Portland musician Mel Stone has been in the studio working on her latest release, Fragments, which is due out in November. She released the EP Coney for Bandcamp’s Transgender Law Center nonprofit event in August (it’s available now as a permanent fundraiser for the organization). Learn more about Mel at melstone.co and on Twitter.
Where were you Born?
I was born in Pomona, CA, which gives me the perfect icebreaker if I ever meet Tom Waits.
What brought you to Portland?
My family moved from Southern California to Winslow when I was fifteen, and fell in love with Portland. It’s been my home off-and-on for the last decade.
What was your most memorable gig?
Years ago, I had the chance to play at set at the Rainbow on Sunset Strip. Taught me a lot about expectations in professional music.
What was your worst gig?
Back in 2006, I was doing a tour of the South, and my manager at the time had told me I had booked a show in Charleston, SC. I get there, and it was a full-fledged fine dining restaurant. Apparently, there was a huge mix-up, but I started to play anyway. Two songs into depressing acoustic music, the few patrons there were visibly uncomfortable, so I packed it up and left.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
If I had to pick an artist, I’d say Elliott Smith. From composition to lyrics to skill, his music has been a tremendous inspiration, influence on my work and my interest in writing music. Many artists in that melancholy-pop-folk zone are big influences.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
My capo! I love this thing
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Practice and write every single day. Every little bit helps move you forward and refines your skills.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
I absolutely love ABBA and Phish and I feel no guilt about it.
What was the first album/recording you owned?
My mom wouldn’t let me listen to popular music as a kid, but for some reason, Weird Al was allowed, so my very first record was Weird Al Yankovic in 3-D. As a teenager, when my dad tried to get me into the classics, he gave me a copy of Revolver, Ziggy, and The Cars’ Greatest Hits.
What are you listening to at the moment? A.W.’s Runaway has been blasting in my car at least once a day. I’ve also been on this early Leonard Cohen kick for the last few weeks, and really getting into Nada Surf, particularly Let Go.
What was the best concert/musical performance you’ve attended?
Phish’s IT in Limestone. I was seventeen and the experience changed my life.
The Asthmatic is the nom de plume of Sigrid Harmon, who has been performing around Portland since 2013. In addition to her main project, she recently joined Thomas Shadis (aka Father Spatter) of The Doug Quaids for a short collaboration. After playing three times as 4 Star China Taste, they disbanded, but not before recording and releasing six songs on an album called What Happens in The Dark.
Where were you born? I was born in Boston, MA.
What brought you to Portland? I relocated here in 2008 with my parents, I was still in elementary school.
Do you have a day job and, if so, what is it? My day job is writing music, as I’ve just graduated from high school. If anyone’s got a music-related job they’d like to hire me for, I’m all ears.
What was your most memorable gig? The most memorable gig was when I played with my band at the time, Metal Sideburns, at Zero Station… It was wall to wall kids and teens because we’d made it under 18. Portland’s filled to the brim with 21+ venues, so we took over Zero Station for the night just for the kids.
What was your worst gig?
The worst gig was at Yankee Lanes with Metal Sideburns. No one was there, we didn’t know our stuff at all, and there was a smoke machine at the far end of the place. It barely puffed out any smoke, and when it did it would evaporate when it got 10 feet in front of us.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician? Bjork’s Vespertine is a masterpiece… I want to reach that level.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
I create my backing tracks ahead of time when it comes to performing, as I want to focus more on my voice and the acting side of it. I can go without any sort of equipment… except my albuterol. I can walk in a place and just do an a cappella set because my voice is loud… I may be The Asthmatic, but I’ve got pipes.
Any advice for a musician starting out? Advice? Check out bands you’ve never heard of before, talk to people at gigs, don’t leave before a show is over. That’s rude, and the other bands and/or the venue won’t want to book you again.
What was the origin behind your name? I’m called The Asthmatic because I AM an asthmatic. I was born with chronic lung disease.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure? I listen to “…Baby One More Time” and “Oops I Did It Again” by Britney Spears on repeat… a lot.
What was the first album/recording you owned? The first LP I ever bought was T. Rex’s The Slider. It’s stuck with me to this day.
What are you listening to at the moment? I’ve been listening to a lot of Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Plasmatics, Angel Haze, Lady Sovereign, t.A.T.u., The Wipers, The Cigarettes (UK), MC Lyte, The Lady of Rage, Lydia Lunch, Daisy Chainsaw, and Diamanda Galas.
What was the best concert/musical performance you’ve attended? On June, 24th of 2016 I saw Sleep at the State Theater… You could feel the sound vibrating your bones. I was at the front, and one of the security guys had bottles of water near him. He’d walk up and down in a line pouring water in everyone’s mouths. The show was wet, I remember a lot of sweat.
Nick Perry is the leader of the eponymous Nick Perry’s Brass Tax. The band released their debut album, Revisionist History, earlier this year. Nick is also a former member of Emerson and Thoreau and All Moving Parts and an occasional contributor to this site, having reviewed several area concerts. You can learn more about the band at nickperrysbrasstax.bandcamp.com or facebook.com/nickperrysbrasstax.
Where were you born?
Rumford Hospital (I think)
What brought you to Portland?
USM. And the crippling debt is what kept me here.
Do you have a day job and, if so, what is it?
Bernstein Shur Sawyer and Nelson law firm (I’m a stage 4 lackey).
What was your most memorable gig?
Tie: November of 2012 with The Sidescrollers, buying Hacksaw Jim Duggan a drink and talking in-depth with him about Survivor Series ‘90 (The Hulkamaniacs vs. The Natural Disasters) and ’91.
August of 2014 with Pokelogan at Amigos where some dude was getting yanked behind our bass amp.
What was your worst gig?
Playing a show with Emerson and Thoreau way back when. A craft fair at a middle school. An old woman actually said the words “turn that racket down” to us.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
All of the generic answers (Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Zeppelin), Syd Barrett’s “The Madcap Laughs”, Big Star, Ween, “Roxy & Elsewhere”, “Rust in Peace”…wait, did you only want one answer?
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
My guitar strap. I ain’t playing sitting down (I’m looking at you, Robert Fripp).
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Don’t be lazy. Don’t be an asshole. Don’t waste other people’s time by writing crappy music. Make it count.
What was the origin behind your band name?
I wanted a name that would fit comfortably in a grange hall or in a bingo parlor. I’ve always held myself to a high standard.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
I’m a big fan of Marco Rubio’s first album “Crossin’ the Rubicon” featuring Miami Sound Machine. I’ve been known to rock out to Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, as gross as that is to admit.
What was the first album/recording you owned?
This is a fuzzy memory. It was either the Wayne’s World soundtrack that I got a BJ’s Wholesale in Auburn or Tom Jones Greatest Hits
What are you listening to at the moment?
“Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs” and Prokofiev’s first three piano concerti have filled my last couple of hours.
What was the best concert/musical performance you’ve attended?
I saw Joe Walsh at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom last summer. Joe Walsh is the coolest son of a bitch of all time. Do you know how hard it is to become a full-time member of The Eagles and not lose one ounce of credibility? God bless you, Joe.
This past Monday, Portland suffered a huge loss in the peaceful passing of our bright light and good friend, Johnny Fountain. You may remember him from his stunning performance at Arootsakoostik South this past summer, or his small, equally-powerful performance during the first night The Couch returned to Empire. Maybe you were his friend and made memories with him going on outdoor adventures, playing music, and spreading kindness and love through fun and lighthearted jokes. Maybe he was your bartender at the old Empire before it reopened. Maybe he walked you safely to your car, or saved you from getting creepily hit on. Maybe he introduced you to the love of your life. Maybe you loved him. Maybe, like me, you first saw him perform with the Panda Bandits on an amazingly fun night. Maybe you used to hear him play overhead at the First Friday Artwalk in the early days. Maybe you read his brave and honest Facebook posts about his ongoing battle with cancer. Maybe you attended a fundraiser to help him on his journey. Maybe you are just a friend of a friend who is grieving. In any case, if you have any involvement with the vibrantly rich music scene in our town, you have felt Jonny’s presence. While he’s passed beyond the rainbow bridge, you will probably still feel it in all of those that knew him, who will continue on in his legacy.
For those wanting to pay their respects, there will be a Songs and Stories Memorial for loved ones at Empire on Sunday, December 13 from 4-7PM*.
*Correction: It was previously stated that the Songs and Stories Memorial would occur from 1-4PM instead of 4-7pm.
Peter has performed with or been a member of a wide range of Maine bands, including Family Planning, The Milkman’s Union, Jacob Augustine, Lisa/Liza, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, and The Casco Bay Tummlers. He’s a composer and percussionist based in Portland and a graduate of Bowdoin College. It was at Bowdoin that he cut his teeth as a music programmer, booking acts like Broken Social Scene, Deerhunter, and Dr. Dog for WBOR’s concert series. He’s continued programming at SPACE Gallery and runs Pretty Purgatory, a record label and artist collective. As performer, he’s played in thirty one states and two Canadian provinces since 2011.
Where were you born?
Boston, MA. October 23, 1987. Dangerously close to the one year anniversary of the ball going through Buckner’s legs…
How long have you lived here?
Since fall 2006. Portland since fall 2010.
What was your most memorable non-musical job?
I’m very luck to have had basically no non-musical jobs as an adult, so I’d have to go with white-washing all the fences at a farm in high school. It was a real Tom Sawyer operation. We kept getting more and more kids working for us for less and less. We spent all the money on burritos and Bud Light Party Balls™ (RIP).
Peter McLaughlin on a boat
Peter McLaughlin and a cat
Photo by Joel Tsui
Family Planning
Photo by Mary Schiavoni/Mockingbird Photo
What’s the origin behind your project name?
The words Pretty Purgatory entered my head a couple years ago. Just liked the sound of the words together. I certainly didn’t plan on using it as the name for the label, but it kept just popping back into my brain. It seemed like it was meant to be at a certain point. It has no intentional meaning, but I’ve done plenty of analysis retroactively, which probably doesn’t need sharing.. I think it’s evocative and fits the aesthetic of what we do.
What was your most memorable gig?
That’s really tough. There’s been so many incredible shows over the years. Memorable though? Perhaps the Wesley Hartley & the Traveling Trees show in Russelville, Arkansas. It had all the makings of a great night. Reclaimed commercial space. Low ceilings. No windows. Underage punk kids. An all-out bloody fist-fight. Cops. Taco John’s burritos. And a totally rapt audience.
What was your worst gig?
There hasn’t been too many disaster gigs over the years, but a Boston variety show with a Byrds cover band and a bunch of amateur comedians opening up to an audience of three was certainly a low point in my performing career.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
Kate Bush. Anyone who knows me can answer that question. I’m quite vocal about my adoration for all things Kate. It’s hard to pick just one record. My favorites are the Sensual World, Hounds of Love, The Dreaming, and Never for Ever in no particular order, but I love so much of her catalog. We have a deep spiritual connection. She just doesn’t know it yet.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
Oof. I’m a gear hoarder for sure. I’ve got five guitar amps in my studio and I don’t even play guitar. I couldn’t whittle it down to a single item, but I sure do love my white upright piano that Mr. Over a Cardboard Sea, Timmy Findlen gifted me.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
I’ll paraphrase and add to some advice from the incredible pianist, Matthew Shipp (who I had the pleasure of recording with a few months ago). Sonny Rollins said the only business worse than the music business is boxing. You shouldn’t try to do this professionally unless you absolutely have to; you spiritually can’t not be a musician. It can be the most fulfilling, transcendent, and simultaneously soul-crushing of professions.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
Well, I don’t entirely believe in musical guilty pleasures, but I have listened to this several times in a row. Also, the Toby Keith album Shockin’ Y’all is a modern classic. No shame.
What was the first album/recording you owned?
I think it was the Polaris Pete & Pete soundtrack cassingle. I ordered it from the back of a cereal box. I got the I Believe I Can Fly cassingle around that same time, too.
What are you listening to at the moment?
