine.” Most importantly, members receive admission to each show. “We’re also trying to build a social community here. That’s really important to us,” says Sheinin. Peeking into locker #11 reveals a bottle of New Deal Wildcat, Hibiki Suntory, and... is that Ron Burgandy Scotch? I think I need a sip. » - Brandy Crowe
MARCH 2018 FRI 3/16
THU 3/1
HALEY HEYNDERICKX
THE SUFFERS
FRI 3/2
SAT 3/17
VIKESH KAPOOR
CANDACE
THE GHOST EASE, THE LAVENDER FLU
BEST NEW BAND
PRESENTED BY WILLAMETTE WEEK
SAT 3/3 (TWO SHOWS!)
SUN 3/18
THE T SISTERS
MAARQUII + JVNITOR, MÁSCARAS THE BEDROOMS
THE TRAVELIN' MCCOURYS SUN 3/4
XRAY.FM'S BIRTHDAY BASH TUE 3/20
AN EVENING WITH
CHRIS THOMAS KING
L.A. SALAMI CAT CLYDE WED 3/21
MON 3/5
THE BROTHERS BILLYGOAT
YAQUINA BAY
THE FOURTH WALL, RITCHIE S YOUNG
THU 3/22
TUE 3/6
OUGHT
AH GOD
FRI 3/23
FLASHER, ORA COGAN
ORB
WED 3/7
VUNDABAR
TERRY DE CASTRO
SAT 3/24
THU 3/8
RICK MAGUIRE OF PILE
THE WEDDING PRESENT
RATBOYS
TITUS ANDRONICUS
AAN / GENDERS DAN DAN
SUN 3/25
FRI 3/9
HUGH MASTERSON
LINDI ORTEGA
EZZA ROSE
BITCH'N, KENDALL CORE
MON 3/26
SAT 3/10
VERY SPECIAL GUEST SAMMY BRUE
KOLARS / ESCONDIDO
JUMP JACK SOUND MACHINE
CHANTI DARLING AND NASTY TASHA DJS SUN 3/11
TUE 3/27
U.S. GIRLS
AMENTA ABIOTO, BRYSON CONE
LONGCLAW
THE HAGUE, WAYSIDE GHOST
WED 3/28
TUE 3/13
VALLEY QUEEN
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
A SING ALONG WITH SPECIAL GUESTS OK CHORALE WED 3/14
LIZA ANNE THU 3/29
SONNY SMITH
STRANGE BABES DJS
THREE FOR SILVER VS HUMAN OTTOMAN
FRI 3/30
ELIZA RICKMAN
LUKE TEMPLE / MARISA ANDERSON
THU 3/15
SAT 3/31
DARLINGSIDE HENRY JAMISON
Local DJ Jason Burns playing No Vacancy. Photo by Molly Macalpine
THE BANDULUS
THE BRONX NO PARENTS
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live music MARCH CRYSTAL BALLROOM
1
1332 W BURNSIDE 1 The Wood Brothers | The Mastersons 2 Brockhampton
16
3-4 MarchFourth | High Step Society | Diego's Umbrella
6 Walk Off The Earth 8 They Might Be Giants 9 The Infamous Stringdusters | The Last Revel 10-11 Awolnation | Nothing But Thieves | Irontom
14 Why Don't We 15 Yonder Mountain String Band | Old Salt Union
SKIDMORE ST.
16-17 Umphrey's McGee | The Russ Liquid Test
8 NW 6TH
3939 N MISSISSIPPI
12 | ELEVEN PORTLAND | www.elevenpdx.com
BROADWAY ST.
5
5
PEARL OLD TOWN 2
BURNSIDE ST.
22
1
405
24 18
7
10
9
31
30
GRAND AVE.
Haley Heynderckx | Vikesh Kapoor Candace | The Ghost Ease | The Lavender Flu The Travelin' McCourys | The T Sisters Chris Thomas King Yaquina Bay | The Fourth Wall | Richie S. Young Orb The Wedding Present | Terry De Castro Aan | Genders | Dan Dan Ezza Rose | Bitch'n | Kendall Core Longclaw | The Hague | Wayside Ghost Three For Silver vs. Human Ottoman | Eliza Rickman Darlingside | Henry Jamison The Suffers | The Bandulus Best New Band Showcase Maarquii + Jvnitor | Mascaras | The Bedrooms
NORTH WEST
14
MLK BLVD.
MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS
15
.
23RD AVE.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 14 15 16 17 18
TA VE
830 E BURNSIDE
Alex Cameron | Molly Burch Cascade Crescendo Lee Ann Womack | Eddie Berman Busty & The Bass | STS X Khari Mateen Thunderpussy | Hurry Up Faith Healer | Reptaliens The Rubens Motorbreath | Sonic Temple Turtlenecked | Black Belt Eagle Scout | Whitney Ballen Son Lux | Gordi | Wills Red Baraat Festival of Colors | Rafiq Bhatia Daydream Machine | Shadowlands | The Orange Kyte The Night Game | The Band Camino The Mowgli's | Mainland 20-21 Pussy Riot 22 Superorganism 23 Casey Neill & The Norway Rats | Swansea 24 The Mother Hips 25 Milk & Bone | Dizzy 26 Lucy Dacus | And The Kids | Adult Mom 27 Dermot Kennedy 28 Austin Basham | Hollow Coves 29 The Go! Team | Skating Polly 30 Low Cut Connie 31 Treepeople | The Prids | Twelve Thirty Dreamtime
RUSSELL ST.
