Eleven PDX Magazine - December 2018

RED FANG ELEVEN VOLUME8,8,ISSUE ISSUE57 ELEVENPDX PDXMAGAZINE MAGAZINE -- VOLUME

COMPLIMENTARY COMPLIMENTARY

INSIDE: TOP 11 LOCAL ALBUMS PROTOMARTYR | TIA FACTOR

BED. | QUEEN NAIJA HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

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ELEVEN PDX MAGAZINE VOLUME 8 ◊ ISSUE No. 7

December 2018 THE USUAL 4 Letter from the Editor

FEATURES Local Feature 12 Bed.

4 Staff Credits

Cover Feature 16

NEW MUSIC

RED FANG

5 Aural Fix

Shad Queen Naija KOLARS Protomartyr

8 Album Reviews

Our favorite 11 Local Albums of 2018!

COMMUNITY Gift Guide 24

Handmade & Homemade in Portland

Literary Arts 26

Blake Nelson

Visual Arts 28

Tia Factor

LIVE MUSIC 12 Musicalendar An encompassing overview of concerts in PDX for the upcoming month. But that’s

not all–the Musicalendar is complete with

a venue map to help get you around town.

more online at elevenpdx.com

HELLO PORTLAND!

EXECUTIVE STAFF EDITOR IN CHIEF Ryan Dornfeld (ryan@elevenpdx.com)

Just like that, another year flashes by into a fading memory. And not a particularly fond memory at that–2018 was a doozie. Not just within the Portland arts and music communities, but nationally and abroad alike. It do be like that sometimes. However, we’ll take any opportunity to practice our positive coping strategies when faced with life’s inevitable disappointments, and focus on the some of the positive.

MANAGING EDITOR Travis Leipzig (travis@elevenpdx.com)

This year produced a swath of excellent music from Portland-based bands and musicians. From an outstanding retro-futuristic R&B debut from Chanti Darling, to a brand new doom/psych veritable supergroup Blackwater Holylight, and a brilliant long-time-coming first proper full-length from Portland’s Pillar of Soul Ural Thomas & The Pain, we have a lot of incredible new music to celebrate from 2018.

As we enter 2019 I’ll remind you, be good to yourselves, treat each other with kindness, and don’t stop the hustle.

Here’s to helping things turn around next year.

- Travis Leipzig, Managing Editor

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SECTION EDITORS VISUAL ARTS: Mercy McNab LITERARY ARTS: Scott McHale ADDITIONAL EDITING: Chance Solem-Pfeifer DESIGN ART DIRECTION: Roger Goodtimes INPUT: DjM & Rygar CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Crystal Contreras, Brandy Crowe, Mandi Dudek, Liz Garcia, Eirinn Gragson, Anthony King, Christopher Klarer, Kelly Kovl, Nathan Royster, Ellis Samsara, Eric Swanson, Matthew Sweeney, Charles Trowbridge, Henry Whittier-Ferguson PHOTOGRAPHERS Mathieu Lewis-Rolland Molly Macapline Katie Summer COVER PHOTO James Rexroad

ONLINE Michael Reiersgaard Kim Lawson Chance Solem-Pfeifer FIND US ONLINE www.elevenpdx.com social channels: @elevenpdx GENERAL INQUIRIES getinvolved@elevenpdx.com ADVERTISING sales@elevenpdx.com ELEVEN WEST MEDIA GROUP, LLC Ryan Dornfeld Dustin Mills SPECIAL THANKS To all of our friends and family that make this project possible: We wish you good tidings, and a happy new year!

new music aural fix

AURAL FIX

Photo by Justin Broadbent

up and coming music from the national scene

1 SHAD DECEMBER 05 | DOUG FIR LOUNGE Canadian hip-hop artist Shad is as self-made as they come.

Born in Rwanda and raised in Ontario, he released his first fulllength album back in 2005, marketed in the Myspace days of internet music and funded by his $20,000 winnings from a radio station talent contest. That album, When This Is Over, takes an introspective look at the tropes of rap (“I don’t feel like telling y’all to throw your hands in the air”) and touches on the cultural ghosts of the Rwandan genocide. The production often steers in the direction of J Dilla-style jazz-piano loops, so easily absorbed with a classic bass pulse. Shad’s 2007 album The Old Prince sparkles with cleaner production and a more confident flow, and, three years later, his 2010 release TSOL would win the Juno (“The Canadian Grammy”) for Rap Recording of The Year, beating out the likes of Drake.

Since 2016, Shad has been hosting the Netflix documentary series Hip-Hop Evolution, a mini-series exploring the ins and outs of how the genre evolved and interviewing legends who might not get the immediate credit they deserve, those like Luke Skyywalker of 2 Live Crew or the Bay Area’s Too $hort. Now, A Short Story About a War is his sixth studio album and first since starting the

life of a documentarian, weaving together an intricate concept album about a character named The Fool and that character’s interactions with different factions in a fictional warzone. In a metaconceptual touch, Shad takes on the character’s persona in the recent music videos for the eponymously named “The Fool Pt 1 (Get It Got It Good),” all shot on handhelds or cellphones, peering from a familiar perspective that makes a believable porthole into the not-far-off hellscape he’s conjured.

– Nathan Royster

raw emotions and answering questions from fans regarding her romantic relationships.

Queen Naija doesn’t solely focus on melancholy emotion, however, and her self-titled EP is surely a testament to the other end of the emotional spectrum. On “Karma,” the second single released ahead of the EP, Bulls recognizes and embraces the strength acquired from past pain. Perhaps one of the most sentimental songs on the record, “Mama’s Hand” is dedicated to her son, revealing a compassionate, maternal side. Bulls may very well be on her way to stardom, and the 23-year-old seems to be cutting that path with a “heart on her sleeve” approach.

2 QUEEN NAIJA DECEMBER 6 | HAWTHORNE THEATRE Going viral with the song “Medicine,” Queen Naija Bulls (known on stage as just Queen Naija), the 23-year-old, Detroit-born artist fell into the spotlight. Previously a self-releasing, YouTube-based artist with a substantial following, Queen Naija now has an EP out on Columbia Records. “Medicine” was not the only factor that made Bulls an overnight sensation; there’s also her way of channeling

Although Queen Naija may only have one extended play under her belt, the artist is already headlining her own events and supporting major artists. Recently, she performed alongside BJ the Chicago Kid, Luke James, Kelly Price, Thundercat, Robert Glasper, and Erykah Badu at this year’s Soul Train Awards. Earlier this month, the R&B singer-songwriter performed at New York venue S.O.B.’s, and while she did perform songs from the Queen Naija EP, she also surprised fans with a medley of popular hip-hop and R&B covers, including TLC’s “No Scrubs,” Drake’s “In My Feelings” and Alicia Keys’ “No One.” This is all to say, keep an ear open for Queen Naija; she appears ready to ascend the throne.

- Liz Garcia

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new music aural fix

3 KOLARS DECEMBER 11 | ROSELAND THEATER KOLARS is a California two-piece consisting of husband and wife team Rob Kolar (multi-instrumentalist, vocals, producer) and Lauren Brown (tap [dancing], percussion). Veterans and survivors of the once-upon-a-time folk-pop act He’s My Brother She’s My Sister (est. 2009)—KOLARS are newcomers in name only and have a swagger and chemistry that few two-person bands can match.

Well studied in Catchy Songwriting 101, 202, and 303, the band’s debut is packed full of hooks and sleek pop production values that live up to the group’s ALL CAPS moniker and energetic live shows.

In interviews, the group likes to dub their particular sound as a mix of glam-a-billy and space blues, but a simpler choice of words would be “fun.”

True, last year’s debut, self-titled LP features a few cameos from UFO engines, echoey percussion and gamma ray guitars—but KOLARS never really takes any Neil Armstrong-caliber steps towards anything bold or unusual. Lead single “One More Thrill,” while incredibly catchy and sporting a tap-dance drum breakdown, feels late to the party. It bears a remarkable similarity to Vampire Weekend’s “Diane Young” (2013) and Queen’s “I Want to Break Free” (1984). The track’s saving grace comes in its second half when Rob loosens up his collar and gets a bit wild. It gives the song a

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Photo by Jonas Yuan

new punch, and despite the cliché handclaps, one can’t help but feel KOLARS’ passion for making and performing music. These genuine moments are when the band is at their best.

Rob Kolar is a talented producer and certainly knows the tricks to making two people sound big enough to pack a stadium. It will be exciting to see that sound translated live on the stage at Roseland Theater in December, as KOLARS perform in support of Shakey Graves.