I’m writing from the back of the car between shows in NYC and Philly. Last three songs on the Jacob-controlled playlist were Meshuggah, Nina Simone, and Death Grips. I whole-heartedly approve.
What was the best concert/musical performance you’ve attended?
There have been so many life-changing shows over the years. Ornette Coleman, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Josephine Foster, several Dylan shows, The Bad Plus, Battles, Charlemagne Palestine, Michael Hurley, Joanna Newsom, Dirty Projectors, Tim Berne’s Big Satan… I’m lucky to have a seen a lot of my heroes. The best of 2015 so far is no doubt Tal National at SPACE a couple weeks back. If you missed out, you might just get another chance before the year’s out. Stay tuned…
Could you tell me about any current projects, performances, or recordings? As far as projects go, I am working on training a new bassist for my band, Superorder. Once he is ready, we will be planning a CD/DVD release show for our visual album, Ten Cities, which is currently only available in digital format. In the meantime, I am composing our next album and practicing synthesizer for an embarrassing Clash of the Titans performance on March 18th*.
Where were you born? Born in Methuen, Massachusetts. Raised in the Seacoast Region, New Hampshire.
How long have you lived in Maine? Nine and a half years. I moved to Portland, Maine in 2005 for college and have lived here since, except for a year I lived in Portland, Oregon in 2010.
What was your most memorable non-musical job? All things considered I’d say that I’m currently working at what will one day be my most memorable non-musical job: bartending and serving at Boda. Really bizarre things happen there like clockwork. Example: just last week I caught a guy eating cat treats at the bar on his birthday.
Photo by Ben McCanna
What was your most memorable gig? Every opportunity I’ve have to perform music over the last seven years is memorable and special to me, though there are probably two gigs tied for first place: one was my first show playing guitar for Picnic Casket in February 2008 at Dos Amigos Burritos in Dover, New Hampshire. We opened for Transistor Transistor’s 7’’ release party during a massive snowstorm but surprisingly the turnout was so good that they had to turn people away at the door because there was like 60 people stuffed into this tiny burrito shop. The other gig was a couple years ago with my band, Superorder, at Waranimal’s Winter Beach Ball at Space Gallery. After playing a 40 minute set of all instrumental prog-rock/electronic music, Kyle Scofield and I performed a very faithful cover of Christopher Cross’s “Sailing” to a sold out crowd of thrash metal kids who were mostly wearing bathing suits.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician? It’s impossible for me to chose any one above all others, since being a musician, for me at least, is being a cumulative byproduct of all the influential albums and soundtracks and weird little noises that have made their way into my life at pinnacle moments. That being said, some albums definitely worth mentioning are The Second Stage Turbine Blade by Coheed and Cambria, Before the Dawn Heals Us by M83, Focus by Cynic, Surface to Air by Zombi, Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution, Thriller by Michael Jackson, and Ride the Lightning by Metallica. The common denominator between these albums is genre-hopping and inconsistent display of moods. Each of these albums played a part in helping me discover how to transform my fears and pains of life into something sonically epic and conceptually plot driven.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without? An Apple computer with Logic 9 installed. I compose 90% of the music I write with virtual synthesizers in midi draw mode with just a mouse and keyboard. But if I was more concerned with this answer not being super nerdy, I would say my 2001 Ibanez UV777.
Any advice for a musician starting out? Listen critically. Draw as much inspiration as you can from many diverse sources. Get out of your comfort zone. Practice meditation. Adapt meditation into your music practice. Experiment. Try harder.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure? R. Kelly. Especially Trapped in the Closet.
What was the first album/recording you owned? Weird Al’s Bad Hair Day.
What are you listening to at the moment? Currently listening to Prince’s Art Official Age as I answer these questions, but recently I’ve been listening to Falls of Rauros, Blut Aus Nord, Nothing, Oneohtrix Point Never, Majeure, An Autumn for Crippled Children, The Fucking Champs, and Steve Hauschildt.
What was the best concert/musical performance you’ve attended? Yet again, I cannot name just one. It’s a close tie between seeing Goblin and Zombi performing together at the Sinclair in 2013 or My Bloody Valentine at House of Blues in Boston last November. I dig on all three of those acts so much and I still can’t believe I got to see them all perform within six months of each other. Also, seeing the Star Wars Symphony Orchestra is up there.
Lady Lamb is the moniker of Brunswick-raised Aly Spaltro, who, despite a move to Brooklyn several years ago, remains a hero of the Portland music scene. Her deep connection with Maine is apparent from the tattoo of the state’s outline that she bears on her upper arm.
As a teenager she played her guitars and banjos after shifts at a local video store and began distributing her home-recorded and hand-packaged albums in Bull Moose stores around Maine. She also performed in the Tower of Song series on Congress Street that were held during First Friday art walks by Portland-based label Eternal Otter Records, who put out her albums Sunday Shoes and Samples for Handsome Animals (2008).
In recent years, she has garnered national and international acclaim for her albums Ripely Pine (2013) and the latest After (2015), being featured in and reviewed by several magazines, websites, and radio stations including Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, NPR, and Buzzfeed. She has toured in the US, Canada, and Europe with acts like Kaki King, Neko Case, and Beirut. Last year, she performed in Ireland’s largest annual musical festival, Electric Picnic, alongside acts such as David Byrne, St. Vincent, and Hozier.
She recently signed with Mom+Pop Music, who is distributing her latest album, After. The album was reviewed by Rolling Stone who described it as “a collection of surrealist folk rock that grounds the dream-like imagery of her past work in the hard specifics of concrete events.”
Lady Lamb will play Port City Music Hall on Friday, March 13, doors open at 8pm. Learn more by visiting Lady Lamb and Port City Music Hall’s websites. Check back here for a review of the show. Read our 10Qs with Lady Lamb.
The state of how music is reported and discussed in Maine has been morphing as of late.
Sam Pfeifle, who wrote about local music for The Portland Phoenix from 2001 to 2014, is no longer with the long-running weekly publication. The Phoenix was purchased by the owners of The Portland Daily Sun, while team members from The Phoenix and the owners of Boston’s Dig started a new publication, Dig Portland. That publication was promptly shut down by the new owners of The Phoenix. Sam’s thirteen-year backlog of reviews are no longer on The Phoenix’s site but, thankfully, Sam has launched Portland’s Best Albums to slowly re-release many of those reviews.
Newz by the Nunz has called several sites its home, but it’s most recently landed at Knack Factory. The column, written by local musician Holly Nunan, typically features a list of music-related events happening around town. Newz by the Nunz started out as a regular feature in Dispatch Magazine and moved to MaineToday.com (archive) before finding its current home. Holly is also a regular on WCSH6’s Morning Report covering much of the same territory and the current host of local music radio show Music from 207 (itself an offshoot of a show started by Charlie Gaylord, who now hosts Greetings From Area Code 207 on WBLM).
Speaking of Dispatch Magazine, the once music-focused publication has morphed into something of a lifestyle magazine, though they still feature album reviews. For a about a year, Dispatch and their parent company, kNow Media, ran Maine.fm, a streaming radio station featuring all Maine music. The station’s site was hacked in 2011 and seemed to never really make a comeback. The magazine took a step away from the music scene shortly thereafter. Dispatch and kNow were founded by “SuperFrank” Copsidas, former manager of James Brown. A music publishing company, Intrigue Music, is yet another venture started by Copsidas, who has a background in the radio business.
The blog Hilly Town slowed publication when its creator, Bryan Bruchman, relocated back to Brooklyn. There’s talk of the site coming back, but we’re not 100% sure in what form. Will it contain show listings, concert photos, show reviews, and late-night grub recommendations like it did once before? The site relaunched in 2015 with show listings and reviews, presumably with the help of new contributors.
A few others of note:
Emily Burnham’s Culture Shock (Bangor Daily News) and Aimsel Ponti’s Face the Music (Maine Today) are two other music columns. Both cover a mix of local and established artists, area events, and the occasional album review.
The Bollard has a long running series of album and live show reviews.
For coverage of the heavier side of music in Portland, there’s Post Mortem.
Erin Davidson has been making music for over twenty years, most notably as a member or Cerebus Shoal and Sage Francis’ backing band, and as a solo artist under the name dilly dilly. She frequently tours throughout the U.S. and Europe and can often be seen playing guitar, ukelele, the saw, and a handful of others. In addition, she’s collaborated with fellow Maine musicians Sontiago, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, A Severe Joy, and many more.
Where were you born?
I was born in Exeter, New Hampshire. I lived on a farm for the first 4 years of my life. (no I wasn’t born in a barn STOP ASKING! i keed i keed)
What brought you to Portland?
Well, i’ve lived around the Portland area practically my whole life. Went to high school in Westbrook, which is when I started playing music with my friends.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
I have a few *sniffle*. I tend bar at Port City Music Hall, State Theater and Black Tie catering company. Occasionally I work in the office and an an attendant in the cafe on the Amtrak Downeaster.
What was your most memorable gig?
My most memorable gig would probably be the first time we (Cerberus Shoal, the band I was in at the time) opened up for Sun City Girls in Seattle. We did a split EP with Alan Bishop in 2002 but this show was the first time we would officially meet them and I idolized their music growing up, so I was all kinds of excited. Alan, Charles, and Richard were all stand-up folks and the show was breathtaking. You don’t get a chance to play with and for your musical influences very often in your life and that show couldn’t have gone any better for me. To say I felt euphoric doesn’t even come close to the emotions my body and I felt, but it’ll have to do.
What was your worst gig?
Ohhh boy, I don’t like to shit talk so I’m gonna preface this by saying that I think Space Gallery is one of the greatest venues to play in Portland. That being said, I was asked to play Icing for New Years Eve one year and, without really thinking about what it was, said yes. long story short, there’s nothing like (and by “like” I mean “worse than”) playing ukulele in front of 300 people who are getting drunk and their main objective is to network. Even with my ukulele plugged into the PA and monitors, I couldn’t hear a note of what I was playing above the roar of the audience and felt more defeated than I ever have on stage. My five song set turned into a four song set and the most redeeming part of the evening was that my set ended early enough for me to go down to Port City and promptly stuff as much alcohol into my stomach as humanly possible before midnight to try and start the new year off on a better note than that one was ending.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
Hip Hop
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
I’d say my hands. Yeah, My hands are the most important piece of musical equipment. Definitely, hands down, hands. My pops and mom gave me these hands. Such strong hands. They gave me the best gift any parent can give their children. I’m a lucky bird, when it all comes down to it. They allow me to try new instruments and ideas. I was born with great hands.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
I’ll give the best advice I ever got. Don’t listen to that little hater inside your head and, remember, you might be playing the same chords and singing the same notes that someone else has before you… but no one will ever play or sing in your voice. You’ve been given the gift of being unique. A snowflake in the world of sound, vision and creativity. It would be a shame to let that go to waste. The universe is relying on you.
What’s the origin behind your band name?
“dilly dilly” came from the first song I ever remember listening to in my life. My preschool teacher used to play Burl Ives’ version of Lavender Blue, and it stuck with me. I thought it an appropriate moniker for my musical endeavors.
httpa://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYrdEBLecZg
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
HOT 104.7… I love singing Justin Timberlake (et al.) at the top of my voice when I’m driving around. “IT’S LIKE YOU’RE MY MIRROR. oh oh. MY MIRROR STARING BACK AT ME. oh oh…..”
Bonus questions:
What was the first album/recording you owned?
The first one I remember owning is the Kenny Loggins Footloose 7″. When we were kids, my brother and I used to play it on one of those little plastic suitcase players at 78rpms and pretend we were chipmunks.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Honestly, I’ve been listening to the 24/7 comedy station on iheart radio like it’s going out of business. So much so, that I even fall asleep to it. I LOVE stand up comedy. Musically i’ve been wearing a hole in the album Wild Go by Dark Dark Dark and Rufus Wainwright’s self titled LP.
What was the best concert/musical performance you’ve attended?
SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM… I’d have to say Jimmy Buffet when I was nine. It’s the show that started the gears in my head rolling to play and perform music. BOOM!