ON
DOUG FIR
1 2 3 4 5 6 9 10 11 12 16 17 18 19
4
FR
DOW NTO WN
3
MLK BLVD.
Above & Beyond David Rawlings Ganja White Night | Masterkey NF | Michl Stone Temple Pilots | The Dirty Hooks George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic A$AP FERG | Denzel Curry | IDK ARJ | Ocean Park Standoff | Hundred Handed The Oh Hellos | Wildermiss Ministry | Chelsea Wolfe | The God Bombs MitiS | PRXZM | Party Nails
WILLIAMS AVE.
7-8 9 10 14 15 21 22 23 24 28 31
ROSELAND THEATER
VANCOUVER AVE.
2
4
MISSISSIPPI AVE.
The Helio Sequence | Kelli Schaefer | Natasha Kmeto Galactic | Butcher Brown Clean Bandit | Maggie Lindemann Emancipator Ensemble
INTERSTATE AVE.
23 24 28 31
live music MARCH MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS (CONT.)
ALBERTA ST.
13
ALBERTA ST.
ALBERTA ARTS
26
42ND AVE.
15TH AVE.
11TH AVE.
PRESCOTT ST.
FREMONT ST. 24TH AVE.
HOLLYWOOD
KNOTT ST.
33RD AVE.
28TH AVE.
D. BLV Y D AN
S
BROADWAY ST. 21
32
84
LAURELHURST 27
GLISAN ST.
BURNSIDE ST. 11 6
Cut Chemist | El Dusty Between The Buried & Me | The Dear Hunter | Leprous The Dead South | The Hooten Hallers Coin | The Aces A Tribe Called Red Antibalas Futuristic | Ishdarr | Scribecash Phillip Phillips | The Ballroom Thieves Andy Grammer This Will Destroy You | Amulets OMD | GGOOLLDD Beth Ditto Moon Hooch | The Accidentals Jake Bugg | Nina Nesbitt Russian Circles | King Woman
HOLOCENE
1001 SE MORRISON
20
STARK ST.
BELMONT ST.
23
EASTBURN
8 9 11 12 13 15 17 18 19 23 25 27 29 30 31
6
Charts | Mini Blinds | Mere Mention Gran Ritmos | Zuzuka Poderosa | Chaach!!! | 2Tabs Gabrielle Aplin | Hudson Taylor | John Splithoff Tribe Mars | Amenta Abioto | Sheers Xylouris White | Secret Drum Band Lane 8 Bondax Tiron & Ayomari | Brown Calculus | Fountaine Rare Diagram | PWRHAUS | Secrets Ella Vos | Freya Ridings Current Joys Baths | No Joy | Sasami Ashworth
1800 E BURNSIDE
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
5
1 3 7 8 15 16 18 19 21 23 25 29
7
Psychomagic | Ben Katzman's Degreaser Fur Coats | Souvenir Driver | Seance Crasher Minden | Water Slice | Spirit Award Stelth Ulvang | Bed.
4 11 18 25
8
8TH AVE.
11TH AVE.
DJs in The Taproom (weekends)
HAWTHORNE BLVD.
HAWTHORNE
KELLY’S OLYMPIAN 426 SW WASHINGTON
LADD’S ADDITION
25
DIVISION ST. CLINTON ST.
POWEL
L BLVD.
28
CESAR CHAVEZ BLVD.
17
19
128 NE RUSSELL
RONTOMS
MORRISON ST.