– Eric Swanson

new music aural fix Photo by Daniel Topete

4 PROTOMARTYR DECEMBER 14 | MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS Detroit rock band Protomartyr’s nervy, aggressive sound and cerebral lyrics evoke the golden age of post-punk as much as gray, slushy streets in a decaying industrial town. Joe Casey’s droll Midwest twang and sharp wit often brings to mind Dave Thomas, the vocalist for Cleveland rockers Pere Ubu, a crucial influence. Greg Ahee, Alex Leonard, and Scott Davidson (on guitar, drums, and bass guitar, respectively) keep the pistons pumping with a dark, chugging pulse that can any moment erupt into punk violence. This passionate fourpiece has been pretty busy lately, putting out a solid full-length in 2017, Relatives in Descent, and now a new EP Consolation.

Consolation was recorded at Candyland studios in collaboration with producer Mike Montgomery and includes appearances from the legendary Kelley Deal (vocals) and musicians Jocelyn Hatch (viola), Evan Ziporyn (bass clarinet), and Lori Goldston (cello). The unmercifully succinct but also quite sweet collection does a fine job of highlighting the band’s emotional range and diverse sonic textures.

“Wheel of Fortune” oscillates back and forth uneasily between more straightforward punk and Joe Casey’s hoarse shout grappling for room within a storm of garbled radio-wave voices and noise. There’s even an eerie little wordless refrain from Deal in there, too. “Same Face in a Different Mirror” is — like “Night-Blooming Cereus” off Relatives in Descent — oddly affecting. Protomartyr is the rare garage rock band that can set aside a moment for surreal beauty once in a while.

– Matthew Sweeney

QUICK TRACKS A

B

“Same Face in a Different Mirror”

“Windsor Hum”

The centerpiece song from the Consolation EP starts with the band fighting with the spectre of self-hate barefisted. Then, it seems to come into the light of day with the refrain “We are loved…With this, who could be against us?”

This Fall-esque standout from Relatives in Descent takes the infamous phenomenon of a pervasive low hum reported by a minority of people around the world for its inspiration.

The band kicks up apocalyptic fire as they inch ever closer to the edge.

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2018 in review

ALBUM REVIEWS Top 11 local releases of 2018

Woolen Men

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The Woolen Men who recorded Post are not the same Woolen Men who recorded 2015’s standout Temporary Monuments. But given the Portland trio’s methodical and factory-like approach of constantly re-writing, rerecording and re-rehearsing material, it’s not surprising that the band has managed to expand and hone all aspects of their songwriting and musicianship between releases.

Clocking in under 35 minutes, one gets the idea that The Woolen Men left a lot of material on the cutting room floor while crafting Post’s nine air-tight tracks. Every song sounds like it was played hundreds of times and distilled into its purest, most necessary parts.

Album opener and lead single, “Brick Horizons,” wastes no time in setting the emotional and lyrical themes of the record. You can hear the band racing against the clock as they muse about the dangers of looking back and standing still, as a driving rhythm section blossoms into a dreamy Peter Dohertyesque chorus.

The rest of the album is full of similar surprises as tracks take hairpin turns into unexpected sonic detours. Featuring an eclectic mix of inspirational sprawling yurt-jams (“Amateur”), stormy barn burners (“Weatherman For Sale”), and cutting observations of millennial apathy, by the time album closer “The Chip” unfolds into a soaring Route 66 outro, one gets the idea that the band doesn’t want to get caught standing still and are probably already racing towards the post Post horizon.

– Eric Swanson

Miss Rayon’s debut LP, Eclipse, is a funky and dissonant gem that calls to mind some of the best qualities of Reagan-era post punk. The album oscillates between clangs of rhythmic angularity and crunchy melodic swagger, with occasional forays into noisy psychedelia. The vocal harmonies are moody and cryptic, propped up by a frequently disco-infused rhythm section that lets the music feel upbeat while treading emotionally bleak territory.

The band started as an outlet for Portland music veteran Eric Sabatino to explore working as a solo artist after years of playing in bands like Cat Hoch and Appendixes left him craving a project where he could follow his personal influences. After recruiting bassist Jenny Logan and drummer Hannah Blilie, the band has taken a more democratic turn, with songwriting becoming a more collaborative endeavor.

Listen to Eclipse, you might hear sporadic echos of Gang of Four, Tom Tom Club, Wire or Magazine, but Miss Rayon doesn’t necessary sound like those bands. We’re at a point where any rock band is, by nature, going to conjure a constellation of reference points. If they’re successful, the permutations of their influences will result in something new but still familiar. Miss Rayon toes this line well, opening up a conversation between the artists that inspire them and creating a pretty stellar record in the process.

– Christopher Klarer

Dog’s Table

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Blesst Chest Casual Corner XRAY Records

Casual Corner is a record with the power, creativity, and unique presence to, without a doubt, earn a well-deserved place on the list of best local albums of 2018.

In contrast to their first release, Wish We Were There in 2016, with its sharply produced presence accentuating deep and dirty grooves, Casual Corner has an intentionally stripped down feel. It’s playful, maniacal and dreamy all at once, with songs that call to mind being midquest on an original NES bender.

The transitions and multiple dimensions that the local trio unlock on songs like “O.T.” are not capable of disappointment.

“O.T.” starts out with a quick and steady rhythm that would be right at home on any epic ‘80s and ‘90s skate video, then soon winds into a devastating and heavy breakdown driven by distorted bass, howling high notes on the guitar, and intricate drum fills until the last phase of the track dissipates into a marching snare.

In short, Jake Morris, Darrell Bourque, and Jay Winebrenner — three salted veterans of the Portland music scene — have accomplished a remarkable instrumental feat with Casual Corner.

– Ellis Samsara

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Miss Rayon Eclipse XRAY Records

10 Post

2018 in review

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Ah God Tiiime Halfshell Records

Ever wondered what a time-bending, state-altering wormhole sounds like?

This’s what Portland noise-rock trio, Ah God, has managed to do in the most nonchalant way on their third LP, Tiiime. The album encompasses that feeling of stumbling across something out of the ordinary.

Opening track, “Another Planet,” sets in motion a voyage into some unknown with trumpeting vocals and a whirring melody that welcomes listeners. “V-I-I” showcases raw yet surprisingly sweet and innocent emotions of love, inner thoughts, fears and doubts.

“New Fast Slow” has a drone-y melody and vocals that are seeping in warm and fuzzy lo-fi glory. “Dibby’s Always Like…” follows and hits the ground running with heavier percussion and a melody that sounds and feels like neuronic fireworks going off in your head. Towards the end of the track the melody evolves into a hypnotic and perfectly distorted downward spiral.

At this point in the record, you can’t help but think this might be what it would sound like if Ariel Pink and Arcade Fire had a baby inside of a wormhole. “Mild Zepp” has a ritualistic sound and feel, almost as if it is signaling the end of a journey.

Conceptually, Tiiime is a ballad consisting of echoing drums, organlike synth and endless distortion, telling the tale of an intra-universe odyssey.

– Liz Garcia

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And And And Idiot Self Released

After nearly 10 years on the scene, Portland’s And And And has become a badass DIY rock ‘n’ roll entity that creates “strut to the beat of your own drum” music. They’ve been compared to Modest Mouse and The Kinks in the past and have drawn inspiration from bands like YES, The Clash and Pink Floyd. But to be honest, And And And pulls from the melting pot of life to bring the world extremely innovative music.

Following up on The Failure in 2015, this winter’s Idiot takes listeners on a deeper excursion into the battle with depression and disappointment. Idiot dissects an initial feeling of ennui and transforms it into anger, passion and healing on tracks often laden with heavy guitar riffs and raspy crooning. From “Get Off My Lawn” to the oddly high-spirited “Lonely Life” to the quirky “I Thought That I Thought The Thought,” And And And belies the darkness of the album’s subject matter with catchy and even triumphant sonics.

After listening to Idiot—a unique journey of forgiveness from a band that’s so hard to put into words—I’ve come to realize that from opening track “Get Off My Lawn” to closing track “I’m Not Looking,” this record take the listeners on a journey through the ingenious minds of the four bizzaros behind And And And. – Mandi Dudek

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Lithics Mating Surfaces Kill Rock Stars

Mating Surfaces, the second fulllength project from Portland postpunk four-piece Lithics, and their first release on esteemed NW label Kill Rock Stars, is one of those albums whose cover offers an interesting contextualization of the music contained within–an arrangement of lines and figures whose real meaning lies not in the shapes themselves, but in the relationships between them. Postpunk as a genre often seems this way, simplified into the barest of elements and existing mostly in the spaces left behind, and Mating Surfaces seems to self-consciously occupy this niche with resolve.