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper // Photo by Shervin Lainez
Aly Spaltro, better known as Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, spent her youth bouncing around the globe before settling in Maine. She would go on to make a name playing shows in the state, eventually relocating to Brooklyn. She’s played throughout the U.S., Europe, and Canada, toured with Kaki King, Neko Case, and Beirut, and has been featured in Pitchfork, NPR, and even Buzzfeed. She released her debut studio album, Ripely Pine, earlier this year. She’ll play to a sold out crowd at SPACE on November 30th, and The State Theater on December 6th with The Fogcutters for the Big Band Syndrome series.
Where were you born?
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
What brought you to Portland?
I moved to Brunswick with my family in 2003, and moved to Portland in 2008 to perform and be part of the music scene there.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
No, just music full time.
What was your most memorable gig?
Playing The State Theatre in 2010. Also in May I played a full band show in Chicago with a really bad cold and had to keep turning away from the mic to cough, but the audience picked up the lyrics for me and sang the songs loudly.
What was your worst gig?
Last fall I played my very first northwest show in Seattle with a serious fever.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
A mix of Neutral Milk Hotel, Mama Cass, Fiery Furnaces, Kate Bush, & Stevie Nicks to name a few.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
my fender Jazzmaster or Strat.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Don’t compromise your work or vision for anything or anyone.
What’s the origin behind your band name?
I wrote it in the middle of the night in my sleep in a notebook beside my bed.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
Selena Gomez ‘Come & Get It’ and Sheryl Crow “If It Makes You Happy.’
Bonus Questions
What was the first album/recording you owned?
The Beatles White Album on cassette.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Son Lux, Janelle Monae, Kurt Vile, Xenia Rubinos.
What was the best concert/musical performance you’ve attended?
Neko Case at Radio City Music Hall.
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper // Photo by Shervin Lainez
October is LGBT month and Factory Portland will be highlighting Maine-connected LGBTQ artists for the week of October 28th.
José Ayerve has been performing and recording in Maine since the mid 90s. His first band in the state, Spouse, has been on hiatus since 2011 (with one benefit performance in Northampton earlier this year) and for appearances in bands like Bullyclub, among others. For the past couple of years, Ayerve has been performing as A Severe Joy, a solo project that was born out of multiple band-member relocations. As A Severe Joy, he’s released an eponymous album, five plexi singles, and a compilation of those singles entitled ‘Cinematesque.’ A second set of five singles are planned over the course of the next year.
Spouse at Port City Music Hall, photo by Stephen Quirk // Factory Portland
Where were you born?
Bogotá, Colombia
What brought you to Portland?
After graduating from Bowdoin College in 1996, I became involved in a local theater troupe based in Portland. I moved to town in 1997, then moved away in 1998, returned in 2000, left again in 2003, and have been residing here once more since 2009.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
I do. I work as a Spanish language translator for a public school system based in Massachusetts.
What was your most memorable gig?
I’ve had quite a few memorable gigs. With Spouse, it was definitely in February of 2011 at Port City Music Hall. It was a perfect set and at the end of it, I was overcome with emotion (because I knew that I was going to put the band on indefinite hiatus, but hadn’t told my bandmates) and I smashed my guitar on stage. It was the most incredible feeling ever. Kevin O’Rourke of Lo Fine (and occasionally, Spouse) rebuilt it for me. It sounds better now than it did before the smash. With ASJ, I think my most memorable gig was the Free Range Music Festival in Belfast in April of 2012. It was a beautiful night, totally packed, and I had the lovely dancers from Haus of Paradigm performing with me.
What was your worst gig?
I played a show at the Free Street Taverna in 1998 on a Sunday night. My bandmates had bailed on me for the show and I tried to perform drunk. It was a disaster.
A Severe Joy, photo by Stephen Quirk // Factory Portland
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
Album: “Long Live the New Flesh” by Flesh For Lulu. It changed my life.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
My phone, because it houses all of my backing tracks and the drum machine ap that I use for ASJ.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Do it because you love it. Learn to take care of your gear, be good at math (and accounting), follow-through, and for chrissakes, be a good example for other musicians. I believe musicians struggle as much as we do because people in general have a negative impression of us unless we become nationally or internationally recognized for our work. Also, value your art and if you’re not enjoying it, switch it up.
What was the origin behind your band name?
Spouse is short for “Cheating on Spouses Can Be a Messy Management Affair” – the title of an article that I had to read for Psychology class in college.
A Severe Joy is an anagram of my real name, José Ayerve
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
I don’t feel guilt about liking any particular artist. I’ve always been a fan of Huey Lewis & The News. I really like the new Cher album, and Justin Timberlake is fucking awesome. That said, my favorite album is “The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin”.
Bonus Questions
What was the first album/recording you owned?
“Free to Be You and Me” – Marlo Thomas and Friends
What are you listening to at the moment?
“Destruye Hogares” by Fobia
What was the best concert/musical performance you’ve attended?
The Pixies at the State Theatre in 2011 was my favorite, not sure it was the best, but I really enjoyed it.
October is LGBT month and Factory Portland will be highlighting Maine-connected LGBTQ artists for the week of October 28th.
Natalie Oldham plays drum machine and keyboard in Rotundo Sealeg, a synth-punk band based out of Portland and Camden. She formed the band in 2006 and is joined by Jason Unterreiner (Wood Burning Cat) on guitar, second vocals, and somebody-to-high-five-with. Rotundo Sealeg will be completing their new album ‘The Moon And The Stars’ in November and will be promoting the record by early 2014!
Where were you born?
I was born in Rockport, Maine. It was Friday the 13th!
What keeps you in Maine? It’s a beautiful place and I know nothing else. A lot of my friends and family live in Maine, too.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
I work with middle school and high school kids at an after-school youth center. I get to set up music and art programs, play video games, and make sure nobody is getting teased or bullied!
What was your most memorable gig?
This one is a really magical story for me. Jason and I were driving to Mexico, Maine to play at this DIY performance/living space called The Castle. It was like this unfinished apartment building that somebody’s parents owned, and it kept changing all around every time we played there, like Hogwarts staircases. On this particular occasion, we got a text on the way there from Anthony Bitetti (Good Kids Sprouting Horns, Great Western Plain) who was playing drums in the band at that time, saying that he couldn’t make it. We had no drum machine with us, and hooked up a tiny little Casio PT-1 to a huge bass amp for our rhythm section, thinking it was going to be the worst show ever. Instead, it was like this amazing unifying thing between us and the crowd! We were making due with what we had and having a really fuck-all good time, just like they were with their performance space in this middle-of-nowhere town! There was so much clapping along, singing along, and laughing. It made us feel great to be musicians, doing what we do. It made me feel great to be alive.
What was your worst gig?
This was probably the Christmas show we played at Slainte a few years ago. We had done like this mini tour of Christmas shows with lights and decorations and soynog and cookies – just this all-out holiday explosion kind of thing. We put so much into promoting and just like the production of the show to make it really special, and then just like four people showed up. It just felt like, what is the point, if people don’t care about what you’re doing? I remember telling Jonathan Merrifield (from Strawberry Allstars, The 500s, The Scrapes) that I wanted to quit music when we were packing up. He said, “Never give up!” like were in an afterschool special, because he is resilient and amazing. I felt depressed about this for a long time, but obviously I didn’t actually give up. I’m actually finding out that a lot of musicians have this same kind of experience, where they blame themselves all of the time for people not showing up. In reality, there are a lot of other factors involved, even if it is disappointing. We have a lot of songs about being disappointed, and then what you can do from there.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
They Might Be Giants’ second album, ‘Lincoln’, was their first tape I ever bought, after an older friend recommended I check out TMBG. After that, I just completely lived with that album! It really changed things for me. I was in like fifth grade, and really only liked pop country and the Beach Boys up until that point. I remember listening to Ana Ng on my walkman and being like, “Whoa. This is different.” They Might Be Giants has been one of my favorite bands ever since. Their smart phrasing and word choice, combined with their unique musical style, just really connects for me.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
My Casio CZ-1! It’s the top Casio’s short-lived professional synthesizer line from the 80s, and it is a powerful and beautiful machine! Jason saw it for sale at Buckdancers, second hand, and called me right up because I had been playing a lower-ranked CZ and loving it for years. I called the store and it turned out that it had belonged to Depeche Mode!! What better band to own a synth from, right? I knew then that it was meant to be! I use it for all of our recording and live shows now.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Don’t let all of the shit bog you down. Keep doing what you do, because even when it’s hard, it’s important for both your own sanity and the future experiences of others that you share your special shine.
What was the origin behind your band name?
I misheard a talk radio program. I thought they had said, “Rotundo… sea-leg.” I liked how those words went together, but it knew it wasn’t actually what they had said. I still thought it sounded like Rotundo Sealeg ought to be something. So I decided to make it something! A band.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
I have a genuine enjoyment of the Spin Doctors’ ‘Pocket Full Of Kryptonite’ that always makes me say, “yessss!” under my breath when I hear one of those songs come on in the grocery store or something.
Bonus Questions
What was the first album/recording you owned?
I think it was a cassingle of Kokomo, by the Beach Boys. I remember listening to that when I was on vacation in Florida with my parents and feeling SO COOL.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Bomb The Music Industry!’s ‘Vacation’. Definitely one of my top ten favorite albums! You can download it for free or a donation at www.bombthemusicindustry.com along with any or all of their other material. It’s intense, synthy punk with this emotional content grabs ahold of your panicky heart and won’t let go. Or at least, it does that with my panicky heart.
What was the best concert/musical performance you’ve ever attended?
That would probably be the all-acoustic show that Fishboy did at 131 Washington when they were touring for Classic Creeps. I felt so lucky to be at that show – and we even got to open for them that night. Such amazing energy!!
You can find out more about Rotundo Sealeg by visiting Facebook.
October is LGBT month and Factory Portland will be highlighting Maine-connected LGBTQ artists for the week of October 28th.
This two-time Grammy nominee’s 38 year career has taken Cidny from singing back-up with Elton John and singing lead vocals on the “Grease” movie soundtrack– to having eight critically acclaimed solo albums, including the award winning “Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth”, “Neverland”, “dream #29” and most recently “Howling Trains and Barking Dogs”. Guests on the albums include friends Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Bryan Adams, Emmylou Harris, Delbert McClinton, and Sir Elton. In the 1990’s, Cidny co-wrote songs in Nashville producing several charting singles. Cid also wrote the musical “Islands” honoring the island of North Haven, Maine, which was performed on Broadway in NYC and in Portland at the Merrill Auditorium in the fall of 2001. Cidny continues a solo career, is one-third of super-group The Refugees with Wendy Waldman and Deborah Holland, and is now writing a one person show.
photos by Joanne Berman
Where were you born?
Boston, MA
What brought you to Portland?