12
WONDER BALLROOM
600 E BURNSIDE
8
3
L.A. Salami | Cat Clyde The Brothers Billygoat Ought | Flasher | Ora Cogan Vundabar | Ratboys Titus Andronicus | Rick Maguire Lindi Ortega | Hugh Masterson Kolars | Escondido | Sammy Brue U.S. Girls | Amenta Abioto | Bryson Cone Liza Anne | Valley Queen Sonny Smith | Strange Babes DJs Luke Temple | Marisa Anderson The Bronx | No Parents
9
Eye Candy VJs (Mondays) Flickathon: Sets from Years Past (Tuesdays) KPSU DJs (Wednesdays) Bocha x Sxlxmxn | RC Spitta | Verbz Cars & Trains | Curta | Champ!on | Paper Gates La Fonda | Clawfoot Slumber | Lorain Mood Beach | Warf | Boogie Wizards Ukeladies Cedars & Crows Gaea | Trevor Green | The Urban Shaman Earl Zero | The Green Room Salon Heavy City | Eldren | The Weird Kids | Yes Brainer Airport | Bernie & The Wolf | Body Academics Mouth Shouter
1 2 8 9 10 16 17 21 22 26 29 30 31
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features MARCH NO VACANCY
Photo by Dane Brist
10 235 SW 1ST 1 2 3 8 10 16 23 31
Veuve Clicquot Event w/Blossom Billy Kenny Take it Back w/Danny & Doc Hatiras Solovox Swing City hosted by High Step Society Bodywork Monthly by Jason Burns Telepopmusik (DJ set)
REVOLUTION HALL 11 1300 SE STARK 2 3 4-5 9 14 15 16 23 24 29
Pimps of Joytime Flannel Fest: 90s Grunge Tribute Show The Wailin' Jennys Anderson East | JS Ondara Cornelius Secret World Live John Hiatt & The Goners Leftover Salmon & Keller Williams Joseph } Becca Mancari Mount Eerie
TOFFEE CLUB 12 1006 SE HAWTHORNE 2 3 4 9 11 16 18 23 25
Sticky Toffee:House & Disco w/DJ Alyssa Beers Sonic James w/CharlotteggHarris Your Heart Belongs to Twee w/My Lil Underground Waves: Hip Hop and R&B Your Heart Belongs to Twee w/My Lil Underground Parklife: Britpop/New Wave/Post Punk w/ DJs Huff & Green Your Heart Belongs to Twee w/My Lil Underground Old Skool: Funk & Soul w/DJ Cisco Your Heart Belongs to Twee w/My Lil Underground
LOCAL FEATURE Quinn Henry Mulligan
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itting down to Quinn Henry Mulligan’s (formerly of Fanno Creek) latest project is like being granted a chance to read a dear friend’s journal of the past decade. Rarely do we get to see so deeply inside the life of a human. Mulligan’s ambitious new twelve-albums-intwelve-months project lets us in, THE SECRET SOCIETY showing us the cracked, disfiguring 116 NE RUSSELL Not So Secret Family Show (Sundays) process time works upon a heart, and Salsa Social (Tuesdays) the brief moments of clarity and peace Zydeco (Wednesdays) that stick in us like bubbles in stained Swing (Thursdays) The Lowest Pair | Ashleigh Flynn & The Riveters glass. Birch Pereira & The Gin Joints | Bigfoot Mojo Drawing from the best of a several The Get Ahead | Kaiya On The Mountain hundred song pool written over the past Melao De Cuba Salsa Orchestra Tbone Funk Fridays Featuring DJ Sugarfoot decade, the albums present an artist Pete Krebs & His Playboys | The Hot Lovin' Jazz Babies burning to get them off his chest and onto tape. The first two so far, January Want to have your show listed? E-mail listings@elevenpdx.com and February, diverge in style, a course Two-Step Tuesdays (Every Tuesday) Hayley Lynn | Low Key Brad Creel & The Reel Deal | Hall Pass The Hillwilliams Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys KMUZ Local Roots Live Series Barna Howard | Planes On Paper | Widower Hayley Lynn | Ronnie Carrier & Her Day Terrors Cary Novotny Band Lindsey Webster Shelly Rudolph
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Mulligan intends to maintain, if not so much for the sake of the listener as for the fulfillment of a prolific and matured personal artistry now unleashed. From the lullaby harmonies sung for a friend slowly breaking in “Adam, Sleep,” to the defiant vulnerability of a woman trying to understand the burden of her freedom in “Okay,” January uses memorable but direct acoustic guitar alongside Mulligan’s deft, powerful voice to tell stories of quiet urban survival. February shows another side to his project by diving into a heavier, driving, at times even jazzy sound, with tracks such as “Changing the Season” and “In My Room,” and enlists the help of a few other musicians on trumpet, saxophone and accordion. Both albums together show that Mulligan’s orchestration thrives equally
within psychedelic rock and traditional folk, without either context ever being allowed to displace the vulnerable clarity of his words. He is an artist who refuses to hide behind obscurity or irony. The sheer scope of his twelve album project commands attention, and those who are eager for a fresh talent will find real gratification as it unfolds further in the months ahead. The first two albums are free to listen to on his website, www.quinnhenrymulligan.com. If you haven’t had shivers on the back of your neck in awhile, then get after this. ELEVEN: You’ve embarked on one of the most ambitious musical projects I’ve heard about. What is it exactly that you’re attempting? Quinn Henry Mulligan: After Fanno Creek ended, I spent a good year of just working, and since I was 15 I’ve identified as being a musician, someone who plays concerts, and it was the first time in my life I was doing nothing musical, not recording, nothing. It was really difficult reckoning with the reality of, if I’m not doing any music, then who am I? I was talking to my brother about it and he said, “Well why don’t you try to record everything you’ve done in the past?” And he put me to the challenge of recording twelve albums in twelve months. That’s kinda the genesis of it. A big aspect of it is just being a better artist, musician, learning to stick to deadlines. Doing everything that I didn’t do well in Fanno Creek, just trying to be better at those things. Better at marketing. Just being creative again, something I felt like I’d lost and wanted to recapture. 11: So explain what the project actually consists of. QHM: The project has a few major points. Of course do an album a month, working from demos I’d built up since I was 20. We’re also trying to do one narrative music video per month, preferably a couple live videos as well. We’re also gonna hopefully be starting a YouTube channel at some point regarding stuff that’s interesting about the project and the process. Main point is to get the videos done and have my brother be more active in the filmmaking as well.