The album is all driving drum and bass grooves in the center of the mix beneath two tritone-heavy guitar lines hard panned to either side, set against Aubry Horner’s half-sung vocals, which are characterized by rhythmic repetitions, fixations on objects and death, and strange lyrical juxtapositions between the two: “Glass of water, spilling over/glass of water, spilling over/getting the boys to go outside/getting the boys to my suicide,” she sings on “Glass of Water.” Happy music it’s not, but with Mating Surfaces, Lithics give us a set of forms that seem to stand for our deepest inner doubts and paranoias, demanding to be heard and examined.

– Henry Whittier-Ferguson

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2018 in review

5

Myke Bogan Joe Fontana EYRST

Sweetly relatable and deliciously wry, Portland rhymer Myke Bogan (originally from Lancaster, Calif.) spelled out a gentle storm with Joe Fontana this past summer on his own label EYRST. An elegant, adult form of boom-bap and a truly solid full-length with absolutely no filler, Joe Fontana first crept out into the world with the resplendent single “On My Way” featuring Kid Indigo.

A lot of listeners related to that first single, which garnered praise and respect for its candor in admitting peak experiences of self-fulfillment in a world set against you. The album also features the ’shroom-inspired “Pickathon” and then wraps up with the elegiac “If You Wanna Know.”

Its title refers to a lost bet between Bogan and Joe Fontana, a friend whose name tagged the release. But Joe’s influence on Bogan runs deeper. Their relationship is based in the loving virtues and vices both mutually adore: scoring cash by smoking out “and selling weed on the side,” playing FIFA, and enjoying the splendors of, well, many other aspects of life.

Chock-full of soul, Joe Fontana is like spending the whole afternoon at your homie’s crib while you indulge in all manner of confession, speculation, and creative digression. It’s mature party music, but with both meanings of the word “mature” — a soundtrack for the pleasures of being a grown ass man in a get down world.

– Lou Flesh

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Moorea Masa & The Mood Shine A Light Self Released

The spiritual becomes the religious and the healing is in the journey on Moorea Masa & The Mood’s Shine A Light. The Portland-born Masa has invited us to join her as she bows her head in gentle introspection, working to understand and ultimately heal from the pain and injustices both from her life and in the world at large.

Masa is masterful at knowing what to bring in and when, her songs sometimes welling up with choral accompaniment or pulling back to just guitar and vocals.

Songs like “Wanna Be Close” showcase Masa’s ability to create an entire landscape using just her vocals as she moves seamlessly between lilting highs and deep, soulful lows.

On “Conversation,” she pairs bold guitar with delicate percussion, creating the musical manifestation of the soft emotions, like fear, that are often hidden behind a wall of anger. Masa trades vocals with soul legend Ural Thomas on “Don’t Let Me Run,” and is joined by Lo Steele on “Wake Up//Lover Be Found.”

From opening track to the final number, Shine A Light plays seamlessly from start to finish, but with each track carrying enough weight and richness to stand on its own accord. When taken as a whole, to songs tell a story that speaks to the restorative power of gentle self-exploration that eventually leads to redemption.

– Crystal Contreras

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Ural Thomas & The Pain The Right Time Tender Loving Empire

Ural Thomas performed alongside some of the greatest soul singers in the golden era of rhythm and blues.

Back then, he laid the foundation for a promising career, playing dozens of shows with the greats at Harlem’s Apollo Theater and cutting some fantastic 45s that still stand the test of time today.

But before he could fully realize his own potential, Portland’s “Pillar of Soul” walked away from the business, coming back to his family in North Portland.

Limelight or not, music is in Ural’s bones, so naturally he’s been hosting revolving jam sessions for decades since he left the business. A few years back, with some gentle poking and prodding from drummer Scott Magee, AKA DJ Cooky Parker, Ural decided to put together a proper band and start getting back to it in a serious way. And it’s a good thing he did because they’ve graced us with something truly special.

Ural Thomas & The Pain’s first proper full-length album, The Right Time, released on Portland’s own Tender Loving Empire, showcases the crooner playfully exploring themes of love (“Gotta Say [I Love You]”), happiness (“No Distance [Between You And Me]”) and being in the moment (“Slow Down”). At times exploring the funk-driven territory of James Brown (“The Right Time”), and others diving into the buttery falsetto worlds of Sam Cooke or The Temptations (“Smile” and “Smoldering Fire”), The Right Time traverses a lot of soulful territory, making it hard to pigeonhole but always a pleasure to dance to.

– Christopher Klarer

2018 in review

2

Blackwater Holylight Blackwater Holylight RidingEasy Records

Blackwater Holylight is an all-woman quintet and venerable supergroup led

by Allison Faris, previously of the nowdefunct Portland psych-pop ensemble Grandparents, and guitarist/vocalist Laura Hopkins of Laura Palmer’s Death Parade. These two powerful songwriters are joined by synth master Sarah McKenna of Dan Dan, Mikayla Mayhew

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Chanti Darling RNB Vol. 1 Tender Loving Empire

Chanticleer Trü is an amalgamation of every color you’ve ever seen mixed with every sound you could ever imagine.

Stemming from classical roots, with a stunning background in piano, ballet, opera, jazz and musical theater, Trü loves to dance and is fueled by music that makes people move. Having lived all

of Dirty Princess and Meat Creature, and Kristin Leonard of The Shivas and The Rare Forms.

The band’s self-titled debut album is a witch’s brew of sludgy stoner psych rock. Just a bit over the 40-minute mark, the album is really more like one long entrancing spell. Opening track “Willow” lulls you in with a call-and-response guitar riff and vocals that are just as graceful as they are moody. Around the two-minute mark, the tempo picks up into more of a ‘70s punk sound before collapsing back into the song’s doomy origin.

Perhaps the heaviest track on the album, “Paranoia” slowly builds intensity, like sparks turning into dancing flames. Haunting, dreamy vocals lull the listener in as the warbling, repetitious guitar riff grows heavier and nightmarish. The concluding synth oscillations add a sci-fi eeriness to the track perfect for the song’s theme. If you didn’t already feel like you were being watched, you definitely do now. And if

you were expecting to get an anecdote by the end of the album, think again.

Closing track “Jizz Witch” cycles back to the ominous and mysterious energy with which the album opens, adding kaleidoscopic layers of synth to the mix. This eight-track debut could just as easily be the soundtrack to your next adventure under the full moon, a dreary road trip through a snowstorm, or a stoned video game bender.

Blackwater Holylight isn’t your average dose of psychedelic rock; it goes beyond the temporary state of haze.

Every track on the debut oozes with a syrupy sinisterness. If you find yourself hitting the replay button at the end, then their spell has definitely worked.

The group wraps up a busy year with a final Portland show at The Tonic Lounge on Dec. 4 before tucking away to record their next cauldron of psychedelic witchcraft.

– Liz Garcia

over the country, the artist now known as Chanti Darling listens to everything from jazz to bumpin’ house. Coming to Portland, Trü found himself DJing and promoting, thriving on the musical boom and upbeat social lifestyle. Having studied dance and musical theater in New York City, Trü wants to embody the human spirit through not only stories and art but also the physical elements of dance as inspired by all forms of music.

Growing up in a musical household, Chanti Darling is clearly influenced by funk, soul and gospel works. Alongside his impressive artistic resume, Trü has style out the ass with a confidence to match. Falling head first into a retrofuturistic reality, Trü’s artistic vision is a blur of loud neon and sparkly disco under deep purple lighting. Sometimes he’ll appear in a fringe leather jacket, busting out funky rock ballads (like in his previous Portland project Magic Mouth), or maybe he’ll be dancing on stage in bright colors, flamingo earrings

or, really, whatever the hell else he feels like rocking.

In collaboration with long-time friend Damon Boucher and local electronic music performer Natasha Kmeto, Chanti Darling is the pure expression of Chanticleer’s full self, morphing day to day with inspirational ties to old R&B. Whether in the form of fashion, music or dance, Chanti Darling makes sure to stay true, expressing himself genuinely in all art forms.

Chanti Darling’s debut full-length album,

RNB Vol. 1, out on Tender Loving Empire Records, centers thematically around romance, delivered in a blend of R&B, soul and modern house music. With the goal of making music people can dance to, Trü’s accomplishment is clearly recognized on standout tracks “St*rs” and “Wake Up The Night” with their infectious disco boogie, as well as on the slower bump ‘n’ grind earworm “Casual,” featuring local favorite The Last Artful, Dodgr.