Been coming to Maine my whole life. My grandmother grew up in Portland and they had a house in Kennebunkport where we spent our summers. We also had relatives on Chebeague Island and would go there a lot too. So I always wanted to live here one day. But it was summer of 1990 on North Haven when we decided to move from Connecticut to Portland. We bought a house right then and only went back to Connecticut to pack up! As a side note: My ex Dan Crewe then called our good friend Bob Ludwig, who wanted to partner with Dan in a new mastering studio. Bob was living in NYC at the time. Dan was afraid that our move to Maine would end their plans, but Bob’s mother lived Down East so Bob was thrilled about coming up here. And that’s how Gateway Mastering got started.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
I moved to Los Angeles in mid-1974 and luckily had some incredible breaks within the first year of arriving there. I met legendary songwriter/producer Bob Crewe (discovered the Four Seasons, Mitch Ryder, and more. Think “Jersey Boys”) and became his gofer/protege, spending every waking minute in the studio and watching him write songs (I was there when he wrote “Lady Marmalade”). I also used to hang out at Cherokee Studios in Hollywood, getting coffee for and hobnobbing with clients like Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, and Dr. John. I ended up singing backup on Rod Stewart’s “Sailing” album, Gene Clark’s (The Byrds) “No Other” and others. My biggest break was crashing a Rocket Record’s press party, at Cherokee, for Neil Sedaka. Elton John started Rocket Records and was there. I met him that night and got hired on the spot to sing backup on his tour. Two days later, I was in his band and on the road. I sang with Elton on three tours and on the “Blue Moves” album. I also sang the back up vocals on “Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart”. My next big break was getting asked to sing on the “Grease” movie soundtrack in 1977. I was just hired (thanks to Bob Crewe) to sing background vocals. But once I got into the studio, they asked me to sing lead on three songs, “Freddy My Love”, “Raining on Prom Night” and “Mooning”. I still get people bringing their “Grease” LPs to gigs for me to sign. I made my first solo album in 1978 “Desire Wire” and was nominated for a Grammy for my single “Survivor”. That’s the crux of the early part of my career. I got married in 1979, decided to step out of the business and have kids. It would be ten years till my next album “Cindy Bullens” (1989), then ten years after that (1999) before “Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth” which was written and recorded after the death of my 11 year old daughter Jessie. I did spend the early ’90s commuting to Nashville on a regular basis to co-write songs with some incredible writers. That experience was invaluable and led to several charting Country songs for me, and basically re-generated my career as an artist. Not to mention making me a much better songwriter and musician! I still consider Nashville my second home. With “Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth” I started touring again and making records. CDs “Neverland”, “dream #29”, “Howling Trains and Barking Dogs” followed. In 2007, I started a trio with Wendy Waldman and Deborah Holland, The Refugees. We recorded two albums and toured until the middle of this year. I’m now writing some new songs and will hopefully record some time in 2014. I am also working on (slowly) a one person show.
What was your most memorable gig?
There have been a few! But when someone asks, I think the first one that comes to mind is playing Dodger Stadium with Elton John in 1975. Magical! The second one: Elton John, Shaeffer Stadium (Foxboro) on July 4, 1976-the Bicentennial (flying over in a helicoptor looking down at 80,000 people before playing then being introduced to a hometown crowd by Elton). Of my own solo career–ah, so many! Early career? Paradise Boston 1979 or Palladium in Hollywood, CA opening for the Ramones in 1979. Later, maybe Charlotte, NC in 2002. Very special! The last time my father saw me perform. Then there’s always Australia, Germany, Holland, France, Italy, England, Ireland, Scotland, and many shows for bereaved parents around the country. So many incredible experiences!
What was your worst gig?
Well, two. Worst audience: Wheeling, WV 1979 opening for Styx. Worst mishape: 1989 opening for Joe Cocker in Hollywood, FL- my pants disintegrating as I do a jump-split!
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
Too many to count.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
My guitars.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Honestly? Hope for the best (meaning: work your butt off practicing, learning, preparing, and creating your own opportunities) and expect the worst (meaning: You better have fun because anything can happen but chances are slim!)
What are you listening to at the moment? My friend Deborah Holland’s new album “Vancouver”. Also, Steve Earle’s new one, Avett Brothers, Civil Wars, Lumineers, Sirius Outlaw Country.
What was the best concert/musical performance you’ve attended?
You’re kidding, right? I’ve been ON stage with so many of my idols from Elton to Bonnie Raitt! It’s hard to get better than that vantage point. But I guess the FIRST concert I ever attended. The Rolling Stones VERY FIRST American apprearance in Lynn, MA in 1965. (And there’s a whole other story to that too!)
Chad Walls is a member of An Overnight Low and formerly of the disbanded The Frotus Caper. An Overnight Low plan to release a series of records starting in January 2014, each of which will be named after a UK train station. “Euston” will be released in January, “Piccadilly” in June, and “Waverley” in December. The material for the album was inspired by Walls’ time spent living and traveling in the UK, Ireland, and Europe while studying at the University of Manchester. To record the series, Walls enlisted the help of a number of Maine musicians and engineers (Mac Coldwell, Jonathan Wyman, Mark Rohman, Ryan Dolan, Chris White, Holly Nunan, Joe Boucher, John Nunan, and Steve Hodgkin). The band will play The Thirsty Pig on September 29th, 2013.
Chad in Liverpool
Where were you born? Biddeford, Maine
What brought you to Portland? I was founder and sole member of the Biddeford music scene. It was time to move on.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it? I’m an instructor at Southern Maine Community College.
What was your most memorable gig? The Frotus Caper played a lot of shows. A lack of moderation eventually burned us out. I remember at one particular gig we decided to play our original music in one continuous three-hour set. I don’t know what point we were trying to make by doing this, because I’m sure no one noticed and we all got really sick from working up a sweat on stage and loading out in the dead of winter. But man, you should have heard us. Playing one song that night was worth a year of rehearsing.
What was your worst gig? I caught this horrible cold once from playing a continuous three-hour set in the dead of winter. It seemed like a good idea at the time. The band broke up soon after.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician? I have a terrible singing voice so it’s inevitable that whenever I write a song, it will go through a number of interpretations before it’s committed to tape. I often bring lyrics and chord changes to a project and encourage my band mates to participate in the writing process. I’m pleased when folks say they can hear that camaraderie in our music. I hear that on R.E.M. records, especially Life’s Rich Pageant and New Adventures in Hi-Fi.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without? My plastic ukulele. I write and demo songs with it. It sounds cheap and never stays in tune so I’m seldom hopeful or excited about the noise it makes. My ukulele and I don’t sing very well, so it’s unlikely I’ll ever be bullied by the sound of a song in its initial stage.
Any advice for a musician starting out? Write and demo one song a week. Write a song about your commute to work. Write a song about holiday shopping. Write a song about a childhood memory. Sing and accompany these into a digital recorder. Compile, review, erase and revise.
What’s the origin behind your band name? An Overnight Low is based on an experience I had when I was delayed at Heathrow airport for nine hours and was facing another six on my overnight flight home for Christmas. I pulled out the pictures, videos, interviews I collected over the past year while studying at The University of Manchester. Over several cups of Costa coffee, I organized these scattered items in folders on my laptop while waiting for my flight. The year of distance provided an objectivity allowing me to stitch together unrelated moments into common themes. The collected events spoke with a new voice creating new stories. That’s what our first record Euston is all about.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure? I’ve got to come clean about something. I’ve always been jealous of my friends who spent their formative years listing to the right bands/artists: The Beatles, Elvis Costello, David Bowie, T. Rex, Joe Jackson, Neil Young, etc. I did own a copy of Magical Mystery Tour, but I was more inclined to listen to Double Platinum by KISS after a hard day in the 4th grade. So this is essentially a revised answer to Q6.
Sam Anderson is a Portland-based singer/songwriter/guitarist who has been playing in local bands since the early 1980s. He’s currently a member of Serious Rooms, along with Chris Plumstead, Mark McDonough, and John Nunan. Their debut CD, “Random Universe,” will be released on August 20th on Cornmeal Records.
Where were you born?
I was born in Mercy Hospital in Portland, ME on a Friday the 13th, 1959. Because of this, I’ve always considered Friday the 13th to be a lucky day. I hope that my parents feel the same way.
What keeps you in Portland? I love Portland. The city has a thriving music and arts scene, great restaurants, and a colorful history. It offers the benefits of city living, without the traffic jams. And when city life becomes a bit tedious, one is within easy driving distance of the ocean, various lakes, and several mountains. I have absolutely no desire to move elsewhere.
Of course, if you were to ask me again in February, I’d probably give you a different answer.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it? I have worked for Headlight Audio Visual in Portland for over 28 years. It’s scary to contemplate that I’ve been employed there for most of my life. I have coworkers who were not yet born when I was first hired.
What was your most memorable gig?
When I was in the 6th grade, my younger brother and I, along with some friends, played an acoustic concert for our entire elementary school. It was my first experience playing on a proper stage. The gig had been arranged by a couple of supportive teachers who had witnessed our musical skills first-hand. You see, my brother and I would occasionally bring our guitars to school, so we could play a few tunes during our lunch period. These impromptu performances led to a Friday afternoon assembly in the gym. As I recall, we received an impressive ovation from the students and faculty. Afterward, we shamelessly stood near the exit door so we could collect compliments from everyone as they left.
What was your worst gig?
A couple of years ago, my band and I played a gig on a weekday morning; it was a local corporate event. Far from being a featured act, we were hired to be, essentially, “window dressing”. Our five-piece band was crowded onto a 10’ x 10’ stairwell landing overlooking a cavernous registration area. From our cramped perch, we played our set to the busy, oblivious crowd below.
We didn’t get paid, either.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician? Although it sounds completely cliché, I’m forced to say that The Beatles have undoubtedly been my biggest influence. It was The Beatles who inspired me to start writing songs, and who first made me consider forming a band, all before the age of 12. Although, I’ve had other major influences along the way, including James Taylor, Brian Wilson, Ray Davies, Tom Petty, and Pete Townshend, The Beatles have always served as the ultimate yardstick. Hearing the White Album for the first time was a life-altering experience.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
That would have to be my Fender Telecaster, which I’ve nicknamed “Growler”. I purchased it used back in 2006. Originally made in Mexico, it has been upgraded over time to my chosen specifications. With its jumbo frets, Texas Special Pickups, and brass six-saddle bridge, it has a unique sound and plays like a dream.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Play because you love to do so. There is no better reason.
What’s the origin behind your band name? “Serious Rooms” was derived from a passage in Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. I was re-reading the book about a year and a half ago, and I came upon the following passage in the first chapter, describing Dean Moriarty’s wife, Marylou:
“…She was in an evil gray New York pad that she’d heard about back West, and waiting like a longbodied emaciated Modigliani surrealist woman in a serious room.”
I was instantly taken by the expression, “serious room”. To me, it evoked visions of a dull, static environment, the last place where one would expect to hear music. I felt that it would make a wonderfully ironic band name.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure? I’m a big fan of The Monkees. I know more about that band than any self-respecting person should. Their recording of Pleasant Valley Sunday is one of my all-time favorite records. If I’m driving, and a Monkees song comes on the radio, I feel compelled to sing along. Loudly.
Galen Richmond is the man behind the one-person, circuit-bending, and synth outfit known as Computer at Sea. He, along with fellow synthesizer enthusiasts Mr. NEET and Rotundo Sealeg, play Mayo Street Arts this Friday, May 31.
In June, Richmond will participate in a restaurant band competition, Food Fight. The band, tentatively known as Legimate Tigers, will also feature Zak Taillon from superorder and Leon Samson from Dirty White Hats.
Where were you born?
I was born in Strong, Maine. There used to be a birthing house in town where hippies would have their kids.
Why did you stay in Portland? I came to Portland sort of accidentally in the summer of 1998 and hadn’t meant to stay for a decade and a half, but there it is. Everybody says this all the time, but there’s such an amazing crop of artists, musicians, and other involved passionate people here. Just the bands alone is reason to get excited. Every three years there’s a completely new batch of fantastic bands making surprising music.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
Right now I’m tending bar at Boda, which has turned out to be a lovely situation. During the school year I study electrical engineering.
What was your most memorable gig?
The show that I think back most fondly on was the first time I played the Bent Festival in New York, which is a now defunct electronics festival focusing on circuit bent instruments and hacked technology. Ian Paige played with me on that one, because I was nervous about producing a live sound comparable to the demo that I submitted. It was a heavy scene; three or four of the guys who are absolute titans in the field were standing, arms folded scrutinizing my table and the instruments I built. The set went absolutely great, and it turned out those guys were actually really nice.
What was your worst gig?
Hands down the worst show I ever played was two winters ago at Geno’s, through no fault of the venue. I had accidentally got rather loaded before the show (Bookers- you know about this whiskey? horrifying) and nothing on my table was working. Some stuff legitimately broke, and there was a crucial power supply that I had left at my studio. If I were a bit more on the straight and narrow I probably could have powered through, but things being as they were, I had to pull the plug after maybe ten minutes. The next day I brought the worst hangover of my life to my grandmother’s funeral. Horrible.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
It’s hard to pin down one artist that’s been the most influential. Depending on the day, I’d say either Brian Eno or Eric Bachman from Archers of Loaf. As it’s rainy today, I’d say Brian Eno. “Another Green World” is just a perplexing and wonderful piece of music. I envy how still he can be.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
The only piece of equipment that I really couldn’t replace is my modified Casio Sk-1. It’s the first really big circuit bending project I completed and I use it for everything. Since I built it early on, the layout is really idiosyncratic but I’ve spent so much time with it that it feels natural to me. Computer at Sea would close up shop immediately if I lost that thing.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
For folks just starting out, I think it’s important to not sweat it about getting your stuff out to a huge market. Make something you want to hear and have fun doing it.