11: Tell me about the role your twin brother Finn, who’s a professional videographer and director, plays in the project? QHM: He’s essentially managing it, keeping everything on task, cracking the whip. When I’m mixing, I’ll bring everything in the living room and he’ll sit with me and say, “No that sounds stupid,” or “That sounds sweet.” He’s doing all the videography, he built the website, together we’re doing the marketing, the emails. All the tasks for the manager and the producer he’s doing. 11: How many songs are you intending to get through this year?
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QHM: I’ve got at least ten per album lined up, but I’ve got around another 150 or more that won’t make it. So I’ve got 250 songs to draw from. 11: Obviously some of them are going to be better than others. How are you going to make all of them worth putting on an album? QHM: They were all written and recorded over a long period of time, ten or eleven years. And at the time, in those moments, I put a lot of attention and hard work into the actual songwriting. The ones that I choose will be the best of the big old batch. I’ve found that probably a quarter of them I’ve rewritten since recording them for this project. 11: Some of these songs are nearly a decade old. What’s it been like rediscovering them? Do they still feel relevant to you? QHM: That’s actually one of the strangest things about this project so far. I’m finding that I can still make them relate to what I’m going through in my life. It’s like going back and talking to 23-year-old Quinn, and having that person tell you about what you’re going through currently. Sometimes you find that you thought of things in a much healthier, more interesting way back then. I’ve realized the present is not all that different from the past.
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11: Where do you draw inspiration from in life?
he’d written a book, and I contacted the publisher and got in touch with him. So
QHM: I think by and large my
we started a relationship when I was
songs are my way to deal with things
15, and he was on the level for awhile,
I’m confused about or have an issue
able to be in contact, but I still got phone
with. Mostly that’s been interpersonal
calls from him when he was drunk, and
relationships, money, trying to be a productive human being, to be a good person. Trying to know more about the place I’m in, my place in the world. 11: One of the most personal songs on January is “Someone’s Son,” which is about your estranged father. Could you talk about the events in your life that inspired the lyrics? QHM: My dad was a Vietnam vet with really bad PTSD. He was also a terrible alcoholic, unfortunately. Really good heart, but he had a hard time being a functional person. And because of that it did not work out with my mom and they became estranged when I was a couple months old. I didn’t know anything
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about him until I was 15, when I realized
I didn’t want to talk to him, didn’t want to hear him like that. It was the worst. It made me think, “When’s he just gonna disappear again.” That being said, we had some amazing conversations. The first time I’d met him it was extremely bizarre ‘cause I’d grown up with all these thoughts of what I would say to my dad when I first met him, would I tell him off, give him a big earful? But when I met him it was more like I was hanging out with my mom, who raised me. It was very familiar, very surprising. Then when I was 17 he got hit by a car and died. 11: You mentioned once that you and your brother were considering making a documentary about this project. Is that still on the table?
QHM: Definitely. Already with the
a huge production. It’s just too much to
first two months of this project there
do, too much work organizing everyone.
have been moments where it’s gotten
That being said, the more people that
really intense, been really stressful
get involved the easier that kind of
work for a few days and then it’s done,
thing will be. If someone down the line
and then it starts up a week later. And
says they want to get involved and play
I think we might be doing some sort
on one of these albums then that’d be
of documentary to focus on the bigger
awesome.
story of it, because it’s easy to get lost in the sections. I think having a record, even if it’s just for us, of what this
11: What are you looking forward to the most with the next album, March?
experience will be like, going through twelve months, twelve albums, could be
QHM: I’ve got about six songs, bare
interesting if enough comes of it that
bones recorded right now. With this
we think is worth watching and isn’t just
one it’s more of a challenge. It’s more
us bickering about how to release an
subdued. It’s way more straightforward,
album.
so I want to find a way to make sure they’re all unique and interesting,
11: The two albums released so
and the whole thing feels cohesive.
far, January and February, differ
I’m trying to decide what production
dramatically at points, with January
elements I can use to draw something
having a more stripped down acoustic
out of each of the songs to achieve that.
sound, and February being fuller,
I’m excited to dive into a more limited
electrified, using a greater range of
palette. I’ve hit some brick walls, but
instruments and featuring a few other
brick walls are good. They make you
musicians. What’s the plan from here
think outside of the box.
on in terms of how the albums will sound?
11: What are your plans for performing these songs?
