Tag: Portland

“Sea of Japan”  is the first new material from Nick Jaina since 2013’s Primary Perception. The single, and it’s b-side, “Delta of Venus” were recorded during the same time period, and they would feel right at home on the album.

“Sea of Japan” was inspired by a hypothesis regarding the Heikegani crab and fisherman in the Sea of Japan who may have been unwittingly responsible for a selective evolution in the development of the species. The theory, as presented by Julian Huxley and propagated by Carl Sagan, suggests that any time a crab was caught whose face resembled a Samurai Warrior, the fisherman would throw it back. Eventually, the crabs would have (artificially) selected for the trait, which would come to define the species. Nick Jaina takes the artistic liberty of connecting this to a school trip to the Sea of Japan at age 12 when he was stung by a jellyfish.

“Delta of Venus” was a $500 commission for a friend who was trying to win back a lost love, which Nick chose to set at a cafe in Davis, CA, where they lived. When the friend was visiting Portland with the girl, he called Nick and asked if he would stand nonchalantly in the doorway of Mississippi Records and “spontaneously” play the song as they walked past.  He did, and they listened. The awkward silence that followed was nearly unbearable. In the end, the friend didn’t get the girl back. No word on whether he considered this to be a good investment.

Click here to stream the new tracks!

The debut album from Catherine Feeny and Chris Johnedis is finally here!  Early reviews and premiers from sites including Magnet Magazine, The Bluegrass Situation, American Standard Time, Glide Magazine and The Examiner have already begun to build a wave of excitement. It’s “a strange and powerful sound” (American Standard Time), “infectiously listenable, and like nothing you’ve heard before” (Glide Magazine).

Pick up your lp/cd/digital copy right here

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7HoFKBmmms[/youtube]

Anna Tivel will hit the road this month, supporting Portland-based Hip Hatchet on their Northwest record release tour.  Check out the dates below!

April 17 – Secret Society, Portland OR – 8:30pm, $8
April 18 – The Green Frog, Bellingham WA – 7pm, $5
April 19 – Sunset Tavern, Seattle WA – 8pm, $8
April 22,23 – Adrift Inn, Long Beach WA – 8pm
April 24 – Voodoo Room, Astoria WA
April 25 – House Show, Eugene WA
April 26 – Oberon’s Tavern, Ashland OR – 9pm, Donation
April 27 – House Show, Reno NV
April 28 – Scandinavia, Emeryville CA
April 29 – Pine Street Saloon, Paso Robles CA

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IQAyg4j2qs&list=PL-yhFmAsEYVBtILoAvxHi2ShcDZdEpO12[/youtube]

Acclaimed songwriter Catherine Feeny met jazz drummer Chris Johnedis after recording her rebellious fourth solo album. She had just come back from the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York, and he was returning from 2 years of working and studying in Thailand. The two hit it off, and Johnedis helped translate the varied rhythms of “America” — which ran the gamut between vintage drum machine sounds and captured field recordings — into a live show setting.

Two years later, working with producers Sebastian Rogers (Floetry) and Sheldon Gomberg (Ben Harper, Ricki Lee Jones), in a live four-day session in Silverlake, CA the two create a universe of sound that is sparse and propulsive, yet playful, for their eponymous debut as a duo. Producers Rogers and Gomberg and mixing engineer Tony Lash (Elliot Smith, Feist) leverage Feeny’s quietly arresting vocals and classic pop songwriting against Johnedis’s R&B inflected polyryhthms, masterfully maximizing their tools — ukulele, voice, guitar and drums.

Catherine Feeny remains best known for 2005′s “Hurricane Glass. The song “Mr. Blue” was picked up by KCRW in LA, and later featured in “Running with Scissors,” “The O.C.,” and “Miss Conception.”  The attention won by “Hurricane Glass” resulted in the album being picked up by EMI Records.

Audiences across the US and Europe have been mesmerized by the spell Feeny and Johnedis cast on stage. Feeny has played internationally as a headline act and in support of: Wilco, Belle and Sebastian, Suzanne Vega, John Prine, The Indigo Girls, Kelly Jones (Stereophonics) and Martha Wainwright.

Catherine Feeny and Christopher Johnedis’ eponymous full-length cd/lp will be released on Fluff and Gravy Records on 4/21/15, preceded by a 4 song digital ep, featuring the  single “Harm” on 2/17/15.

Find Catherine Feeny and Chris Johnedis here http://www.catherinefeenyandchrisjohnedis.com/

Pre-order the ep and full-length here http://www.fluffandgravy.com/store

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhJ15yHtAO4[/youtube]

Drunken Prayer continues their video onslaught for House of Morgan, with their most recent visual home-made offering for the tracks Things I Shud’v Done/Things I Should Have Done. This is Drunken Prayer at their finest – diy, balls to the wall punk blues, and slide guitar that feels like it’s about to rip the skin off of your forehead.

Enjoy!

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[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIZeIfG1NsU&list=UUJsk1Z7gf3A0bUoF0HliuhQ[/youtube]

Wishing Kevin Lee Florence safe travels as he takes the show on a West Coast roadtrip this week. Check out this video of Kevin playing “Goodbye, Goodbye” in a van, from his debut lop, Given, with guitarist Danny Donnelly.