What’s the origin behind your name/band name?
The name Computer At Sea was actually pulled of an old stereo. I’ve never seen this setting since, but the particular stereo had a button next to the EQ settings that said computer at sea. I was initially saving the name for an album title for this band, The Enchantments, that I was playing with at the time but we sort of quietly dissolved, as bands will do.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
Number one guilty pleasure: Jesus Christ Superstar. For what ever reason, I know every word to every song.
Dan Capaldi is best known in Portland’s music scene as a drummer, having worked with Dean Ford, Shashasha, Joe Gallant, and others. In addition to his drumming, he can be seen playing a number of instruments for Spencer Albee, and working as producer for artists like Lady Zen, among others. His solo project, Sea Level, ranges from an sound to electronic/triphop and was featured in Big Band Syndrome Vol. 2.
Where were you born?
Springfield, Massachusetts, but grew up in Falmouth, Maine.
What keeps you in Portland?
Portland is not the easiest place to find steady employment when you’re a music composer. As an artist, most of Portland’s value comes down to it’s extensive network of musicians and artists most of which are unwilling to compromise their art for money. Most everyone plays nicely together and associates with each other because they want to be a part of something they believe in. Portland artists sacrifice so much in the name of genuine passion… What more could I ask for?
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
All music, baby.
What was your most memorable gig?
Unfortunately my goldfish-esque memory doesn’t allow me to dig too deeply into the past… but I’d have to say the sold out London show on the most recent tour with my UK band Soft Bullets last November was pretty awesome.
What was your worst gig?
Okay, all pickup bar gigs aside… it would have to be the first time I ever performed as Sea Level. In preparation for my actual first show at Atomic Trash’s “America the boobiful” 4th of July burlesque show, I was added to an event where performers were projected out of an apartment window into the streets of Portland. Apparently the crew didn’t get the memo that I was coming. Not only was I treated like a nuisance, no one bothered to put my guitar in the mix… Needless to say my debut was a cappella.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
So many to credit. Most obvious would be film composer Danny Elfman. Not to sound cliché, but possibly the biggest turning point in my life was when I first saw The Nightmare Before Christmas (when I was 21 or so). From that point, I developed an extreme drive to become a film composer as well as an intentionally theatrical stage persona. A beautiful sound has so much more potential to leave a lasting impression on the mind when connected to a beautiful visual (film, dance. album art…) or vice versa.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
Easily my Gretsch G6118t Anniversary Jr. guitar. I love it to a somewhat unhealthy extreme.
Any advice for a musician starting out? Okay… first of all, understand there are an infinite number of reasons why people make music, and that is a beautiful thing. Some gain pleasure and sense of accomplishment from the sheer craft of learning an instrument. Others experience emotion when performing for a crowd they don’t get a chance to experience anywhere else in their life. Some people can only identify true happiness as it results from digging something out of them they never knew was there. Some dudes want chicks. Some chicks want dudes. Some dudes want dudes… you get the point. DO NOT fall victim to pressure. DO NOT compromise your intentions, your morals or your values. DO NOT try to be something you’re not. Only you can do what you do. Even if you’re playing a cover song… if you’re genuine, it is YOUR SONG. Not to mention it’s probably no less original than most of the statistically influenced bull*#@$ coming out these days… Oh, and always bring a sleeping bag.
What’s the origin behind your name/band name? Sea Level has always had an aesthetic appeal. I was looking for something that was a nice mix of navy blue and lime green but could become a bit darker if necessary. I picture it existing within a fictional time of day that’s a perfect mix of noon and midnight. My original idea was “January Sunshine” which despite a similar color scheme was just a bit too bright for my liking. Sea Level spirals downward which I like, but also in a literal sense suggests a point separating two very different worlds. Most of my stories revolve around this concept.
This month, Peter Squires released his sophomore solo album “Where the Bunny Meets the Bear.” Whereas his solo debut, 2009’s “Woe is Me,” was acoustic, “Where the Bunny Meets the Bear” goes back to his electric roots. Both are available from Bandcamp, Amazon, iTunes, and many Bull Moose locations. When he’s not performing solo material, he can also be found as a member of The Farthest Forests and The Landladys (of Burst & Bloom Records).
Where were you born?
I was born in Manhattan, grew up on Long Island, and spent my early adulthood in Brooklyn. I moved to Maine when I was 29.
What brought you to Portland?
I actually live about 45 minutes South of Portland in Eliot (near the New Hampshire border). After spending a year on tour around the country in support of my first solo album (‘Woe is Me’, 2009), I landed for the Summer out on Star Island (off the coast of Portsmouth). When the Summer ended I didn’t want to go back to New York, but didn’t really have anywhere else to go…so I just stayed in Maine. I’m glad I did – I really like it here.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
Yes, I work in the Development Office at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, NH. It allows me to have a “grown-up” job while keeping close contact with the arts…and I get to see lots of great shows for free!
What was your most memorable gig?
My most memorable gig was in Jackson, Mississippi. I was on that national tour, and had a gap in my schedule between Austin, TX and Atlanta, GA. Just looking for a place to stay, I turned to the website couchsurfing.org. I got through to a couch surfing host named Lizzie Wright, who not only agreed to put me up for the night, but also booked a last minute show in her house. Lizzie herself is a great musician, who I ended up doing another short tour with a few months later. Probably 40 or 50 people ended up coming to her house for that show, and they were the most supportive, excited crowd I could have ever asked for. It wasn’t the most prestigious or best-paying show I’ve ever played, but the circumstances of the show and the way it turned out definitely made it the most memorable.
What was your worst gig?
My worst gig ever was in Philadelphia. There actually was no gig, because literally zero people came. I didn’t know that was mathematically possible, but it happened.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
In my formative years, my favorite bands were Nirvana, the Pixies, and Weezer, and later Neutral Milk Hotel definitely got added to that list. You can definitely hear those influences in my music now – but as I came to identify more as a singer-songwriter (as opposed to just a band member) I came to identify a lot with Billy Bragg. I just think he’s the coolest. I share a lot of his political beliefs, but I don’t sing about them like he does. Still, I like his style – a punk rock troubador who can play loud or soft and is not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve. I also really love Willie Nelson and think there are a lot of similarities between him and me, but on the surface we’re pretty different (in terms of genre and aesthetics).
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
I guess it’s cliche to say my acoustic guitar, but that’s definitely it. It’s just the most versatile. You can play it by yourself or with others, and take it anywhere. That said, lately I’ve been really leaning on my ZVEX “Box of Rock” distortion pedal and my Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail reverb pedal.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
I guess it’s strange advice coming from me, because it’s not advice I’ve really heeded well myself – but my advice is to be great live. Putting on a well-rehearsed, perfectly executed, and fun to watch live show is the #1 thing that will get people to buy your CD, tell their friends about you, and feel like a fan. A great album is important, but the odds are slim that the people you want to hear it will get it in their hands. A great live show is the doorway to anyone’s heart.
What’s the origin behind your band name?
It’s my name. This project is me. The album title is a reference to the lyrics in my song Two Bunnies, in which two bunnies carry Mama Bear’s soul away. There are lots of references to Heaven in the album, but I’m not religious. It’s more about thinking about where you’ve been and where you’re going, with the belief that there are brighter days ahead.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
“I Want it That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. It’s the ace up my sleeve at all sing-alongs, and ocassionally even at shows. When I play it, I think people assume I’m being ironic. I’m not – I truly love that song.
Where were you born?
In a small village close to Porto Velho in Rhondonia, Brazil, South America. My genetics come from generations of the Amazonian Indians. My ancestors have roamed the land, for centuries, that is currently being deforested. My father was half African from Salvador, Bahia. Due to misfortune and poverty I was placed in an orphanage at 11 months old for a while before I was adopted by an American family in the 1970s. I grew up in Northwest Arkansas.
What brought you to Portland?
I had been dating an Osteopathic OBGYN for nearly a decade who was placed here in Portland for an internship with Maine Med. We came here with the intention of only being here for one year. I stayed. She did not.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
When I moved here initially I worked as a catering chef. Then I became a field organizer with Equality Maine for a few months on first Marriage Equality campaign that was overturned. One of my favorite and most long lasting jobs here in Portland was with OTTO pizza. I love those guys! And I am still addicted to that damn pizza! I am currently a full time grad student at USM Stonecoast MFA program and a marketing intern for the Portland’s Downtown District. Currently, I am composing and writing high end commissions and only making special private performances before I will be leaving for Amsterdam in August.
What was your most memorable gig?
This is a hard one… I guess it would have had to have been when I did my first ‘big’ gig here in Portland, a Clash, covering Aretha Franklin. But honestly; working and performing with the level of talent in this town, there has never been a gig I have regretted. Especially, because when it comes to being greeted by such loyal live music supporters–every show the best and keeps me coming back to the open arms of the stages here in Portland. I remember every gig fondly and every minute has been the most exciting and the most memorable. I do however really wish that ONE of the TWO times I have had opportunity to sing for President Obama would have worked out. Oh well, THREE is the charm, right?
What was your worst gig?
Oh gosh, dare I say. Sigh… ok, I suppose I could say this without mentioning names directly, as this could open a whole can of crap I don’t want open again. I have had only ONE unbelievably difficulty show in this town with a particular well-seasoned, ‘new’ venue owner, who embarrassed me beyond any resolve and continues to be a thorn in my paw. Unfortunately, I allowed it to happen twice, after swearing I would never work with this person again; I chose to give it another go after a warm invitation from the venue owner. But I found it worse than the time previous. Throughout the planning stages, the owner sent harassing emails and was verbally abusive while holding some personal information emotional hostage at the whim of their outbursts. The gig was micro-managed and details of the show were used to pit me against others involved with the show—that we managed to untangle easily because the musicians in this town know who to communicate with one another in professional manner. The owner actually grabbed my arm before heading I headed into the venue, just before getting on stage, and told me to get keep it together and not to tell anyone about what was happening behind the scenes or they would ruin me. I did the gig with a smile, with all pose and charm to the upmost professional behavior of Lady Zen. But inside I felt horrible deep to the core and unsafe. I was never compensated for my work, however I did received an email thanking me for my participation and that the owner said they were going to send some form of compensation to me for my co-operation. I have to date never received any such thing and I probably never will. But a Lady never tells, right? But this was absolutely worst gig I have ever had in this town. And it was the last.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
Billie Holiday, Pablo Neruda, William Carlos Williams, Chaka Khan, Donnie Hathaway, Lavern Baker, Dakota Stanton, Aristotle, Picasso, The Coen Brothers. Gil Scott –Heron…oh, my, there are so many brilliant talents in this world that bringing me such wonder and spark my imagination and creativity. Some have no formal titles or recognition but none the less have influenced my work.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
One piece….hmm. Well I guess that would have to be my instrument. My Voice.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Oh honey, haters will hate. Stand your ground. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. If you are gonna go for it—go for it with all your might. All those who we creative are incredibly sensitive so remember we all act out at our most vulnerable. It will break your heart when things go wrong and things will go wrong, but be willing to have your heart broken. You are a resilient and beautiful being. You will find your audience. Everyone does if they work hard enough. NO one will ever be able to direct your art but you can surround yourself with other people who appreciate it and are genuine and gentle with constructive criticism. None of us ever really feel like we belong. Sometimes it is hard to stick with it. But you were born to do this…accept that you are a creative type.
What’s the origin behind your name?