QHM: Organizing people within the two week time period when I’m
QHM: Starting this week, I’m gonna
actually recording these albums is really
start doing a bunch of open mics to get
difficult. So I think moving forward I’m
a feel for how I want the songs to be
gonna do one with a lot of musicians
performed, but the ultimate goal is to
on it, more complicated compositions,
get a band together, at least four people,
bigger elements, and then one that’s
so we can have somewhat consistent
more stripped down. A lot of these
shows, at least one a month. I want to do
songs I have demo’d out are pretty bare
a big show at the mid-way point with as
bones acoustic, so I think doing one on
many musicians as I can get my hands
one off will probably be the direction
on, as well as a big one at the end.
I’m gonna go. That being said, I want to make sure that the mellower, acoustic
11: Where do you hope to be at the
albums don’t all sound the same. I want
end of the year when this project is
them to feel like they have their own
finished?
distinct personality, so I’m trying to choose songs in terms of themes and
QHM: The ultimate goal is to be in
maybe the instruments I was using at
a place where it’s not difficult to force
the time. It’s interesting going back to
myself to be productive. To be able to
these olds demos because I’ll have one
just sit down and work on music as if
moment where I was really interested
it were a 9 to 5, and just be better at
in a particular chord progression, or
forcing myself to work, to be artistic,
this tuning, or these instruments. So
mostly because I’m a much happier
there are groups of songs already that
person when I’m creating things. »
have really similar feels. We’ll see, but the plan is to not have every album be
- Ethan Martin
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features national scene
Photo by Iñaki Espejo-Saavedra
T
he Breeders have a new album coming. It’s
the album that (to date) has been the band’s biggest mark
heavy, but when you stop and listen to any one
on the world. It was that album’s 20th anniversary tour (and
member, their playing is clear and tuneful.
accompanying seven-disc vinyl re-release) that brought these
Their music has weight, but sounds effortless.
four musicians back to the basement. This album doesn’t
It’s palatable, that is to say “refined,” as in
sound like a sequel, but it was clearly formed in the same
“perfected over time.” If you are capable of listening without nostalgia, or if you haven’t really dug into The Breeders,
sonic universe. As my call was transferred to The Breeders (the Deal
I think you too would appraise All Nerve as one of The
twins, Kim and Kelly, as well as their bassist Josephine Wiggs,
Breeders’ finest and coolest albums.
minus their drummer, Jim Macpherson), they were joking
The title track, engineered by Steve Albini, cuts to the
about producing live hold music. There was a moment of pure
bone. It’s too good. On All Nerve, they sound like the old
insanity, in which I speculated that their label 4AD recorded
Breeders, but the old Breeders were a band that did whatever
bands talking about hold music to serve as actual hold music,
they wanted. The righteously concise “All Nerve” ends and
but when I said “Hi,” The Breeders answered.
kicks in the talk-sung industrial psychedelia of “MetaGoth,” Then rolling into the dreamy, miniature epic, “Spacewoman.” The Breeders we have today are not the first incarnation of the band, but the version that made Last Splash (1993),
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ELEVEN: It helps that one of you has a British accent, but could I get everyone to say their name and anything else so I can transcribe this correctly?
features national scene Josephine Wiggs: I want everybody to speak in their best British accents now.
Kim: You know, the key is cool, though. That was cool. I never thought of it like that.
Kelly Deal: I’m Kelly. This is Kelly speaking here. Kim Deal: I’m Kim. Kim. Kim. Kim. Hello, hello.
11: Josephine, Wikipedia tells me that you hold two degrees in philosophy.
11: Kim and Kelly sound very similar, but different. It’s more the delivery that’s the same than the voice. Kelly: It’s because life hasn’t beaten me down yet, so I
JW: It’s true. 11: Does that have any bearing on your life in music?
have a little more optimism, maybe? [Kim cracks up at this] JW: Oh, I think so. You always like to ask questions about 11: It’s been ten years since the last Breeders album. Where did All Nerve come from? Are these new songs? JW: Yes. They are—well, what do you mean by “new?” 11: I guess I don’t know. JW: They are a mixture of things. Some of them really are quite new, and some are ideas that Kim had knocking around for a while. And one of them, “Walking with a Killer,” is a song that Kim had previously recorded as part of her solo series. Both Kelly and I liked the song very much and suggested that we do our own version of it.
things. Some people might say it’s being contrary, but I do have a kind of inquisitiveness, not just accepting things for how they seem. 11: Are there any parallels you can draw between philosophers you like and musicians you like? JW: I like things that are instinctively themselves, rather than just genre pieces. I like individuality and I would say “uniqueness,” but that’s a terribly overused word. 11: Are there any band roles or band superlatives that everyone would agree on like “the funny one” or “best siblings” or something?
11: That one stuck out to me because it sounded like the band was a little jammier than other songs on the album. It’s a good example of Kim’s singing, which makes me feel like you don’t care about something, but I should care about it. You sing, “I didn’t know it was my time to die, but it really was” like it’s no big deal. I’m wondering, who are your favorite singers? Kim: I like Sarah Vaughan very much. I think she’s got a very nice tone–she had a nice tone. I like the ones that everybody else likes. I like Doris Day and Ella [Fitzgerald]. 11: Are you a Lou Reed person? Kim: Yes I like him, yes I do. Although… yeah. I like the way he sings. 11: Am I correct that it’s a sculpture of a key on the album cover? Is that how you see it? JW: I don’t think so. Kim: That’s weird. Let me look at that. Ohhh. I know what you’re talking about. To me it always looked like the letter “B.” 11: That does make more immediate sense.