And be sure to check out the upcoming LA and San Francisco shows, where Kevin will be accompanied by Evan Way of Parson Red Heads!

11/19 – Sliver Lake Lounge – Los Angeles
11/20 – Hotel Utah (with Hook and Anchor!) – San Francisco

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[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEs2SD4NGSI[/youtube]

On January 20, 2015, Fluff and Gravy Records will be releasing an expanded 2x LP version of Dogs in the Daylight.  The doubel lp set will include 4 exclusive bonus tracks in addition to the 15 tracks that make up the original cd pressing.  The pre-order link can be found here, and will ship in mid-January.

Praise for Dogs in the Daylight

“Dogs in the Daylight is as close to a masterpiece as a folk album by an emerging singer-songwriter can get” – NoDepression

“It’ll give you shivers” – The Bluegrass Situation

“It’s tough to pinpoint exactly what it is that sets certain singer/songwriters apart from other singer/songwriters, other than the thoroughness with which their songs turn your guts inside out. And by that measure, Martin is way ahead of the pack” – Portland Mercury

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19xi1g08NKU[/youtube]

Did you miss Hillstomp’s whirlwind set at the inaugural Fluff and Gravy Music Festival? Well, you’re in luck because they will be playing all over the Pacific Northwest from now through December.

The band has spent the better part of the last decade building a name for themselves among the US and European festival and club circuits, garnering a reputation for their raucous live sets and their ability to work an audience into a fervor. They have toured with such legends as The Devil Makes Three and The Reverend Horton Heat. The new record, Portland, Ore, (April 2014) is their first offering since 2010’s Darker The Night and represents a natural progression for the band with plenty of their trademark high-octane raw blues, mixed in this time with some genuinely tender moments and ballads.

Here’s where they’ll be…

Upcoming Tour Dates

10/05/14 – Fall fest – Bend, OR
10/09/14 – Bartetts – Spokane, WA
10/10/14 – Top Hat – Missoula, MT
10/11/14 – Filling Station – Bozeman, MT
10/18/14 – Umpqua Watersheds Brewfest – Roseburg, OR
11/06/14 – Ten Depot Street – LaGrande, OR
11/07/14 – Neurolux – Boise, ID
11/08/14 – John’s Alley – Moscow, ID
11/14/14 – Wild Buffalo, Bellingham, WA
11/15/14 – Rhythm & Rye – Olympia, WA
11/28/14 – Rays Golden Lion – Richland, WA
12/12/14 – Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR
12/13/14 – Conor Byrne – Seattle, WA

The record, Portland, Ore, is available on LP/CD/FLAC/mp3, and can be ordered here.

Portland’s alt-blues/stomp outfit, Hillstomp, will spend June and July touring the West Coast, in support of their latest record, Portland, Ore.

The band has spent the better part of the last decade building a name for themselves among the US and European festival and club circuits, garnering a reputation for their raucous live sets and their ability to work an audience into a fervor. They have toured with such legends as The Devil Makes Three and The Reverend Horton Heat. The new record, Portland, Ore, is their first offering since 2010’s Darker The Night and represents a natural progression for the band with plenty of their trademark high-octane raw blues, mixed in this time with some genuinely tender moments and ballads.

Catch them live, this summer!

Upcoming Tour Dates

6/5 – Johnny B’s, Medford, Ore
6/6 – The Independent, San Francisco, CA
6/7 – The Crepe Place, Santa Cruz, CA
6/8 – Lagunitas, Sebastopol, CA
6/10 – The Mint, Los Angeles, CA
6/11 – DiPiazza, Long Beach. CA
6/12 – Winston’s, San Diego, CA
6/13 – Harlow’s, Sacramento, CA
6/14 – The Crepe Place, Santa Cruz, CA
7/3 – Emerald of Siam, Richland, WA
7/4 – Corbett Funfest, Corbett, WA
7/5 – Waterfront Blues Festival, Portland, OR
7/16 – Music In The Park, Monmouth, OR
7/18-20 – Wildwood Music Festival, Willamina, OR
7/23 – Downtown Sounds, Bellingham, WA
7/24 – River City Saloon, Hood River, OR

The record, available on CD and LP, and can be ordered here.

Hillstomp will be playing a string of Spring shows in support of their upcoming 4/15 release, Portland, Ore. The record finds the duo refining their craft and expanding their repertoire on tracks that range from moody folk ballads to the raging stomp they are best known for.

Here is a sneak peak at Don’t Come Down

Upcoming Tour Dates

3/14-15 – Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, Ore
3/21 – The Royal, Olympia, WA
3/22 – Ray’s Golden Lion, Richmond, WA
3/28 – The Nectar, Seattle, WA
3/29 – Wild Buffalo, Bellinghman, WA
4/10 – Live From The Divide, Bozeman, MT
4/11 – The Filling Station, Bozeman, MT
4/12 – The Top Hat, Missoula, MT
4/18 – Bombs Away Cafe, Corvallis, OR
4/19 – Pak-It, Bend, OR
4/24-5 – Sam Bond’s Garage, Eugene, OR
4/26 – River City Saloon, Hood River, OR
5/2 – French Broad River Fest, Hot Springs, NC
5/17 – Bar Deluxe, Salt Lake City, UT

The record will be available on CD and LP, and can be pre-ordered here.