Lady Zen? It is the middle part of my name: Al- ZEN-ira. I took this as an abbreviation of that name when I began DJ-in with years ago. I was DJ Miszen, cause I was what was ‘missing’ from the scene. Then someone said to me, “You are a Lady, you ain’t no Miss” and it stuck. Lady Zen has been around a lot longer than ‘Lady’ Gaga though! No mistaking that!
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
Hahaha, ok well, I listen to just about every genera of music there is but occasionally I will binge on new wave 80s Electropop.
Spencer Albee is a former member of The Rustic Overtones and leader of the bands As Fast As, Rocktopus, Space Versus Speed, and Spencer and the School Spirit Mafia. Though he previously helmed a solo project under the monicker The Popsicko, he’ll be releasing a solo project using his own name later this year. Spencer is releasing previews of tracks via his Pledge Music page, where the project was successfully crowd-funded in the fall of last year.
Spencer Albee, photo by Martha Bunker
Where were you born? Wentworth Douglas Hospital, Dover, NH. I grew up in York, ME.
What keeps you in Portland?
I’ve always been a sucker for a hard luck case. I’ve been fortunate to have seen the majority of America and to have visited many of it’s finest cities. I even lived in the other Portland for a time before returning to Portland, ME. There’s something about the Maine sensibility that keeps me here. I think it’s Mainer’s unwillingness to suffer fools gladly and our lackluster reaction to grandstanding that makes us special. I also think Mainers have a lot of heart. I think it’s the constant state of potential that, as frustrating as it can be, keeps me interested in Portland. Plus there is nothing more beautiful than summer in Maine.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
I promote events like my own original shows, Annual Beatles Night and Clash of the Titans. I also tend bar part time at Sonny’s.
What was your most memorable gig?
A few years ago, my former band AS FAST AS played their last “real” gig together opening for John Fogerty (of Creedence Clearwater Revival) on the Maine State Pier. Not only was the crowd incredibly gracious and kind, but after the show the local crew wouldn’t allow us to touch our gear. They carried all of our equipment off stage and packed it all up for us. It was the highest form of respect you could get from some of the hardest working people in the business. It really moved me.
What was your worst gig?
Same band. We were on a much deserved break after endless cross country touring. I was in my boxer shorts making a fish chowder (and trying to maintain a relationship back home) when I got the call that I would be flying out of Portland, OR the next morning to meet the fellas (having been torn from the pool side and driving from LA) in Albequerque, NM. We continued on towards Amarillo, TX where we were to “showcase” for Anderson Distributors who supplied music to the nation’s Wal Marts. As fate would have it, we hit black ice at 85 mph at 3:00 in the morning and went off the road. After being hassled by Texas’ finest, we waited in terror for AAA for 3 hours on the side of the road while tractor-trailers and cars whipped by on the now ice covered roads. Finally they arrived and towed us to our hotel where we quickly showered and headed to a business park somewhere in Amarillo. It’s now 8:00 in the morning, we have been traveling since 5:00 the previous day without sleep. We loaded in to a conference room and played our brand of indie pop acoustically for a 5 person panel of disinterested looking executives all of whom could easily have worked for a refrigerator parts company. Defeated, we were taken to a pancake house, fed, and then dropped off at our hotel to begin the process of repairing our van that had flown off the road. It was one of those moments where I said to myself, “this is not what I signed up for.” The only redeeming part of the trip was when we got to hang out with the local mechanics that got us back on the road. If you’re ever broken down in Amarillo, got see Sugar Bear’s. They’ll set you straight.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
It’s almost redundant for me to say Paul McCartney and The Beatles. With that out of the way I can list Jeff Lynne, The Kinks, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Beck, Tom Petty, David Bowie and Philip Glass and huge influences. To cite specific (non Beatle related) records I would choose “The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society”, “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”, “Who’s Next”, “Modern Guilt”, “Full Moon Fever”, “OK Computer” and “Glassworks” as my favorites.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
My 1976 Gibson J45/50 acoustic guitar. Even though I’m a keyboard player, that guitar and I have a great relationship.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Start back, unless you’re ready to struggle with poverty, frustration and multiple brushes with addiction and death. This line of work is not for the feint of heart. Also, please learn how to sing and play your instruments. The world is overrun by people who claim to be musicians and hide behind their lack of craftsmanship and discipline under the guise of being “AMAZING”. Barf. As Phil Hartman once said while impersonating Frank Sinatra “I’ve got chunks of guys like you in my stool.”
What’s the origin behind your name/band name?
My parents chose it for me when I was born.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
I don’t have any musical guilty pleasures. I am a nerd and like what I like without guilt, shame, irony or apology. Movies however are a different story. Shitty Action/Adventure/Sci Fi movies. I know I should be watching Kubrick or Hitchcock, but sometimes “Deep Impact” or “The Day After Tomorrow” is just what the doctor ordered. It’s absolutely shameful, but I figure that otherwise I have a steady diet of great music and film, I just need some junk food once in a while.
Spose is a 26-year-old, Wells-based rapper whose single, “I’m Awesome,” went Gold, peaking at 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and 36 on the US Mainstream Top 40. Later this year he’ll release two new projects for free – the album “Peter Sparker,” and “Dankonia,” a mixtape set to Outkast instrumentals. Both projects will be funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over $28,000. Continue reading →
Where were you born?
On an army base outside of Seoul, Korea.
What brought you to Portland/Maine?
My friends Nathan Halverson and Kate Adams were living in Lewiston because Kate was teaching at Bates. I was living in Oakland, missed the east coast but didn’t want to go back to Baltimore. They thought I’d like Portland, and couldn’t have been more right.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
Yes, art director at Kemp Goldberg Partners. I’ve always balanced visual and audio work.
What was your most memorable gig?
This is a hard question, Stephen. The Honey Clouds “Cover The Forest” CD release at Space was probably my favorite show with those guys. We covered .38 Special’s “Hold On Loosely” and I remember being pretty happy with the guitar solo afterwards.More recently An Anderson played The Waldo’s final (?) show at Poland St, which was also super fun mostly because they’re one of my favorite local bands and the few people who were there had braved a blizzard for it.
What was your worst gig?
They’re all kind of weird to me in their own way. I used to have terrible stage fright, so the days before would be sort of preoccupying, usually culminating with some kind of physical sickness right before the show. I like to think I’ve relaxed into the process a bit.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
Although I don’t make music that sounds anything like his stuff, Dean Wareham and Galaxie 500 were a huge influence for me. Despite being sort of quiet and pretty, their records to me always felt kind of urgent to me. I walked past security backstage after a Luna set at the old 9:30 Club to have him sign his first solo 45. Both he and the band were gracious and unfazed at my fanboy stalking.
Other bands/musicians whose records I never (truly never) get tired of and can listen to every day include: The Verlaines, Bert Jansch, Anne Briggs, Big Star, US Maple, The Kinks, Bill Evans, Elmo Hope, Atlas Sound/Deerhunter, The Nation of Ulysses, etc..
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
Gear is gear I think. You can be as tweaky as you want or are allowed to be (and I’m certainly guilty) but when it comes down to it you can make great music using whatever. That said I love my Echoplex EP3, an old tape delay. I got it because of the crazy sounds on Miles Davis’ Jack Johnson Sessions. Also I like Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups for most any guitar.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Be nice. I’m sure there are those that would argue this point, but I believe in the adage that you see the same people on the way up as on the way down. Or from side to side as the case may be. Also, relax and enjoy the process. Don’t let it become too much like work. Be open, playing with other musicians is always a compromise but you’ll come out of it with something you’d never be able to create on your own.
What’s the origin behind your band name?
An Anderson were invited to play at the Bunker/Tandem Christmas party but we didn’t have a name. We had a pretty big list going, and almost chose “Pants Mountain” but then Evan Parker said it sounded like a boner so we just used the name of the street we were playing on.
I named Peapod after the boat.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
I truly listen to everything, completely guilt-free. If you mean categorically “Embarrassing” music I might enjoy, I’m on board with the yacht rock genre (especially Gerry Rafferty and the Michael McDonald related stuff). I also listen to 99.9 The Wolf a fair amount. And everyone knows about my love for Jazz 105.1. They call it our community jazz station, but I know it as my eternal quiet storm. Anita Baker, Sade, Gregory Abbott, Billy Ocean. The best car listening. Join the facebook fan page I setup.
Leif Sherman Curtis has been a member of Portland’s AoK Suicide Forest, The Coalsack in Crux, Moneycastasia, Olas, and more. Leif is also the creator and organizer of Portland’s 48 Hour Music Festival. For the event, local musicians from different bands and genres gather, toss their names into a proverbial hat, and five or six new bands are created. After the bands are formed, the musicians write and rehearse all of the material to be performed at the festival and select a name. Oh, and all of this happens over a 48 hour period! Many acts choose to record their songs, which are released later in the year on the 48HMF Bandcamp page. This year’s event happens on Saturday 2/23 at SPACE Gallery and features members of Endless Jags, Mouth Washington, Contrpossto, Sunset Hearts, ex-Whip Hands, Rural Ghosts, Forget Forget, and more.
Leif Sherman Curtis
10Qs
Where were you born?
Portland Maine!
What keeps you in Portland?
What can I say, I’m fond of purgatory.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
I’m a bartender.
What was your most memorable gig?
Conifer live at Sacred and Profane, Peaks Island 2011. We played in a field next to one of the retired war forts: Battery Steele. The drums reflected perfectly off the outside cement walls creating the effect of another drummer playing with us. The sun was setting, and a giant bonfire was lit. A couple hundred people gathered around us to feel the wall of noise. The bushes behind us were swaying wildly in the wind. Sparrows would suddenly burst out of them and fill the twilight sky along with the floating cinders from the fire. It was like a spell was cast, and we were part of it… ask anyone that was there.
What was your worst gig?
Red Lion, Eureka California, AoK Suicide Forest tour 2010. I was egged by some redneck driving by in his pick up truck before the gig. I washed yolk out of my hair in the dirty bathroom sink and then jumped onstage to perform music to the bartender. Empty room.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
1976 Fender Pro Reverb.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Listen to everything. Write your own music.
What’s the origin behind your band name?
‘The Coalsack in Crux’ is a dark nebula visible inside the Crux constellation.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
Lee Hazlewood with Nancy Sinatra
48 Hour Music Festival 5 Poster by Kris Johnsen
Bonus Questions
How did you come up with this idea?
It started as a conversation with my friend Dave Camlin. It was one of those ‘what if’ hypothetical sort of conversations that I decided to actually bring to life. Dave, who is a professional filmmaker, ended up filming a full length documentary movie about the first festival.
What’s your favorite part of the festival?
Hearing that people continue to collaborate with one another after the festival is over.
What’s been the biggest surprise?
Tom Mahoney
How long do you anticipate this project continuing?
As long as people are interested in writing new songs and making new friends.
Any bands that are personal favorites from over the years?
Opera Jones (featuring Lady Zen, Sam James, and more), Sister Rita (Caleb Coulthard, Gary Meres, Casey McCurry), Ways of Man (Jesse Hautala, Chriss Sutherland, Zack Howard)… but there have really been so many amazing acts over the last four years. Listen for yourself: 48hourmusicfestival.bandcamp.com
Tyler Jackson, has many things in common with Oscar Romero, most notably they’re both members of Foam Castles and Endless Jags. Tyler leads Foam Castles, who are currently working on a new album, “Through That Door,” which is hoped to be released at the end of the summer. The band is working with Chris Cambra of Teenarena Records to record and mix the album who will also be releasing a vinyl version of Foam Castle’s “Bonanza” (Teenarena also will also have releases from Metal Feathers and Brenda and recently released a Daniel Johnston 10″). Endless Jags is busy writing a full length followup their recent EP, which is slated to be recoded in Boston this March.
Where were you born?
Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Maine
What keeps you in Portland?
Portland is a good place to live. It looks great and feels great 75% of the time. Sort of a microcosm of a big big music city. If it’s a thing in the world, someone’s probably doing it here. Lots of really good and cool stuff, some pretty frustrating shit too. It can be a real bummer one day and super inspirational and exciting the next. Most everyone’s pretty nice, too, even if you’re into completely different stuff. Lots of artists and restaurants and all that good shit.”
