I’ve been thinking about lyrics to a song or an album that fits the current state of the nation with its new president. Like other politicians, Donald Trump made some bold pledges and promises on the campaign trail. He promised the return of manufacturing jobs to “Make America Great Again.” He wanted to tear up …
Month: January 2017
This week the awesome Canuck superband Austra released the video for “I Love You More Than You Love Yourself.” The song is haunting. The clip was filmed in Portland during this past holiday season and is based on the story of American astronaut Lisa Nowak. On Austra’s Facebook page, Katie Stepnoski describes the vid in …
Freedom Fry just released a B-Side to “Awake.” It’s a beautiful song titled “Songbird” and they hope you enjoy: “Songbird is for anyone who feels like their voice isn’t being heard. It’s about never giving up, even when the battle seems lost.” – Bruce & Marie http://www.freedomfrymusic.com/
ROSIN is a band of wolves dressed in formal attire. Drawing on elements of bluegrass, rock and jazz, these classical deviants create their own version of a string quartet. From upbeat Americana with orchestral accompaniments to classical arrangements with rock guitar riffs, members Jake Armerding (violin, mandola, guitar), Annie Bartlett (violin, viola), Mina Kim (cello) …
This is a luminous and lovely bluegrass gospel song with some nice production touches. Imagine Pure Prairie League on the island of Patmos singing the song of the redeemed and you might get an idea where this is going.
On Saturday January 21 people from all over the world marched in solidarity with marchers in Washington D.C. The march was to protest the newly sworn in 45th president of the United States and his statements about and behavior toward women. It’s been no secret that Donald Trump says he divorced his first wife because …
On Friday January 20, the United States got its first fascist president. (Miriam Webster defines fascism as a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition) …
K’Valentine will be opening for Talib Kweli on his Seven tour, coming through Portland on 1/26 at Wonder Ballroom. On a cold snowy day at a downtown Chicago hospital, K’Valentine made her entrance into this world. She served as an early Christmas gift for her mother. The news of her birth also excited her father, …
On Friday the 13th Seattle hosted another night of top notch ska. This time it was at the High Dive and the headliners were Seattle legends Easy Big Fella. They came on stage introducing themselves as Puttin’ On the Ritz. This eight-piece lineup shared a few members from Natalie Wouldn’t and a three-piece horn section …
Written and Produced by Maggie Gottlieb and Julie Pearson and featuring (amongst other talented performers) Kyle Glenn Johnson, a longtime friend of East Portland Blog, this is the latest from Cursed Champagne Productions: Comedy with teeth…
Last Sunday, writers and activists gathered at Writers Resist, an event held in over 100 venues in cities across the nation to commiserate and find ways to respond to the unthinkable turn of events from last November 8. In Portland, about 600 people came to the Aladdin Theater to see Cheryl Strayed and other local …
Freedom Fry’s last single, “Shaky Ground” has just about reached 6M plays on Spotify. Now, this transatlantic duo is back with “Awake,” another catchy and thoughtful tune which their fans are going to love. This shiny new ditty has already been synced in a handful of places including the Netflix show Love and the film …
On Tuesday January 10 Seattle’s El Corazon hosted the return of the Voodoo Glowskulls. With a stellar ska lineup playing that night. Hailing from Riverside, California, the Voodoo Glowskulls returned to Seattle after more than a two-year absence. The Skulls were the fifth band of the night and though the intimate El Corazon was sparsely …
The recent video above from Communist Daughter features a great new song reminiscent of the best of The National. Titled, “Balboa Bridge,” the song is about the namesake bridge in Balboa Park in San Diego, a lovely, bittersweet spot where I used to jog for exercise in my younger days. Definitely worth a listen. Communist …
On Saturday night January 7th I headed to Seattle’s Funhouse to see Die Nasty. This time they were headlining their own show with other Seattle punk bands. Die Nasty was just as energetic as always. Singer Lauren Goffin strutted about the stage, leaning into the crowd often as if personally serenading everyone in front. Bass …
Dexter Filkins, the primary Middle East correspondent for The New Yorker, has written a genuinely terrifying story about the Mosul Dam in Iraq. The terrifying part is not that the dam was temporarily occupied by ISIS, but that it sits on a foundation of soluble rock and requires a constant flow of concrete to be …
Hundreds Gather In Seattle’s Freezing Temperatures to Protest Dakota Access Pipeline, by Holly Homan
On a chilly Sunday evening I ventured downtown to join a protest in front of Seattle’s Federal Building. The event this time was to draw attention to the plight of the water protectors fighting against the Dakota Access Pipeline. For those of you unaware, this particular pipeline is slated to be built right through Sioux …
There have been two surreal moments that stand apart from my average life. First, while a senior at North Park College (Chicago, IL) I was a passenger in a car with my brother, Paul Johnson, Lowell Berggren (the driver), and his girlfriend, Sharon Greenwood. We were driving to Minneapolis in a snowstorm after dusk the …
Day three of my New Year’s weekend culminated with a concert from Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker at Seattle’s Crocodile Café. 2017 marks the 30th year I’ve been a Camper Van Beethoven fan. I saw them for the first time at the Central Tavern in October of 1987 and still have the photos I took. …
This marks the third year in a row that I’ve photographed the New Year’s Eve fireworks off the Space Needle, but I’ve shot from three different locations each time. This time I decided to shoot at the source instead of at a distance. I parked my car downtown and caught a bus to the Seattle …
This may seem naïve, but I was actually a little surprised to hear that Chip Kelly was fired as coach of the San Francisco 49ers after their 2-14 season. No one realistically could have expected Kelly to win with the worst roster in the league, and hopefully he will get some benefit of the doubt …
My wild New Years weekend began Friday night New Year’s Eve Eve at Barboza Lounge where three Seattle ska bands were playing. Headlining was a band I saw for the first time called Gully. Fronted by vocalist Josh who had thick dark curls cascading past his shoulders that kept falling in front of his face. …