Jennifer Yocom [1] works for Commissioner Sten [2]. Jesse Beason [2] works for Commissioner Adams [2].
[2]In case you missed it these past two weeks – Portland’s very own Storm Large [3] rocked the house in Los Angeles during Rock Star: Supernova [4]. In our humble opinion, her performances are the best of the bunch (watch them here [4]). She has high energy, and class.
Not that we’re biased or anything.
Portlanders have long known that she is among the best of our talented performers. And in her words in her interview for the reality TV show:
"But I'm not trying to become a rock star. I am one. I've been one for 15 years. You just haven't heard of me yet."
Sure it's reality TV, but we think it’s darn cool that Storm is representing our city– check out the next performance on local Channel 6 (CBS – July 18, 9pm). And after the show you will have 4 hours to go online and vote for Storm [5]. And you should, she deserves your vote.
Storm’s jaunt into the world of reality TV has prompted much chatter in the Portland’s music community and beyond. Both Willamette Week [6] and The Portland Mercury [7] are weighing in. As for the City, with great festivals like PDX Pop Now [8], NW Music Fest [9] and the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival [10] and with continuous showcasing of local talent by our venues – we look at the music industry as an economic driver as well as a pillar in the arts community. (We'll have some more news for local music fans later today--stay tuned.) We'd like more feedback from those in the thick of it.
Calling all musicians, recording studio owners, venue operators and folks that fix broken guitars:
- What is the future of the music industry in this town?
- Who are the leaders?
- What are the roadblocks?
- Is there are distinct Portland sound that’s coalescing?
- And finally – are we gonna make sure Storm wins this thing or what?
Update: PDX Pop Now!, Portland City Hall Team on Outdoor Show
PDX POP Now! 2006 City Hall Kickoff Concert
Quasi - The Minders - Pseudosix
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Outdoors in front of Portland City Hall
1221 SW Fourth Ave., Portland, OR, 97204
5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
FREE - ALL AGES
PDX Pop Now! [11]-- an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to championing its city's vibrant music community -- and Portland's City Hall team up to bring local rock downtown -- right in front of City Hall itself. Featuring local indie luminaries Quasi [12], The Minders [13], and Pseudosix [13], this special early-evening concert aims to showcase a slice of Portland's splendid music scene before a segment of the downtown population perhaps unfamiliar with it. Mayor Tom Potter [14] and Arts & Culture Commissioner Sam Adams [15] will kickoff the event with welcoming comments. The show will also serve as an inauguration of sorts for the Third Annual PDX Pop Now! Music Festival -- a FREE, ALL AGES, three-day event featuring nearly Portland 50 bands, to be held July 28-30, 2006, at Loveland.
Quasi [16], the dynamic duo of Sam Coomes (singer, guitarist, and keyboard-slayer, also of Blues Goblins) and Janet Weiss (monster drummer, also of the soon-to-be-no-more Sleater-Kinney), most recently displayed their stomping, politically feisty brand of rock on When the Going Gets Dark, the pair's sixth album. The Minders [17], Portland's contribution to the venerable retro-pop Elephant 6 collective, are poised to release their newest album, It's a Bright Guilty World, and begin touring the day after the city hall show. Pseudosix [18] (the Portland quartet of Tim Perry, Emil Amos, Jake Morris, and Brandon Barnhill) just finished recording their self-titled sophomore album which is a follow up to their 2003 release Days of Delay. It is not known when or who the album will be released by, but rest assured you can hear some of their new tracks Wednesday at City Hall.
In addition to teaming up with City Hall, PDX Pop Now! will soon release PDX Pop Now! 2006, the group's third double-disc compilation of Portland music. Featuring exclusive tracks from Portland favorites Stephen Malkmus, The Thermals, Viva Voce, Menomena, Vursatyl (from Lifesavas), Talkdemonic, and Copy -- plus over 30 more songs from local artists -- the album will be available for purchase ($7) at local independent record stores and a handful of online retailers. Proceeds from sales of the album help fund the festival.
About PDX Pop Now!
PDX Pop Now! is a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization committed to celebrating and promoting Portland's vital music community and increasing the public's connection to it. Begun in 2004 in true DIY fashion by a dozen or so members of a local indie pop listserv, the group has produced two previous music compilations and FREE, ALL AGES multi-day music festivals, to which The Shins, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists, Quasi, Lifesavas, M. Ward, The Gossip, The Thermals, Viva Voce, The Helio Sequence, Tara Jane O'Neil, Menomena, and dozens more artists contributed recordings or performances. The festivals drew audiences in the thousands, and the compilations generated considerable play from local FM radio and sold more than 7,000 copies combined, mostly through local independent record stores. Artists, business owners, and individual volunteers all donated the time and resources to produce two truly stellar grassroots events - something PDX Pop Now! stands poised to accomplish for a third year.