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
I’m a cashier at a grocery store at the moment.
What was your most memorable gig?
The Endless Jags CD release show a few weeks ago was probably the most successful show I’ve been a part of, attendance and fun-wise. The boat shows were great. Some really fun house parties. Some really bad ones too!
What was your worst gig?
At a house in Brunswick. Sorry everyone.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
It changes with time, but John Cale has influenced me the most over the past four years or so. Everything he does makes sense to me. Robert Pollard, Dan Bejar, Eno, Bowie, Dylan, Scott Walker.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
Guitar! It’s how I write songs and play rock music. I want a new one. Considering trading my Telecaster for a Stratocaster.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Recording matters more than anything. Write shit loads of songs and work on them all the time. I can’t really top Oscar’s advice.
What’s the origin behind your name/band name?
“Just words we thought sounded good together. Ritu and I came up with it when the project started back in 2007. I think we were on a bus. Later I heard that masses of foam floating down a river are sometimes referred to as foam castles. Google alerts also informed me that a piece of an electronic drum set, the little block that connects the trigger to the head (I think), sometimes they’re called foam castles, or Devo hats. Coincidental, but kind of funny. Endless Jags, same deal, words that sounded good together to us. Choosing a name with 5 other people is a difficult thing to do, it’s a miracle we have one at all.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
I don’t get embarrassed about taste. Nobody should care! You like what you like. Even if it sucks, you still might like it. Mostly I’ll just surprise myself. Been into the Eagles a little bit lately after hating them passionately my entire life. Cells regenerating or something, doesn’t matter.
Starting in January 2012, A Severe Joy released his first in a series of ten mono singles. The sleeves were designed by our very own Stephen Quirk. The format for the singles is a bit unique… each 10″ disc is made from plexi-glass and lathe cut by Various Artists Records in Kittery, Maine. The project presented a challenge since the singles would be released once every one to two months and then compiled into two 10-track CDs with stereo versions of the songs. As of this entry, five singles have been released, as has the first of the two albums (Cinematesque Part I). The process started by coming up with an initial design and then altering it slightly over time using images inspired by the images from the songs. The result is akin to wallpaper or wrapping paper with machines, helicopters, hand grenades, summertime imagery, and UFOs. Keep an eye out for the next five singles, which will be released over throughout 2013.
Do you like Maine music AND karaoke? Factory Portland will be offering Maine Music Karaoke as part of The Portland Music Foundation’s Strike A Chord: A Music Discovery Funhouse. Other booths will feature an instrument petting zoo, design your own screen-printed poster, a local music listening station, and a photobooth. The event is free event and runs 12 to 6pm on Saturday, January 26th.
Sontiago, Spouse, A Severe Joy, Foam Castles, and Sunset Hearts have graciously donated instrumental versions of some of their tracks for karaoke. A Severe Joy has even provided a couple covers of classic karaoke songs. Check back soon, we may have a couple more tracks to announce!
Rebecca Minnick at a fundraiser she organized for Kentucky Tornado victims in 2012. Photo by Stephen Quirk of Factory Portland
Rebecca Minnick has been performing in Portland for about ten years. She helped found the Barn Swallows, a bluegrass band in which she plays guitar and sings, in early 2011, as a recording project for the RPM challenge. Since then the Barn Swallows have been performing all over Greater Portland at clubs, festivals, and private events. Rebecca also plays guitar, keys, and backing vocals in An Evening With, who are currently recording an album. The Barn Swallows are playing at Blue on Jan. 10, kicking off a monthly event featuring a set of their music, followed by a bluegrass jam (2nd Thursdays, 7 PM).
What brought you to Portland/Maine?
I came here many years ago for a seasonal job. I fell in love with the coast, and kept coming back. Eventually I stayed.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
I teach PE and direct an afterschool program.
What was your most memorable gig?
Certainly the gigs with the big, wonderful crowds stand out, and the Derby Day parties, but for me, the most memorable things are the moments of connection, when the music moves someone. I’ve sung at weddings and funerals. It’s beautiful that my music is bringing comfort to people in times of great sadness, and yet, it’s pretty intense. I once was told, after someone heard me on the radio, that he heard me singing and knew everything was going to be all right. And there was the time I was busking at the Farmer’s Market and a homeless man put a dollar in my guitar case. He said our music brightened his week.
What was your worst gig?
I don’t want to call out specific venues, but definitely the one where the sound guy didn’t show up so they had the door guy run the sound board. The sound was horrific and my mic was falling over and he was too busy on his iPhone (presumably Googling how to run a sound board) to notice. I was almost on my knees singing into the mic by the end of the song. I also had a pizza peel fall on me while I was playing once. Glamorous! Music is so glamorous!
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
The musicians who have most shaped what I am doing are Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings. Her songwriting, her voice, the harmonies, Dave’s picking, everything is so simple and organic, and yet spot on perfect when put all together. Her songs sound like they were written 60 years ago, and her imagery–I just get so frustrated that I didn’t write it. I remember the first time I heard her on NHPR and thought, “This is the music I have been looking for.” I’ve always been very drawn to Peter Buck’s jangly guitar sound of early R.E.M..
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
Without a doubt my acoustic guitar. I got it a little over a year ago, it’s a beautiful D-18 style made by local luthier Scott Conley. I’ve known Scott for 15 years, and I’ve wanted one of his guitars for just as long. It fits my body so perfectly that I really don’t ever want to play anything else. It has such lovely tone.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
You just gotta do it. I don’t really love playing solo, and for years was trying to find a band. I just finally started playing in coffee shops by myself, and it was a little lonesome, but I guess it had to happen. Surround yourself with musicians. And don’t listen to anyone, ever, who tells you that you shouldn’t or can’t.
What’s the origin behind your name/band name?
Much of the music I write and the songs I am moved by are about leaving and missing Kentucky (I mean, that’s like half of bluegrass). Birds obviously symbolize migration and returning home, but I had been reading that many cultures use swallows in particular to symbolize this. Well, I’m a nature nerd, and barn swallows are among my favorite birds. Plus, I thought it had a nice ring. As far as An Evening With, I am the greenest member of that band, so you’d have to ask Jeremy.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
Air Supply. I got rid of the greatest hits CD once in an attempt to seem cool for a dude, and man do I regret it. I shoulda kept the CD.
From Left: Paul Buckley, John Sulkow, Aaron Perrino and Will Claflin (Not Pictured Brian Charles) // Photo Credit: Aaron Perrino.
Will Claflin, a Maine resident, is guitarist for Boston’s Dear Leader. The band is the brainchild of former The Sheila Divine frontman Aaron Perrino. They’ll be performing at Empire Dine & Dance in Portland on Thursday December 6th, 2012 with The Chums. [Buy Tix]
Where were you born?
Boston MA, but I actually grew up summers in Biddeford Pool, Maine.
What brought you to Maine?
My Grandfather. My sisters and I own our family house in Biddeford Pool. The way of life, the food in Portland, and the Maine seas [have kept me here].
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
Jon (the bassist) has a company called PROD4 EVER, a web company in Boston. We make sites for Paul McCartney, The Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan, Alicia Keys, Wilco etc.. I’m the project manager and run video production and audio editing.
What was your most memorable gig?
A few years back we were signed to a Belgian record label. We opened for Iggy pop at an amazing outdoor festival and played in front of 10,000 cheering Belgians. The night before, they had lost our luggage and we played with borrowed gear in a coffee shop – we were exhausted and drunk and we destroyed the place just playing on fumes. Those two gigs back-to-back count as one gig in my mind as they felt like they were hours and worlds apart.
What was your worst gig?
Probably a gig in Northampton… I had the flu and it was the only gig where I could remember there being a very few people there. We were also doing a few new tunes and it just kind of fell flat. I hope the gig this Thursday at Empire doesn’t parallel that one!
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
R.E.M.’s Life’s Rich Pageant. So much of my picking style is ripped off directly from Peter Buck. It just hit me at a very influential time when I was 14 and playing guitar non-stop.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
I have a pink delay pedal that Paul Kolderie (Pixies, Hole, Radiohead, Bosstones) introduced me to. It’s an Ibanez AD9. LOVE this thing.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Don’t do it. Play constantly, and if it isn’t working out by 25, get a day job.
What’s the origin behind your name/band name?
It’s what North Koreans call the recently departed Kim Jong Ill, you would have to ask Aaron the meaning behind the rest. I always assumed there were political undertones to it.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
It certainly isn’t Coldplay. I’ve been trying to get into the super pop stuff. I feel so out of touch with it that I started listening to Kiss 108FM in the car. i honestly still couldn’t pick Nicki Minaj out of a police line up but… give me a few weeks.
Sontiago performing in 2010 at Hog Farm Annex (now known as The Oak + The Ax) in Biddeford, ME // Photo by Stephen Quirk of Factory Portland
Sontiago (aka Sonya Tomlinson) has been performing in Maine since 2001, after relocating to the state in 1999. Her debut album “Abuse My Adoration” was released in 2004 and her sophomore release “Steel Yourself” would lead to a number six spot on the CMJ hip-hop charts, URB’s Next 100 list, and on the pages of Bust Magazine. The video for her new single ‘Muscle Car’, which was directed by David Meiklejohn of Portland’s Budget Fabulous Films, features a cast of Portland regulars.
Where were you born?
East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
What brought you to Portland?
My big sister.
Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
I am the Grants and Outreach Manager at the Maine Women’s Fund and I am on the event staff at Space Gallery.
What was your most memorable gig?
Playing in the chapel at Long Creek Detention Center for incarcerated youth or opening for Atmosphere in 2001 at the Skinny.
What was your worst gig?
The one in my dream the other night where I played a show at Buckdancer’s Choice that I forgot I committed to and showed up unprepared and unrehearsed for and forgot all my words. It woke me up with anxiety.
What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
Not their recent stuff as much, but I would have to say overall, Atmosphere. At the time I got into Atmosphere I was really heavy into making music and Slug’s content and delivery and Ant’s production were ideal.
What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
Boss digital 8-track and a microphone.
Any advice for a musician starting out?
Commit.
What’s the origin behind your name?
I was in a group in North Carolina and my bandmate Anthony came up with it. It’s a hybrid of an abbreviation of my first name and first initial of my last name.
What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
I have the hots for Adam Levine of Maroon 5- does that count?
Casey McCurry of Sunset Hearts at KahBang 2012. Photo by Stephen Quirk/Factory Portland
Sunset Hearts formed after performing as Talking Heads at a Clash of the Titans event and features a number of former members of Portland’s Satellite Lot. “Haunted Clouds,” their debut album, was released in the fall of 2011 and the EP “Deco Tech” in the summer of 2012. A new EP is in the works and slated to be released this fall. The band will also be performing throughout the remainder of 2012 and are working on several music videos.
Q: Where were you born?
A: I was born here in elegant, sunlit Portland.
Q: Why did you stay in Portland/Maine?
A: My attention and daydreams have often strayed from Portland, but this is where my body has remained. I like it here! It’s a tiny village with sea breezes, and after a thirty-minute walk you abruptly find yourself in Twin Peaks.
Q: Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
No, I’m a student right now. Which pleasantly fills my time. And it helps me temper my ruinous flailings in the music world. It’s about to end, though… I’ll go back to pouring espresso and writing lyrics on the clock.
Q: What was your most memorable gig? A: I suppose it’s a tie between the recent Hot August Night on a Boat show and one of our first shows, at the defunct DIY venue Apohadion. At the boat show we were able to play just as the sun was setting… the colors were beautiful, and strange. Though the sound wasn’t that great, and the motion of the boat really hurt some of our attempts at maintaining solid rhythm, it was pretty magical! The other show I mentioned was just a great stars-aligning kind of moment. I have a strong revulsion for astrology, but something kind of bewildering happened that night. It was, I believe, our second show ever, and tons and tons of people showed up to this little DIY art space. The PA system was rudimentary, but the shape of the room, and how it was filled with people, somehow soaked up all the bad sound and left only the sweet spots. Now that I think of it, all of our favorite shows have been at DIY spaces that are packed with people. It’s a trend.