– Eirinn Gragson

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livemusic music live OCTOBER CRYSTAL BALLROOM 1332 W BURNSIDE DECEMBER | Kacy Hill BALLROOM 3 Eden CRYSTAL

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830 E &BURNSIDE The Fashion Bruises | Moorea Masa 17 Bernhoft | Bridal Veil Mention | Kelli Schaefer The Beths | Mere | Olivia Awbrey 20 1 Tents Cahoone and Friends | Nick Delffs | Led to Sea Van William | Allie Crow Buckley 21 2 Sera Smiths to Smithereens (80s Tribute) The Weeks | H.A.R.D. 22 3 From HyukohPig | Inner Wave 26 4 Ducky Idles Thomas | Bambara& The Pain | Blossom 28 5 Ural with Summer Cannibals | Jo Passed Elliott Brood | The Royal Oui 31 6 NYE 7 Dream Wife | Russo | Dirty Princess MISSISSIPPI Of Kemet | OmariSTUDIOS Jazz 8 Sons N| Michael MISSISSIPPI Worms Rault | Charts 9 Cut3939 Ulrika Spacek | Mint Field 2 Charlie Parr and Willie Watson 10 Tennis || Matt Costa 3 Suuns Graham Van Pelt 11 ShameShauf | Goon(Solo) | Tomberlin 5 Andy 12 Wayne " The Train" Hancock Dale Watson 6 Blossom | Maarquii | Amenta|Abioto | Karma Rivera 13 Israel Nashwith | Kyle Emerson 7 An Evening The California Honeydrops 14 Agent OrangeComing | UK Subs | Gutt ermouthfeat. Bill Oakley 8 Everything's Up Simpsons 15 Good Old War | Beta Radio | Danny Black 9 Chris Pureka 16 The Twilight Sad Head 10 Up | Narrow 17 Fucked Hillstomp Cedar| Teeth (18th) McDougall (19th) 11 The Black|Lillies Samantha Crain 18-19 Saintseneca | Trace Mountains 12 Ruth Rundle | Jaye Jayle 20 Emma Gruff Rhys 13 Hunter and Lucy Woodward 21 Charlie Four Fists | Shift ee | Angel Davanport 14 | Preoccupations | Hurry Up 23 Protomartyr Joshua Hedley | Kelsey Waldon 15 Simone's Holigay Spectacular 24 Frankie 25-26 The Joy Formidable | Tancred 16 Redd Kross | Dale Crover Band Great |Lake Swimmers | Joshua Hyslop 17 Munya 27 Cults The Sadies 20 Bird Recording Co.'s 2nd Annual Winter Wassail 29 Mama Peach Pit Flynn | Sun Seeker | Ponytails 21 & The Riveters | The Stubborn Lovers 30 Ashleigh Tall Heights | Old| Kung Sea Brigade 22 Minds Fu Vinyl|| Frances CourtneyCone Noe 31 Speaker 27 Glacier Veins | Longclaw Want to have your show listed?

28 Dirty Revival | Kuinka (feat. 90's Throwbacks) E-mail listings@elevenpdx.com 29-31 Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons New Year Run

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12 Death Cab| For Misch Rob Cutie Araujo 14 Tom 13 Young the Giant | Rare Monk Brickell & New Bohemians 16 Edie 14 Kurt Vile The Violators | Jessica Paul && The Broken Bones | Black Pratt Pumas 17 St. 15 Tenacious D Washington | Victory 18 Kamasi 18 BØRNS Lovelytheband | The Interrupters | RAF 19-20 | Twin Shadow 20 San Holo Mafi | Chet a Porter | Taska Black | Duskus 21 Shoreline 29 Enter the Prism | Diamond Saints | more...

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elevenpdx.com www.elevenpdx.com | ELEVEN PORTLAND||13 11

features DECEMBER REVOLUTION HALL

10 1300 SE STARK

An Evening with Chris Robinson Brotherhood Reel Rock 13 8 Rosanne Cash 12 Art In Revolution: Daniel Duford & Kevin Paul 30/31 Karl Denson's Tiny Universe 1/2 3/4

with Swatkins & The Positive Agenda

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LOCAL FEATURE

by Christopher Klarer

Bed.

S

ierra and Alex Haager craft the kind of sweet and sour nuggets of grungy pop you’ll want to listen to walking around in the rain this winter, weaving through empty parks and stomping in dirty puddles.

Bed.’s music is euphoric melancholia at its best, with just the right amount of dissonance and grit to serve as a foil to the tender vocals and hooky pop structures that predominate their repertoire.

On Dec. 14, the band will release their debut full-length, Replay. The record explores the first couple years of the duo’s marriage and all the complicated negotiations that go on within and between two humans learning to live with themselves together. It’s probably one of the best rock albums that will come out of Portland this year. If that’s not enough for you, they’re also donating all proceeds from record sales to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. If you want a copy, the release party is at Polaris Hall on Dec. 15 with guest performers The Domestics and Small Millions.

THE SECRET SOCIETY 13 116 NE RUSSELL

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Honky Tonk (Tuesdays) Zydeco (Wednesdays) Swing (Thursdays) Portland Teacher Celebration The Turnout Melao De Cuba Salsa Orchestra Dan Cable Holidaze Party ft. Cedar Teeth | more Queer Eye for the Magi - A Christmas Cabaret Major Tomboys (Bowie) | Some Girls (Rolling Stones) Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble NYE Party w/ Tezeta Band

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Open Bluegrass Jam (Thursdays)

5 Glitterfox 6 Digisaurus 7 Weener (Ween)

14 | ELEVEN PDX

Between raising their two-year-old and running a PR company, it’s pretty amazing these two have the energy to also be in one of Portland’s coolest bands. We met up and talked about how they manage the juggling act.

ELEVEN: Tell me about the new record.

Alex Haager: We recorded the whole thing almost three years ago. It was finished being mastered in February 2016 and then Sierra got pregnant in April. I have no idea what happened between then and now.

Sierra Haager: I couldn’t really have a baby and release a record at the same time. I think we’ve played four shows since our son was born. Our last big show was at the Crystal Ballroom when I was eight-and-three-quarters months pregnant – like big!

My guitar had to be all hiked up.

AH: But we’re playing Treefort next March!

features SH: And we’re bringing our son! It’s gonna be great! We’re caravaning out to Boise with our nanny and her partner.

I don’t think it would be right for every kid to go hang out at a festival, but our kid is obsessed with music. He basically came out drumming little patterns.

Also, Treefort is pretty family friendly.

They have this thing called Kidfort with kid activities.

11: Why release the record now? Have you been able to find more time for bed. recently?

SH: There’s definitely not more time. I think it’s more that we actually sleep now. I think a lot of people have kids, you know, maybe wake up a couple times in the night, but our son is basically a rock ‘n’ roller. He’s really intense and partying at all times.

AH: He’s like Andrew WK.

11: Let’s pretend I know nothing about astrology...

AH: I don’t either really, but apparently we’re both fiery assholes or something.

SH: I think the strength in our marriage, work, music and as parents is that Alex and I truly have no overlapping skills. Staying out of each other’s way is the best thing we can do to support each other. It’s illustrated really clearly in the way we play our instruments in our band. Alex plays these big crazy bass chords, and I play noodly and reverby guitar with almost no chords. We just do different things, but it’s really cool because we come in with pretty one-sided ideas that the other person makes whole.

AH: Yeah, we polish each other’s songs in our own personal ways. I always want to make stuff too weird to be good, and Sierra wants to make it a little too straightforward pop. We end up meeting somewhere in the middle.

SH: It’s cool because he’s happy.

Sometimes when kids are really intense they’re also kind of pissed off SH: Since we have such inverse skill all the time, but he’s a happy dude. He sets, we both have just did not fucking the luxury of being sleep for the first helpless in other four or five months “We’ve always been so areas. Like, Alex can’t unless he was in our utilitarian, recording talk on the phone, arms. Otherwise, he and I don’t know any was just a livewire. on bootstrap budgets, of our bank account but I got to have guitar passwords. Alex is AH: We were sleeping in shifts. fun all over this record laughing, but it’s not a joke. He will have Sierra would sleep with pedals and amps me call for pizza from eight until two because he can’t talk and noise…” or something while on the phone.

I held him and then we would switch places. I don’t know how that worked at all.

SH: Now he sleeps for like 12 hours, but it doesn’t feel like there’s more time; we just finally get to sleep, which allows us to be more efficient. We have to take advantage of every single ounce of time while he’s sleeping to get stuff done.

11: Do you write songs independently or collaboratively?

AH: We decided pretty early on that we would never just sit down with a notebook to write songs together. If we’re going to bring astrology into it, we’re both Aries, so it just won’t work out.