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features national scene Kim: Sometimes we do agree
Photo by Iñaki Espejo-Saavedra
on certain aspects. I think there are a lot of times we agree. 50% of the time we agree. That’s what Kim’s saying. What do you think of that? JW: That’s not bad. Kim: Kel? Kelly: I’ll go with that. Kim: See? That’s an example of us agreeing on something. 11: Yes, a consensus. JW: That’s not a bad average either, when you think about it. It could be much worse, couldn’t it? 11: Oh, much worse. So The Breeders are back in their 1993 lineup. What’s different or what’s stayed the same? Kim: This is not something I thought about when we got back together to work on the Last Splash material, but, when we started doing the interviews, it occured to me. We’re in the same rehearsal space in my basement in Dayton, OH, in the same house. I’m using the same guitar. I’m using the same amplifier. Jim’s using the same drums. Kelly’s using the same amp and the same guitar. Josephine is using a different head, same cabinet. You’re still using a Music Man, but it was a different style then, right? JW: Yeah.
JW: We’re all funny. Kelly: Yes, that’s true. Kim: I’m the easy-going one who’s always right. [band laughs] What are you guys? JW: I’m the thoughtful one that’s always right. 11: Do you guys always agree? JW: What do you think?
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Photo by Katie Summer
Kim: It’s really quite amazing that we managed to sound different than 1993. Yet we did. 11: There must be differences coming from somewhere, so what’s different? Kim: I don’t know... Jim brought a Vistalite set into our group and that was interesting. He was usually on the Gretsch. We recorded a couple of songs with the Vistalite and you liked them very much, didn’t you, Josephine?
features national scene JW: Yeah, I liked it very much. I think time is different now. I feel like, back in the day, you felt like there was just a kind of infinity ahead of you. But now I know that that’s not true and I feel that that’s not true. I feel a little bit affected by that, and so I really try to enjoy the moment and make the most of it. [The Deal twins agree] Knowing that it’s not going to last forever, you make the most of the positive things about it and the opportunity to do it and all that, which I don’t think I felt so keenly back in the day as I do now. 11: When you say that, is that feeling like a sense of urgency just to appreciate it, or is it also about trying to get as much done as you can? JW: No, I don’t think that there’s a rush to get as much in as you can because I don’t think you can rush things. I really don’t. I think things have their own momentum and even though sometimes I wish it could be a bit pacier, that’s not what I mean really. It’s more... I don’t know. Your perspective changes a bit. 11: How much of the album was recorded with the band playing live in a room together? JW: Well, depends how you look at it. In some ways I’m going to say all of it because the backing tracks, the drums and the bass, were done with everybody playing. And then other things were overdubbed on top of that. The songs were performed as songs–they weren’t constructed piecemeal. But then, obviously, when you’re recording in the studio you take advantage of the fact that you can do another take of something, repair mistakes and such. Kim: We would end up overdubbing guitars. We had Kelly in a cramped closet-y hallway sort of thing because we have to watch out that our amps aren’t too loud so that they’re blistering the room drum microphones with too much sound—I mean a little blend is okay I guess, but that’s not where we were at. So Kelly would have a little less of a volume so she’s not coming through the door into the microphones. My vocal would be overdubbed and even my guitar. I played the scratch tracks with my headphones falling off in a cramped space, just to get the rhythm parts down. 11: Were you able to see each other as you played? It sounds like you were kind of in your own boxes. Kim: Yeah, I was behind a sliding glass door. Jim’s out in the main room. Kelly could see if she wanted to. Josephine you were sitting out in the room. JW: Yeah, I was sitting next to Jim so I could see him. Kim: But her bass amp was in a walled-off room some
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features national scene other place. I don’t play a rhythm instrument so I didn’t have to really see everybody and vibe with them. I was in my own area. But I ended up keeping–not all of it you guys, but–I did keep a lot of those tracks, which is good. 11: There was more than one engineer and more than one studio involved. I don’t know if there was a favorite, but were there any remarkable combinations of engineer and studio or any big differences when you went from one to the next? Kim: We started with two songs that we knew we liked. We approached Steve Albini’s studio in Chicago and had him record us. That was “All Nerve” and “Skinhead #2.” Then [laughs], Josephine and Kelly were like, “This analog stuff is fine but I don’t really care. I like digital recording anyway and this is very expensive.” So we kind of played around with digital recording, and we got one song in Dayton from a digital place, just a little basement, and that was “Dawn: Making an Effort.” And that’s when I said to them, “Yeah this is cool, but I don’t really like digital for recording rock drumming.” Kelly: We were just looking at that for demos originally. 11: Steve Albini was involved with earlier Breeders albums too, right? Kim: He recorded Pod in Edinburgh in 1989, in like December. Wasn’t it December, Josephine? JW: I think it may have been the very beginning of 1990. Kim: And he also recorded Title TK. That album came out in 2002. And then I think we did some recording together for Battles. 11: That’s a pretty good spread. Kim: Steve Albini is like family. I vacation with him. We’ve gone to Hawaii with them. He had us play at their wedding. 11: How has he changed over the years? Kim: Hmm… that’s a good question. I don’t know. He still has a nice head of hair. 11: How did Courtney Barnett wind up singing backing vocals on “Howl at the Summit?" Kim: Me and Courtney were asked to do this thing called Talkhouse. It’s where artists get on the phone and ask each
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features national scene other questions and they record it. We had a good time talking, and afterwards we shared each other’s email and
11: If someone is “All Nerve,” is that a good thing or a bad thing?