Q: What was your worst gig?
A: Hmm, I’ve got to choose my words carefully I guess. I guess I can say that the worst gig we played was a benefit last year that kind of spiraled out of control. But that doesn’t count, I suppose, because we never ended up actually performing. I’ll let that one sit. It’s a strange thing to be asked about because you find yourself within the tempest of dramatic booking scenarios if you openly criticize a venue or their staff. There a couple that stand out, but really I should slink away from this question.
Q: What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician? A: Can I say it’s a four-way stalemate? “Songs of Love and Hate” by Leonard Cohen for lyrics, “Blade Runner” by Vangelis for texture, “Rhythm of the Saints” by Paul Simon for melody and “Daydream Nation” by Sonic Youth for energy. Is that a cop out? Hmm. And if you make me pin the ribbon on just one artist, the winner would be Morrissey. He makes all the others look drab.
Q: What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
A: Max Heinz (drummer for Sunset Hearts)? Hmm. I’m a closet gear guy, I don’t like to talk about it that much. For live shows, I have a really over-the-top-expensive vocal processor that I use for reverb and delay. It’s so expensive that if I told you how much it cost it would be majorly embarrassing. Maybe I can say my mid-90’s Japanese-issued Fender Jaguar. It’s better than any American Jaguar, indestructible, built of the heaviest materials… and I don’t like the sound of any other guitar. I’ve had it since I was sixteen and it’s been on every recording I’ve ever made. Things I’ve recently picked up that are inspiring me most right now are a Roland Juno 60 and a Nord Wave synth.
Q: Any advice for a musician starting out?
Am I qualified to dispense advice? Don’t play a show just because your parents told you that the Beatles played in Hamburg every night of the week and “that’s how they got good.” That’s not necessarily true, and it doesn’t have to be true for you. Only play shows that are curated properly, with lineups that your fledgling audience will actually want to see. Start creating relationships and try to con venues into letting you make every show an event. If they don’t bite, don’t take the show. Make every show a lofty ambition. Don’t troll bands you’re friends with by leaving the venue with all your friends after your set. You just ruined their night. Next time you play with them they will blow you off the stage and split. Don’t troll your audience by making them vote for you in an online poll (which are essentially elaborate click-jacking schemes and matter little to whatever extant remains of an industry endure in 2012).
Maybe this is all bad advice. I’m horrible about this stuff. Your art is a brand, whether you’re a country band making inroads on the corporate luncheon circuit or you’re a hip hop collective that met at an Occupy rally… Before every band decision you make, ask yourself, “does this threaten the brand?” No one is too cool to do this I think. You can bet your ass this is how all aesthetically successful bands operate. It’s serious. If you play a show at an airport, your meager empire could crumble. But music is all a con. Just have fun and try to write good lyrics, right?
Q: What’s the origin behind your name/band name?
A: I wanted a name that kind of conjured the feeling of last chances. Being away from the process of writing albums for awhile made me realize that I would be happy to give it one more shot, and so the band decided that having a sappy sounding name like Sunset Hearts could be appropriate. I ended up not liking the name much because the music is a lot more experimental and aggressive than I would have initially guessed… so it doesn’t seem to fit as much. But I’m overjoyed that we found something symmetrical. Makes designing posters so much easier, you know.
Q: What’s your musical guilty pleasure? A: Darkthrone’s “A Blaze in the Northern Sky.” “Grafitti Bridge.” “Failure,” by Swans, because I feel guilty as fuck every time I put it on. “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” the greatest pop single ever released. “The Winner Takes it All,” by ABBA. I don’t know. “Still Pimpin’ (on a Bitch),” by David Banner. John Denver’s “The Eagle and the Hawk.” The new Beach House and Frank Ocean records… because every time I throw them on, whomever I’m with is probably thinking to themselves, “AGAIN?” And that makes me feel guilty.
Back in August we introduced Factory Portland’s first music video. The video is for A Severe Joy’s single “(Who Doesn’t Have a) Boyfriend (?)” and was directed by Factory Portland creator Stephen Quirk. The video was shown as part of the 2012 Portland Maine Film Festival.
A New England fixture and polarizing national figure of underground hiphop, BRZOWSKI is in post-production for his third compilation of rare/out-of-print tracks entitled Blooddrive Vol. 3, due out on Milled Pavement Records this October. June saw the US release of his hyper-political collaboration w/ Monsieur Sai -” Songs For Marty”. Milled Pavement Records celebrates their 50th release at Space Gallery in Portland, ME on Aug. 17, after which BRZOWSKI will take to the road (again) supporting erstwhile Mainer Sole for a brief east coast jaunt. In addition to rapping and performing, BRZOWSKI has been promoting, spreading, and supporting Maine music since 2001. You can check him out at:
Q: Where were you born?
A: I was born in Providence, RI.
Q: What brought you to Portland?
A: I initially came to Portland as a student to finish out a degree in Painting/Art History in 2001, and have only left (Portland) to tour and travel since.
Q: Do you have a day job, and if so, what is it?
A: I have several hustles going at all times to make ends meet. I work at 2 major cultural institutions in Portland, both of which I love, and I’ll leave it at that. My musician persona, my visual artist identity, and my “normal-guy-paying-bills” are all separate entities, and I vastly prefer it that way. I seldom speak of one in the context/surroundings of another.
Q: What’s the origin behind your name?
A: My grandmother was a professional wrestler many years ago, and her stage name was “Bobo Brzozowski” in homage to her future husband. She was always vastly supportive of my involvement in the arts, and a few years after she passed, i took the handle of my own, subtracting a couple letters to make my name more easily pronounced for non-Polish folks. It has still been screwed up, misprinted, mispronounced, and mangled in every way imaginable over the past 13 years. BRZOWSKI: “Brzzzz-owww-skeee”.
Q: What was your most memorable gig and why?
A: Easy. The most memorable gig was in December of 2009 on my first European tour with Moshe. We played in a stone barn in the south of France in what was a squatter/punk-rocker occupied functional farm. A few hundred people showed up and essentially raged out… and the dozen or so dogs that lived on the farm kept running across the makeshift stage. Old folks, little kids strapped to their parents paramilitary jackets, ancient plumbing, amazing organic food. Rowdy crowd. Dirty, and beautiful.
Q: What was your worst gig and why?
A: I remember H.W., Jesse Dangerously and I took some heavy hits on one particular Canadian tour in 2010. Never underestimated the size of Canadian provinces…yikes. HW was the only dude with a license, so he drove for 40 hours straight (with a 3 hour nap in a gravel pit off a 2-lane highway), only to arrive at a show in Alberta where it was apparently underpromoted and sparsely attended. This also happened to be a sparsely attended, under-promoted show that had only offered to pay us a door-deal percentage. One of the openers then proceeded to say over the PA that if his friends present had better things to do they should leave, and that he was going to do so after his set. It was all Jesse could do to keep HW and I from having a talk with this lil tadpole in the parking lot. After that much uncomfortable travel and stress, I was at breaking point. There are a million similar war-stories, that one just happened to rise to memory.
Q: What album or artist has most influenced you as a musician?
A: Type O Negative’s 1993 album Bloody Kisses changed everything for me. I first heard it in 1994 or 1995, and it really appealed to my varied tastes. Big, doomy guitar and bass, saccharine acoustic passages, dramatic and melodic vocals, melancholic lyrics with a healthy dose of subtle humor and self-deprecation. I was intrigued that a nine minute song about sex and death could hold my rapt attention after hundreds of spins. It set the blueprint for the kind of “hiphop” music I wanted to make, as there was (and truthfully IS) no real equivalent extant in sample+lyric-based music.
Q: What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
A: Guilty pleasures..hmm. I’m not really into “guilt”, per se. I like a lot of odd things. I really like alot of the Pop-Rap radio stations in California, and listen to them whenever I’m out there. And I listen to outlaw country almost exclusively when in my domestic enclosure.
Q: What’s the one piece of musical equipment you can’t live without?
A: A good live mic. My baby is a SHURE SM 57 with a 58’s globe on top… had it for years… and you can record demos of vocals or guitar in a pinch with it as well.
Q: Any advice for a musician starting out?
A: Do everything yourself, until you can afford not to. The music business is a long, slow burn over the course of a career, especially if you are presenting something radically different or complex to digest. Don’t rush, unless you want to be a pop sensation… in that case you had better make a splash before age 25, or the mainstream industry won’t want you. Know your audience, and always please them second.
2011 was a year filled with projects and collaborations with several Maine artists…
Earlier this year, we added the Maine music video page to the website. There are currently 114 videos spotlighting the amazing talent of Maine’s music scene.
We created a “Music from the State of Maine” group on Soundcloud, which is open for any Maine artist to submit their work.
We designed the packaging layout for The Cool, a cover band comprised of adults with developmental disabilities and mental health challenges from Momentum. The cover artwork was designed by one of the band members, recorded, mixed and mastered by Shaun Curran at Napoleon Complex of Somerville, MA and organized by Oscar Romero (Gully, Foam Castles, Endless Jags). You can learn more on their Bandcamp page.
We have worked extensively with José Ayerve (Spouse, Bullyclub) on his latest project, A Severe Joy. This new material moves away from his normal guitar-driven, 80s influenced rock and focuses on something closer to indie electronic pop. Along with this new sound, he wanted a new look, which includes masks and lights in his live shows. To accentuate this idea, we tried to be a bit experimental with the packaging for the debut album. We used vellum letter envelopes, a single folded sheet of paper and writing done in his own hand. We also collaborated with [dog]+[pony] on a video for his song ‘Catapult.’
As for 2012…
A Severe Joy plexi-disc No. 1
We have begun work on a series of 10 limited edition A Severe Joy plexi-disc releases. The project presented some unique challenges, including a short turnaround time to complete the concept and design, a unique 8.5 inch size and setting the look and tone for the other nine releases. The first one is available for pre-order from Bandcamp.
A full aseverejoy.com website is nearly complets, and will be going live soon.
Etheria Sparrow’s debut “Journey to Etheria” will be released later this year and features another Factory Portland designed album cover.
Stephen served on the nomination committee for the New England Music Awards, listening to the music of 150+ area musicians over a couple of weeks and submitting ranked choices. The awards will be presented March 9, 2012 at Hard Rock Café Boston and feature performances from Ron Noyes Band, Jen Kearney, Frank Viele and The Manhatten Project, Mission Hill, and Twin Berlin.
Lastly, our merch shop launched at the beginning of 2012 and features items from A Severe Joy, Spouse, Bullyclub, and Factory Portland. We’ll announce any deals or new items on Facebook and Twitter. Send us your thoughts on additional items you’d like to see added to the store.
Thanks for following our progress as we continue to assist artists with their contributions to the Maine music scene. We’re looking forward to an exciting 2012!
Recently it was posed to me: “okay, but i don’t understand… why would a film review podcast be talking about music in Maine?”
So this is how it happened… when podcasts were introduced to iTunes in 2005, I discovered Filmspotting (then called Cinecast). What started out as a hobby by two guys in Chicago, has turned in to a show that’s landed guests like Ed Burns, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rian Johnson, Diablo Cody, Ellen Page, and Shia Labeouf (the bonus content reveals one of the strangest interview outtakes to ever be recorded). They eventually landed the show on WBEZ/Chicago Public Radio, home of This American Life and Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!.
I had a chance to meet one of the hosts, Adam Kempenaar, at a Boston Filmspotting Meet-up. In addition to interviews, the show also features short musical interludes to move from segment to segment. A short time after the creation of Factory Portland, it occurred to me… “Filmspotting has music every week, Portland has great music”. I hope to continue sending great music to the show, but for now, here’s a list of Portland bands that have made it on air…
Where were you born?
Where were you born?
Where were you born?
This month, Peter Squires released his sophomore solo album “Where the Bunny Meets the Bear.” Whereas his solo debut, 2009’s “Woe is Me,” was acoustic, “Where the Bunny Meets the Bear” goes back to his electric roots. Both are available from 