AH: It’s true. I order pizza online. They offer the service!

SH: But we really don’t have to get out of our lane ever, so it keeps us doing what we’re good at.

11: As you’ve been writing songs more recently, has having a child affected your songwriting in terms of lyrical content?

SH: Totally. Having a baby brought all of my childhood trauma to the surface.

In some ways, when you become a parent you have to renegotiate your experience of the entire world. It’s starting to become a really cool time for me creatively because every single

DECEMBER WHITE EAGLE 836 N RUSSELL

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Jim Lauderdale Biddy On The Bench Michael Howard Gayle Ritt's Holiday Party Arms of Mars | Bluto Soul Vibrator Fluff And Gravy Records Holiday Party Jenny Sizzler 5th Annual Big And Twisted Holiday Jamboree Elwood | The Desert Kind #WomenCrushPDX Holiday Party and Workshop Brice & The Jackrabbits Mexican Gunfight Global Folk Club Christmas Show | Chervona Orenco Station Band The Roving Eyes | Metropolitan The Van Rontens | Band Of Comerados Hamburger Petty 2019 NYE Celebration ft. The Parson Red Heads

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elevenpdx.com | 15

features DECEMBER ALADDIN THEATER

18 3017 SE MILWAUKIE

1 A John Waters Christmas

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Tommy Emmanuel | Jerry Douglas

8 John Craigie | Ben Morrison 11 Ezra Furman 12 Band of Friends (Celebrating Roy Gallagher)

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Holidays with The Trail Band

21 Matt Braunger 28 Cracker | Camper Van Beethoven 29 Stone In Love (Journey) | Grand Illusion (Styx) HOLLYWOOD THEATRE A not-for-profit organization whose mission is to entertain, inspire, educate and connect the community through the art of film while preserving an historic Portland landmark.

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I Love Mondays (Mondays) The Plutons Organ Trio (Tuesdays) Dusty Green Bones | Bamboozle Jimmy Russel's Party City 2034 First Friday Superjam w/ DJ Magneto DJ Anjali & The Incredible Kid: Tropitaal Pickin Pear | Troubled Minds (YMSB) | more The Drunken Hearts | Doors Soul Stew w/ DJ Aquaman Pyata & The Rhythm (Brazilian Funk) Lost Ox Garcia Birthday Band Rainbow Electric | Jenny Jahlee Farnell Newton & The Othership Connection Takimba & Friends Present Get On Up Yak Attack

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Torment Is Flesh Pre-Fest, Part I

DANTE'S 22 350 W BURNSIDE

1 Schism (Tool) | Cobra Thief 2 Whipped Dance Co. performs Midnight Snack

16 | ELEVEN PDX

thing I’ve learned how to mask and live around is right in my face. So, I’m writing a lot right now. The next record is going to be really intense and sad!

[Laughs.]

11: Does that mean you feel like the music you made before was more conceptually surface level?

SH: Not necessarily. I’ve always been trying to process this kind of stuff. I think partnering with someone and deciding you’re going to spend the rest of your life with them, you have to learn how to be close in a serious and permanent way, which puts you on that path. You have to unpack all your bullshit. You have assumptions about what closeness means that are probably not completely healthy. Then, you have a kid, and suddenly it’s the highest stakes in the world. You need to learn to be close, and you need to learn how to be kind, and you need to figure out how to give someone a childhood you didn’t get. That means you have to look at the childhood you didn’t get and try to understand why you didn’t get it. It’s just so intense.

11: How’d you get into doing PR?

SH: Our now defunct record label, Breakup Records, kind of birthed it.

We started the label without a really strong vision for what we were doing.

I think a lot of what drove us to start the label informs what we do with the PR company, except I think we’re a lot more effective at helping bands move forward. We weren’t very good at running a label.

11: Running a label seems pretty thankless compared to doing PR. SH: Yeah, it’s cool to get paid for your work! Also, PR is really hard and getting harder fast. There are so few people who are writing about up-and-coming bands right now. There’s just less and less money to go around for writers.

AH: Like The Oregonian – they don’t really cover local music anymore.

The old music editor got laid off and replaced by someone who just sort of covers when Katy Perry comes to town. It’s cool that there are so many other outlets covering local music in Portland, though.

SH: Yeah, that’s one of the weird things we noticed moving here. How well a

features PR campaign does has a lot to do with whether there are outlets in a band’s local market covering local music.

It’s really hard to get national press if you can’t show you’re blowing up in your local market. Maybe that’s why Portland’s so sick.

11: You gave Larry Crane of Jackpot Recording Studio producer credit on the record. What was it like working with him?

SH: Larry’s great. He’s all over this record. He’s a really attentive producer with an amazing ear, so he really worked hard to get me to a good place vocally. Also, he has so much awesome gear to play with. We’ve always been so utilitarian, recording on bootstrap budgets, but I got to have guitar fun all over this record with pedals and amps and noise. That was a treat for me.

AH: He decided he wanted a certain

Bed. Replay _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Records Among the various hashtags the Portland band bed. uses to describe their sound—#alternative, #shoegaze, #emo—the most apropos label, however, may be the cheekily clever moniker they’ve given themselves: #slow-fi. As the band’s latest album, Replay, illustrates, bed.’s brand of churning wistfulness is the perfect blend lo-fi indie-rock peppered with slowcore’s somber introspectiveness.

Made up of the husband and wife duo Sierra and Alex Haager, bed. has steadily been releasing their singles and EP’s since 2014. Featuring shimmering guitars gliding over

DECEMBER DANTE'S

sound for this one song, so he actually went down the street to Trade Up and bought a specific guitar for Sierra to play. I mean, he wanted it for his studio anyway, but that’s pretty awesome.

350 W BURNSIDE

D.O.A. | Dwarves | MDC Zepparella (Led Zepplin) Saint Syndrome Twerk Du Soleil Dookie Jam! Dave Dahl & The Killer Grandaddies Walking Papers | Black Ferns Seperation of Sanity | Othrys | more

11: What inspired your decision to donate all the proceeds from your new record to the ILRC?

FIRKIN TAVERN

SH: My best friend is their marketing director, and seeing her on the front lines was really inspiring. I feel like a lot of people in our community have this feeling of desperation in the face of such blatant racism and human rights violations – there were kids in cages!

We recorded this record years ago, and now our lives are so not all about being a band. We figured, “Who fucking cares about our record?” Hopefully we can raise some money that could help pass legislation that protects immigrant kids and families.

molasses-thick rhythms and the duo’s shared vocal duties, Replay doesn’t just sound like a Portland indie record; it sounds like an Old-Portland indie record; one that would easily share shelf space alongside records by Hazel, The Wipers and Dharma Bums. Credit Jackpot Studios’ Larry Crane for channeling bed.’s post-rock into an album that feels as inviting and relaxed as a paint-chipped porch on a rainy day or a pair of worn-in Chuck Taylors.

Replay’s narrative runs the gamut from newfound adult responsibilities, to existential-crisis and self-acceptance. “If I remain, you go/What’s right if my love is wrong?” sings Sierra Haager over the chunky propulsion of Replay’s title track.

While on “Fine,” Alex Haager gently contemplates the complexities of adulthood while indulging nostalgia: “The things you thought you’d have are all buried in the past.”

Slow-fi though they may be, bed. has a crafted an indie-rock record that is at once engaging, intimate and assured. Owing to the rewards of repeat listening, they definitely got this album’s title right.

– Christopher Klarer

22

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1937 SE 11TH

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Teach Me Equals | Joey Sprinkles | Joshua October Camo Ken | Franz Murder (of West America) Slow Foam | Printer | Soul Ipsum | Pulse Emitter Dirty Princess | Hello I'm Sorry | Wave Action

SPARE ROOM 4832 NE 42ND

NO FUN

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Erotic City Norman Sylvester Band WESKE Honky Tonk Holiday Party & Record Swap The Hustle Cool Breeze Tevis Hodge Jr. Son De Cuba The Get Down Caleb Klauder's NYE Rhinestone Ball

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John Raskin Ensemble | Tim DuRoche | Mike Gamble El Sobrante | Devin Vincent | Fun With Ducks Mink Shoals | Rachel Brashear Band Triple Lutz | Biblioteka (SEA) | The Sadists Mo Troper | Brette Irish | Stoner Control

9 11 14 16 21

THE FIRKIN TAVERN Located on the west side of Ladd’s, the Firkin Tavern features an astounding selection of craft beers to enjoy inside or on our patio. Art enthusiasts will enjoy a variety of local artwork on display and sold comission free!