began emailing each other. And we kept in contact. Not a whole lot, just “Hey, how’s it going?” that sort of thing. And
JW: Yes and no.
they were in town. She said, “Hey we’re in Ohio, do you guys want to come to the show?” And I said “Can’t go to the show, we’re in the studio. You have a day off—do you guys want to
11: Is it “nerve” like “facing something scary” or nerve like “feeling nervous?”
swing by the studio and check it out?” This is the third studio we’d been to, the one in Dayton.. We did most of the recording
JW: …yes.
there. And they said, “Sure.” So her, and Bones–wasn’t that
Kim: I think that it would be a bad thing. I think the
the other guy’s name? [It was—Bones Sloane.] And even the
person in that song is crazy.
tour manager got into… [a phone clicks in and a distinct
JW: The song, yes, but the album?
“meow” derails Kim’s story]
Kim: Oh! That’s interesting. I don’t know.
Kelly: Sorry. My cat helped me hang up.
JW: If it’s the song then it’s a bad thing, but if it’s the album it’s a good thing. »
11: What’s your cat’s name? Kelly: Blackberry. 11: Mine is Cecilia. Kelly: Tell her Blackberry says hi.
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community literary arts for helping around at the shop. “Time was soft there,” says Florence, remembering the time spent learning the shopkeeper’s life. “You’re not going to get rich, but you’ll live a rich life.” Fast forward twelve or so years to 2010 and Florence had a newborn son and needed to make a living to support him. So he applied what he had learned in Paris into his own vision here in Portland. “There was a habitat and ecology for booksellers that the Internet kind of ruined,” explains Florence. People thought he was crazy by taking on Amazon and all of the big name booksellers and opening a Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland
LITERARY ARTS
Portland Bookseller Craig Florence
small bookshop. The Kindle, the new revolutionary device that
was supposed to make books obsolete had just been released. Florence knew he was not going to compete with the corporations on volume, but he could still fill a much needed demand for the real bookshop experience. So with the support of well-respected bookseller and appraiser Charles Seluzicki, he opened up Mother Foucault’s on the gritty inner edge of SE Morrison Street. Mr. Seluzicki’s wide breadth and depth of experience in the book trade helped form the shop in it’s early years, and grow the shop into one of the few
W
places to find truly rare and sought-after books. In 2015 he expanded to the larger main room, with hen I arrived to meet Craig Florence of
a stage for readings and other performances. It’s hard to
Mother Foucault’s Bookshop, the front
imagine that the store wasn’t always laid out the way it
counter I had seen being torn apart the day
currently is. Compact, but with a carefully curated collection
before was being replaced by something
of books ranging from Irish poetry, Polish literature,
that Mussolini would have owned. “He wanted a unique
French philosophy (of course) and books on all branches of
frontispiece for the shop,” said the builder Adam Monkaba
theological thought. The collection is ever growing, with
as he made the finishing touches. Only a true bookseller
Florence now scouting internationally. Today he’s planning a
would think in classic book design terms when planning
trip to Mexico “just to pick up a few books.”
renovations for his store, but that’s what he’s all about. “It’s
While Powell’s may be the city of books, Mother
the teeth of the shop,” says Florence, “A new grill!” While
Foucault’s can be likened to a small Irish village, full of
Mother Foucault’s can easily be appreciated for its old-world
friendly and thoughtful folks there to help you find your
charm, it should not be mistaken as a dusty old bookstore.
way. Florence is ever present at the shop, but if he has to step
It’s a sanctuary for writers and poets, new philosophers
away, there is always a clerk around to recommend a book or
and world travelers. It’s a place to check your phone at the
help you find what you’re looking for, or get into a discussion
door (not literally, but they are prohibited) and explore the
about existential literature, or the next letter-writing
history of human ideas.
workshop.
Craig Florence has seemed to have lived a charmed life.