1937 SE 11th Ave, 97214 503.206.7552 | thefirkintavern.com

TWILIGHT CAFE & BAR 1420 SE POWELL

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Morta Skuld Drawn | Quartered Petrification Chemical Annihilation La Armada | Worws | Ground Score | Proof John Underwood | Shootdang | RMS Olympic Shrine of the Serpent | Noceur | Dilapidation Apology Calls | The Bonfire District | NONE The Lovesores | Machine Animal | Tiger Touch Sparkle Carpet | King Strang | TWSJC | Geophagia The Black Flash | The Holdout | Belonging Hippie Death Cult | Disenchanter | ROTAW Arcana | Bazooka Sharkz

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Fountaine (Dj Set) | Chip Scout | Life Couch 6 No Pants Records: The Divorce Show! 13 Mor Elian | Patricia Wolf | Troubled Youth 16

1028 SE WATER

Boink | Nasalrod | Seamoss 1 Tor Miller | Graham Norwood 14 NYE Battle of The Decades 31

elevenpdx.com | 17

RED F Text by Eirinn Gragson • Photos by James Rexroad

Red Fang are a classic bunch of guys drinking beers, playing rock music and living their dream. Having spent the better part of the past 13 years crushing it onstage, Red Fang is about to embark on another cross-country tour, after which they’ll be releasing yet another killer music video in its wake. This crew of party boys made up of Aaron Beam, Bryan Giles, David Sullivan and John Sherman have been through underground shows, metal fests and even played on Late Night With David Letterman in 2014. A testament to the Portland heavy-rock scene of the 2000s, Red Fang holds that what’s most important is playing for the passion and love of the music community.

This ragtag team of metalheads sports shitty beer in each of its shortfilm-inspired music videos (some of which feature local musicians, comedians and even Fred Armisen). Even as world-renowned artists, Red Fang stays true to Portland by repping local venues like Dante’s and wearing Trade Up Music hats. Their songs are catchy yet trashy, loaded with headbang-worthy power chords and hard-hitting drum beats that’ll make anyone want to mosh.

ELEVEN caught up with bassist Aaron Beam and guitarist/vocalist Bryan Giles before Red Fang’s winter tour.

FANG

features ELEVEN: The band started in 2005. Are you all from Portland?

11: What was that band?

Aaron Beam: None of us are from Portland; just the band is.

AB: Last of the Juanitas. I met David through a bunch of friends from Raleigh who came out and were going to the same college that I was at. And then John came out because he was actually playing in a band with David.

11: Where are you guys from originally?

AB: I was born in Seattle. My dad’s a scientist, so he got his PhD at University of Washington and then moved to New Haven shortly after that, where he did his postdoc at Yale and then he had his first professorship in Iowa. So then we moved to Iowa City and from there to Fort Collins, Colorado. I’ve been in Portland since ’91.

Bryan Giles: I was born in North Carolina, grew up in Tuscon, moved to San Diego for about five years off and on, and then I’ve been here for a long-ass time.

AB: And I think that John is probably the last [to move to PDX]. He moved here in 2000, so he’s the most recent transplant. He’s also the youngest.

BG: That’s how I met the both of them. They were touring through San Diego and needed a show. We were living in a kind of flop house, bohemian paradise or whatever. It was an old ballet studio, so they had this huge main area, and I don’t know what they were supposed to be ... dressing rooms or individual practice rooms? We had these small bedrooms around it. It was somewhere between 5-8 people living there at all times. We said “fuck it” and started putting on shows. We got a keg, and my band Last of the Juanitas played with them, and I just fell in love with their music! So their band and my band traded tours. Their band had a cult following on the East Coast, we had our cult following on the West Coast, and it was great.

11: That’s a great setup!

11: How did you all meet each other?

AB: Through music.

BG: And then when I moved to Portland, I was like, “If you ever move to Portland, you have to be in a band with me!”

BG: Mostly EJ’s specifically. EJ’s, the club on – well, it’s now Silver Linings. It’s a pawn shop on Sandy. But it was the lifeblood of our music culture back then. Went out of business in the late ‘90s.

AB: I think the very short answer to your question is that the music world has always been, just like with any specialized interest, pretty small.

AB: It was a strip club, and then it was a rock club, and then a strip club, and then a rock club… and then it closed and became a pawn shop. But yeah, I booked a show there for Bryan’s old band.

BG: The shit we did back then, nobody cared about. It was a passion thing. We loved it and the community. We built the community around an idea, maybe a flawed idea, but it was a beautiful idea.

BG: When we were still in San Diego.

AB: I worked at Laika movie studio for a while, and I had to leave

It’s a band, which is a group of people.

It’s a group effort, which is not always easy.

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that job in order to do this band full time. But I was already in the music world, and you just end up meeting some more well-known people from doing that stuff. People there were just astounded that I could possibly have ever met anyone from such-and-such band. Well, just think about all the people that you know who are your idols in your world; it’s just that music is a thing that’s broader and appeals to more people than stop-motion animation does. Anything that you do is going to shrink down your world.

11: Do you remember your first starstruck encounter? Someone that you maybe idolized as a kid and then met as an adult?

AB: The first time I actually remember feeling that feeling was we got invited to play this festival that Metallica put on, on the East Coast. All of the press shit about it was, “Metallica handpicked all these bands!” and we were like, “There’s no way!” The only way that I could possibly accept that they have any idea who we are is if one of them comes over and introduces themselves before we play – BG: – in person.

AB: And then Chris, our tour manager, finds us before we’re supposed to go on, and he’s acting all weird and jittery. I was stretching or something, and he was like, “Um, uh everyone needs to gather over behind the stage because James Hetfield is coming over to introduce himself and say hi before you guys go on.”

11: So how would you describe your genre? I know how other people tend to describe it, but I’m curious to hear how you feel about your own style.

AB: We’re just sort of like… grunge but 20 years later.

BG: Moldy grunge.

AB: I feel like we do super short really fast songs, and we’ll do way stretched-out droney songs. We’ve never had any kind of genre in mind when we write.

BG: It really is song by song; there’s no unifying genre for the band. We don’t have a manifesto.

11: Who are some of your influences? Who’d you grow up listening to and what influences what you’re playing?

AB: As a songwriter and bass player it’s like: The Jesus Lizard, Nomeansno, Nirvana creeps in there, Big Business, Fed X (Federation X). I could go on for a very long time. Hot Snakes is another one.

11: So you’re also a guitar player, Aaron. Do you ever switch instruments? Do you ever play guitar?

AB: On the records I play guitar. But not live. I’ve been in bands that have done that, and it’s annoying. I feel like it’s annoying as a spectator and as somebody in the band. It also has a lot to do with the way we started out as a band. In my mind at least, it was

a continuation of the ethos of the band that Bryan and David and John were in before Red Fang, which was called Party Time. It seemed like a band that was about, “Let’s stop playing all these super complicated instrumental math rock songs that no one can understand at all and just play music people can party to.” And only play on the weekends.

BG: My goal, I guess, was – what got me to play guitar in the first place? What made me freak out, you know? Jump up and down on my bed or start the neighbor’s trash can on fire! What was the thing that made me so crazy? And try to find that instead of trying to find what is really fun for you intellectually.

AB: I think we all ended up doing stuff that was like, “I don’t wanna get bored playing this guitar part, so I’m gonna do this three times, and then do this weird thing, and then change it and change it, and then I’m gonna have a song that has 65 parts to it.”

BG: A totally inscrutable, bizarre puzzle.

11: Do you ever get bored in Red Fang then?

…We do super short really fast songs, and we’ll do way stretched-out droney songs. We’ve never had any kind of genre in mind when we write.

BG: I don’t get bored. I just strip down my parts. Oh, you know we’re doing this thing in 4, but if we did it in 3 it’d be trippy and polyrhythmic, and I love that. But if it doesn’t serve the song, I’ll say, “I still love that, but it’s just not appropriate here.” I think that’s being older. I love to make things fucked up, but at some point I want the song to be enjoyable.

AB: That’s the thing that has replaced for me, that I need to have my guitar part change every few seconds for me not to grow bored. Focus that energy on making the song itself as strong and interesting as it can be. Then, the song itself becomes interesting and compelling, and you don’t need just your part to be interesting and compelling to yourself.

BG: Right, it’s a band, which is a group of people. It’s a group effort, which is not always easy. Sometimes it’s just playing one really boring thing, but you know the underpinnings are changing. So I’m playing one chord for a minute, but the feeling of what I’m doing is changing because of my bandmates. I think this band was the moment for me that was like – AB: Less is more.

BG: And serve the song; don’t serve yourself. Be bored, physically, but be inspired by your ears. Is the song working? It took a long time to learn.

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features AB: I think one of the things that helped me get there with this band was switching from guitar to bass. Because I was pretty irritated at first. I kind of took it upon myself, sort of out of spite, to be like, “Alright I’m just going to write the stupidest bass part that I can with the idea that I want to be able to play all these bass parts five or six beers in.” I was just like, “Alright, fuckin’ bass sucks.” But I think that that made me go simpler all the time. It was ultimately for the best, and I learned something by accident.

BG: And it makes people shake their ass more!

11: The Portland music scene is pretty friendly and connected.

How do you feel here?

AB: I’ve been doing it for a very long time in Portland. Having people ask me where we were from was just such a shock! When we came back from our European tour and started playing shows in town, I feel like it was very common for people to ask, “Oh dude, you guys are awesome; where are you from?” That happened all the time. That shocked me because I’ve always just been in a band that’s from the town that they’re playing in.

BG: Yeah, like the only people that are watching me is because they’re my friends in this town. They only know that it’s happening is because I told them over the phone.

11: Do you guys still wear band shirts? What’s your favorite band shirt that you have currently?

AB: My favorite one that I own is actually a Helms Alee shirt, which is a unicorn but the entire unicorn is all made out of sea creatures.

BG: There was one, a This Runs on Blood shirt, that was just black and yellow. It just said, “This Runs on Blood,” and I liked it because even if you don’t know it’s a band it’s like, “Well, I do run on blood!” So it’s just describing me!

AB: And it was tied to a really good memory.

BG: Yeah, it was a cool show. We’d been up at Flagstaff and played a show. The cops showed up, and we moved over to a house party.

Kids were breakin’ stuff – pretty exciting!

AB: The cops showed up and they were like, “OK, you guys, we have to stop playing ‘cause the cops are here,” and we were like, “You’re joking, right? We just wait for them to leave and then keep playing.” No, no, no, cause Flagstaff is so small, you really do have to stop. They were like, “We really do have to stop, but it’s cool. We’ll just go over to this other, what was it called? The Shithole, or something?

BG: Something really pleasant sounding.

AB: We’re gonna go to this other place where they have house parties, The Shithole, and I think we’re all kind of like, uh… pack up all our gear and drive halfway across town? Nobody’s gonna go over there! And they’re like, “Trust us.” And we just packed it up and moved over to this other house. It took like an hour, and the whole party went over there and we just picked up where we left off, and it was crazy!

11: Lastly, who’s the brains of the music video operation? You have a lot of music videos.

I love to make things fucked up, but at some point I want the song to be enjoyable.

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BG: Whitey McConnaughy is the one who writes and directs the scripts. If you want to check out some of his other videos, they’re really good! Whiteyfilms.com.

He’s got a slew of them and they’re really good.

12/1 HOW TO DRESS WELL KING WHO SOLD OUT!

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12/12 CAKE 12/13 HAERTS VERA SOLA

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12/14 THE HELIO SEQUENCE WILD PINK 12/15 & 12/16 PATTERSON HOOD

and more!

12/17 BERNHOFT & THE FASHION BRUISES MOOREA MASA & THE MOOD 12/20 TENTS BRIDAL VEIL KELLI SCHAEFER 12/21 SERA CAHOONE (BAND) AND FRIENDS NICK DELFFS LED TO SEA 12/22 FROM SMITHS TO SMITHEREENS: A TRIBUTE TO 80S COLLEGE ROCK 12/23 COOL KIDS COMEDY PRESENTS: FIVE BUCK CHUCKLES 12/26 DUCKY PIG 12/28 URAL THOMAS AND THE PAIN BLOSSOM 12/29 GEEZER 12/30 CA FIRE BENEFIT: THE WILD BODY SALO PANTO ABRONIA MOUTHBREATHER 12/31 NEW YEAR'S EVE WITH SUMMER CANNIBALS! JO PASSED NOCHE LIBRE DJS MAMI MIAMI AND TÍTA FREE NYE DANCE PARTY UPSTAIRS! MUTUAL SPANKING PRESENTS: SPOLIER ROOM DJS

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elevenpdx.com | 23

gift guide

GIFT GUIDE

Handmade & Homemade in Portland by Brandy Crowe The holiday season in Portland is more than the rednosed reindeer reigning above our regular makers kingdom, The Portland Saturday Market. There may be bustling Black Friday events, but not the hungry, namebrand sort. Instead, Oregonians focus on the home-made and handmade to give. We want to be personal and sentimental but also follow industrious and inventive spirits. Often, makers tout “form and function,” creating artistic and practical goods, but we also find many treasures that are quirky, witty and fun.

Whether you uphold traditional holiday customs or simply celebrate the end of the year, there are plenty of opportunities to shop local this season. Here at Eleven PDX, we celebrate and support our artisans. From fashions, home-goods, art, adornments, apothecary and crafted beverages, here are just a few of our current favorite makers, markets, collectives, and classes for Pacific Northwest gifts and goods.

Holiday Markets My People’s Market Holiday Pop-Up at Lloyd Center Mall A celebration of business, culture, and community, My People’s Market is a collaborative event that happens throughout the year and focuses on advancing opportunities for small business owners of color. Now through Dec. 29, mere steps from the Made In Oregon store, you can find the My People’s Market Holiday Pop-Up. Here you will find 30+ vendors as well as live music and workshops.

Found at the market: Multi-use Essance CBD Tea Bag (Lotus, Rose Buds, Hemp Flowers, Rooibos) - $5.00 essanceskincare.com One Stripe Chai Spicy Chai Concentrate 32oz for $16.00

onestripechai.com Adorn Fashions and Gild Shoes are sharing a boutique space, as well as husband/ wife maker duo Melissa and Dan Stiles.

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Floral embroidered jackets are a hot commodity this year.

Check out these designs from 10-year-old Portland native Hobbs, also known as City Troll.

citytroll.com Changes are afoot at the busy, centrally located Lloyd Center.

Local food vendors and Migration Brewing have moved in, and the location is rumored to be in talks for a new music venue. Many catalogue names have been removed from storefronts, and local makers are taking residence.

Biochemical engineer, inventor, and author Dr. Arlyne Simon will be on hand to talk about her first book in a soon-to-be series, Abby Invents Unbreakable Crayons, playfully introducing the scientific method and inspiring young readers. arlynesimon.com

Baerlic Brewing:

They not only craft some of the best beer in town but also partner with local makers for a variety of workshops: from leatherworks to hand lettering to basket weaving. Corresponding with their woodworking beer series, they are hosting The Woodworker Holiday Market, a celebration of all things inspired, made, and evolving from nature’s most honest material — wood. woodworkerpdx.com

Meteor Craft Operative This Northeast Portland arts and crafts collective is a gathering place for visual artists in many mediums: jewelry, ornaments, and ceramics. meteorcraftoperative.weebly.com

gift guide

Self Care: Portland Beard Company Apothecary4men.com/portlandbeard-company-timber-beard-oil

Art & fashion: Altar’s Moonstone Goddess Dart Collar at Altar PDX. Altar boasts “Northwest Alternative Handmade” objects with meaning, including jewelry, botanicals, art, and fashions. They are currently offering sales on their house line and iron oxide adornments. Altarpdx.com

Wildfang With shops in Portland, New York City and Los Angeles, the women who founded Wildfang made national headlines and lots of donations for RAICES with their oppositional designs.

Wildfang.com

Maak Lab Fragrances, soaps and candles.

Maaklab.com

For the family: Hello! Good Morning!

This tiny shop is enormous in color, crafts and happiness for kids and grown-up kids.

Hellogoodmorningkids.com

Wear: Mirabel Black Geo Print Dress from Bridge And Burn Sophisticated hoodies and pretty dresses with pockets. Bridgeandburn.com

Tender Loving Empire TLE is our city’s mainstay record store and label, but they have some Tender Loving items for the littlest Portlanders too.

Tenderlovingempire.com/collections/babies-kids

Now get out and meet your makers. Happy holidays! elevenpdx.com | 25

community literary arts

LITERARY ARTS Blake Nelson by Scott McHale

W

riting from a teen’s perspective has always come naturally for Blake Nelson. When more than half of a writer’s published work has been adapted for film or television, he can no longer be seen as simply “having a knack” for something. He has mastered it.