What Florence has created in Portland is not far from
At 22 he was wandering around Paris, practically homeless,
what Sylvia Beach did in 1919 in Paris with the original
and was brought in by George Whitman at the famed
Shakespeare and Company bookstore. She was a young
bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. He slept in one of
woman from New Jersey who wanted the cultural center
the many beds tucked under the bookshelves in exchange
of Paris to have a place where they could feel at home with
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community literary arts their ideas. She ended up hosting the likes of James Joyce,
arrived mid-show and offered some thoughts on the subject
and being bold enough to publish the controversial Ulysses
in his traditionally mellow way. Curtis was one of the first
when no one else would touch it. Mother Foucault's has
writers to read at Mother Foucault’s, and believes in how
been that sanctuary for many local writers in residence like
vital the shop is to the community. “It is the literary and
Zachary Schomburg and Carl Adamschick, who have gone
intellectual center of Portland. A living room space with a
on to have their work published. Florence is a tangent to the
human persona.”
entire community in the way he makes space for them to
For most people anymore, the constant influx of texts,
write, hold readings and circulate their books throughout
emails and social media posts that demand an immediate
the literary community here and to wider audiences around
response allows little time for everything else. The thought
the country.
of sitting down and reading a book for a few hours would
Readings and events are more and more frequent these
seem so absurd to the point of feeling guilty for it. It’s
days, especially on the weekends. There are rock shows now
not, however, like stepping back in time or some kind of
on the third Thursday of every month, with huge shelves of
escapism. It’s following a certain ethic of living that has been
books behind the stage to absorb the sound. If you walk by
largely forgotten about by the general public. The thing that
the shop on any given Thursday, Friday or Saturday there
struck me most when entering the doors of Foucault's is the
is likely to be somebody reading at the podium on the small
way that time seems to settle down for a while. Actually,
stage. On this Saturday, I hung around to hear the editors
it's always 7:30 at Mother Foucault's. The minute hand has
of Alice: Memoirs of a Barbary Coast Prostitute read from
seemed to have come to rest at the bottom of its swing, tired
the book and go into some serious detail about the life of a
of its task of keeping time. Maybe that clock should never be
sex worker in the early 1900s. Portland legend Walt Curtis
fixed. » - Scott McHale
Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland
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community visual arts MB: My mother died from cancer in June 2016. It was a very difficult time for me. Not only because I lost her, but because I wasn't able to be with her and help take care of her while she was sick. I had to stay here and continue working, since I was the only one that could afford to pay for her medical bills. I've never been in that rough of a spot. I didn't know what was the right thing to do. Either I stay here and send money home, or go back and take care of her, and not have a way to make money. Photo by Mercy McNab
Finally, I made the decision to go home in February 2016
VISUAL ARTS PNW photographer Merlinda Bartolome
to help take care of her. I was home for a month. It wasn't a lot of time, but I'm glad that I was able to make it home and help take care of her. After she died, I went on hikes/adventures, all by myself. I just wanted to be alone. I started taking pictures on my phone. I remember one of the first pictures I took, was a sunset at the Oregon coast. Sunrises and sunsets, I would say
ELEVEN: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up and how did you find yourself in the Pacific Northwest?
are my most favorite to photograph and edit. I just love the bright colors on all my pictures. I think moody and bright colors go well together.
Merlinda Bartolome: I was born and raised in the Philippines. Moved to the states when I was about 19 yrs old. I had a rough life growing up. My family was poor. That is what gave me the courage to move to this country, once I had the opportunity. I knew that I would be able to get a full time job and help support my family back home. My parents divorced when I was a kid. My dad moved to Bend, Oregon shortly after. That's how I ended up in the Pacific Northwest. I've always loved art. I used to draw a lot when I was a kid, but I didn't get into photography until about two years ago. 11: Can you tell us how the camera ended up in your hands?
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"Philippines" (2016)
community visual arts
"Grandma" (Philippines, 2016)
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community visual arts 11: Do you have a mentor or anyone that influences your creativity? MB: My mother definitely influences my creativity. She was a single parent and worked really hard to make sure I had a good life. She would always tell me to follow my dreams no matter how hard I have to work for it. Also my grandmother, who is one of most selfless people I know. 11: Are you a solo adventurer or do you prefer traveling with others? MB: I like both. I used to be terrified of the idea of adventuring alone. When I first moved to the states, I wasn't independent at all. I've never been away from my family, let alone lived in a completely different culture. Now it's like the complete opposite. I want to travel as much as I can. I'm actually planning on traveling to Iceland alone, either this year or next year. I also like traveling with others. I like making good memories with people.
"Hug Point State Park" (2017)
11: If there was one location or person you could photograph in your life who or where would it be? MB: I would say LIGHTS. I've been a huge fan of her music for a few years now. Her music has helped me through so much. Her parents were missionaries and she spent some of her childhood in the Philippines. She is part of an organization to help people in the Philippines that are dealing with poverty. In a way, I could relate to that. 11: Where can our readers find your work locally? MB: I'm still new to photography. I've only done one show so far, I would love to do more and expand. As of now people can check out my work on instagram! Âť - Mercy McNab
FIND THIS ARTIST ONLINE INSTAGRAM: @ADNILREM
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Merlinda Bartolome's "Multnomah Falls" (2017)