Nelson started out by writing small pieces for Details magazine in the early ‘90s, many about the slacker lifestyle and living cheaply on the West Coast. His first book, 1994’s Girl , was featured in Sassy magazine and struck a chord with teenage girls everywhere for how on the nose his writing was. Fast forward to 2006 and Nelson wrote Paranoid Park , the tale of a kid who ends up in a serious situation after hanging out at a notorious skate park in downtown Portland. The book was another spot-on representation of how teenagers think and act in a time of crisis. Fitting Gus Van Sant’s aesthetic of the vapid lost boy perfectly, the story was adapted into film and won several international awards and was featured and the Cannes Film Festival in 2007.

More recently, Nelson’s novel Recovery Road became a widely popular television series on the Freeform network. After owning the art of writing relatable fiction for young adults, Nelson has moved on to tackling mid-adulthood with Red Pill , which will be released next spring. I caught up with Nelson after a recent reading at Mother Foucault’s Bookshop where he was gracious enough to talk to me about his past work and what he’s excited to be working on right now.

ELEVEN: You really understand how the teenage mind works.

Can you tell me a little about yourself as a teenager? Where did you go to high school? What experiences may have made you such a keen observer of teenage life?

Blake Nelson: Socially, I was a pretty fluid person. I liked to move around from group to group. Most writers are like this, I have found, as I have met other writers. You’re just too curious to limit yourself to one group of friends. I hung with the popular kids, like in my novel Boy. But I also hung out with the punk kids, and the sports kids, and did some skateboarding. I also liked to hang out with the girls socially and listen to them. This has helped me a lot when I do books in a girl’s voice. I really enjoy thinking about the different ways the genders use language and the differences in their psychology that it reveals.

11: So much of your writing has been adapted for film or television. Why do you think your stories lend themselves so well to the screen?

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I think the internet probably creates a broader universe for teens. It makes it easier to find their tribes. I think there’s probably a lot of comfort there for them, if they want it.

BN: Yes, I have been very lucky with that. I always think the reason I get interest from TV/film people is that I usually have a main character who is very relatable and, when I’m doing first person, has a strong voice that people will immediately say, “Oh I know this person.” That gives people who have to adapt the story something to work off. Like my book Recovery Road , which was made into a TV show, if the character is someone everyone immediately “knows,” then the writers can just improvise off that, and people won’t get confused. And multiple people can contribute because everyone “gets” that main character and understands what he or she will do.

11: Do you have a stand on how the internet has changed teenage life in this modern era? Do you think teenagers have to have a thicker skin in a digital world?

BN: I don’t have a strong opinion about it. I think the internet probably creates a broader universe for teens. It makes it easier to find their tribes. I think there’s probably a lot of comfort there for them, if they want it. If they want to get in arguments, they can do that too. And I suppose there’s some bullying too, and harassment, etc. But it seems like you can shut that down if you want to. Probably having a thick skin would be very helpful in that world.

11: Can you tell me about your new novel, The Red Pill? Have you explored the technological universe with this one?

BN: The Red Pill , which is an adult novel, tells the story of a liberal, divorced guy, Martin, who is having trouble meeting women. He has a conservative brother-in-law, who offers to coach him a little. Martin is skeptical, but when the advice actually works, it makes Martin question his own ideas about men and women, and the world in general.

Photo by Mercy McNab

VISUALTiaARTS Factor

Laurel Bonfiglio for Eleven: How long have you called Portland ‘home’? What keeps you inspired in the Pacific Northwest?

place or setting”. He says the term couples sentiment with place.

I wanted to make art that both showed a place and expressed the underlying feelings about it, or the subjective experience of the individual in place.

Tia Factor: I moved to Portland in 2008 from the Bay Area via Tasmania, where I’d been living for a while, doing an artist’s residency. Portland inspires me with how much is happening in 11: Does your focus on topophilia influence the way you the creative community; how it’s a pretty small town but there’s experience new places? always something fresh, some new art space that’s just openedup, and a lot of great artists living here. And of course I love TF: If you are a human being, I believe topophilia is always at play glimpsing snow-covered mountains from while you are in any place. It’s just a matter Portland and never being too far from of being introspective enough to notice the stunning natural beauty. affect a place has on you, whether it’s a new

place or one you’ve visited over and over.

Before beginning a 11: Can you explain the concept of I think the concept of topophilia became painting, I often decide topophilia, the basis of your work? What especially interesting to me because I brought this idea to your attention? spent my early childhood in a very natural on a limited range of hues and fairly remote part of Northern CA. that I feel get at some TF: In the few years after grad school Then we moved across country and I spent someone who knew my work pointed me the rest of my childhood in the suburbs of of the emotions present toward Yi-Fu Tuan’s book Space and Place.

Chicago. After high school, I moved back The book obsessed me with how well it to that rural place in Northern CA and in the work. gave form to so many previously unnamed spent my young adulthood there. Noting ideas circulating around my work. It the profound differences I felt in who I was informed every project I made after that and how I felt based on my surroundings, it point. Topophilia is simply a convenient term that summarizes became clear that place matters. . .a lot! the idea that human beings are profoundly affected by place and the physical environments they find themselves in. Tuan 11: What is the process of deciding on a location/ subject for your defines topophilia as, “the effective bond between people and work?

“

”

28 | ELEVEN PDX

community • visual arts

TF: My process varies but always circulates around my own and others’ experiences of place. Sometimes I follow a trail, like hearing the philosopher Alain de Botton on the radio describe his writer-in-residence at Heathrow Airport inspired me to read his book The Art of Travel. That book in turn led me to develop a project in which I interviewed people I knew about places they’d visited and that they continuously fantasize about during off-moments. I made paintings of these places of fantasy based on our conversations. The paintings are both about the place and about my interaction with the interviewee, essentially a collaboration.

11: How does your incorporation of color and texture reference the emotional attachments to the places you paint?

TF: Color has a lot to do with why I love to paint. I work with the intensity and value of color both intentionally and intuitively.

Before beginning a painting, I often decide on a limited range of hues that I feel get at some of the emotions present in the work.

Similarly, creating a mostly dark or mostly light valued painting can get at the emotional state that’s the inspiration for the work.

Mark-making, or what also reads as texture, like stains and hazed edges, scratchy, scrubbed marks, or thick, raised strokes, are all used to amplify the emotional state I’m after in the work.

11: In your collection Private Places, you were inspired by your experience in a gated community in Hawai’i. You also incorporate a lot of those ‘gates’ or ‘fences’ in your pieces. Is there some symbolism behind this choice of focus?

TF: Yes, for sure. I arrived on the big island just after Trump was elected.

I was despondent about the election but elated about going to Hawai’I for my first time. When I discovered we were staying in a gated community, surrounded by an alien landscape of dried black lava fields, but constructed to fulfill the cultural fantasy we all have of a tropical paradise, I was shocked.

Entering through the gate into this false world of affluence and privilege triggered something in me. Trump’s wall, and all walls around the world, that keep one group “safe” from the other, crystallized into an idea. The idea was the inverse of the project I’d been focused on up until that point, work dealing with communes or utopian experiments of the 60’s–80’s. Suddenly I saw this constructed environment in Hawai’i as its own utopian experiment, albeit a very conventional one. And I recalled something I’d read in the book Eden Within Eden: Oregon’s Utopian Heritage, in which Carolyn Merchant, an eco-feminist, posits that “today’s incarnations of Eden are the suburb, the mall, the clone, the World Wide Web”, the shopping mall (the ‘new main street’).

The gated community and the internet are the latest visions of a reinvented Eden.”

TOP:

Perfection Awaits You, 2018, Oil on acrylic dyed canvas, 47.5” x 48” OUTSIDE COVER:

Inside, the good life, 2018, Oil and spray paint on acrylic dyed canvas over board, 48” x 60” BOTTOM:

Hali’l Kai, 2018, Oil and spray paint on acrylic dyed canvas over board, 15” x 24”

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community • visual arts

Continued 11: When creating new pieces does the conceptualization of the individual piece come first or are the pieces inspired by the themes for a “collection”?

TF: The pieces are inspired by the overall project, or theme as you called it. I don’t have each painting worked-out in my mind in advance. I begin doing visual research which may take the form of interviews, taking pictures, or finding images on the internet. I do drawings from collected images to work out the compositions that are often composites from multiple sources. It’s empowering knowing that my work can go in any number of directions within the limited constraints I create for each project I’m working on.

11: Are you working on any new pieces? Where can we find some of your work?

TF: Currently I’m still making works within my Private Places series. I’m also working on a painterly-installation that will be up for the month of February in the PDX Window Project, which is part of PDX Contemporary’s 2019 program.

Skamania, 2018, Oil and spray paint on acrylic dyed canvas, 48” x 48”

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“Inside, the good life” by Tia Factor— see Visual Arts on page 28 for more

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