SOU’WESTER EVENTS!
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BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT plus Floating Room & Gillian Frances
MOTHER OF MY CHILDREN
“Having this identity—radical indigenous queer feminist—keeps me going. My music and my identity come from the same foundation of being a Native woman.”
Katherine Paul is Black Belt Eagle Scout, and after releasing an EP in 2014 Paul has wrapped up the band’s first full-length. Recorded in the middle of winter near her hometown in Northwest Washington, the landscape’s eerie beauty and Paul’s
connection to it are palpable on Mother of My Children. Stemming from this place, the album traces the full spectrum of confronting buried feelings and the loss of what life was supposed to look like.
Growing up on a small Indian reservation, Paul’s family was focused on native drumming, singing, and arts. “Native American music is the foundation for all of my music,” Paul explains. With the support of her family and a handful of bootleg Hole and Nirvana VHS tapes, Paul taught herself how to play guitar. In 2007, Paul moved to Portland, OR, to attend school and get involved with the Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for
Girls. Paul has switched between guitar and drums in an assortment of projects over the last decade, citing Forest Park as a particularly strong influence on how her songwriting has grown. “It was my introduction to post-rock,” Paul recalls, “From
there, I was able to develop my own sound and style more.”
On Mother of My Children, Black Belt Eagle Scout tenderly blends post-rock with Paul’s earlier grunge influences and later, more confessional Pacific Northwest artists like Ô Paon and Mirah. The album begins with the singles “Soft Stud” and
“Indians Never Die”, and on the latter, Paul’s message is clear: “It’s a call out to colonizers and those who don’t respect the Earth; they don’t care about the water, they don’t care about how they are destroying what is around them. Indigenous
people are the protectors of this land, and others need to wake up and get on the same page.” The songs weave together to capture both the enduring and fleeting experiences of loss, frustration, and dreaming. The structures are traditional, but the
lyrics don’t adhere to any format other than what feels right in the moment. “I don’t play music to write songs,” Paul explains, “I play music to process feelings, and sometimes what comes out of that is a song.” Paired with Paul’s clear and measured
voice, each song leaves the listener feeling as if they were there when the song was written, the immediate, candid emotion tangible. Mother of My Children is a life chapter gently preserved, and the access listeners have to such vulnerability feels special and generous. We are left wanting more, and
all signs point to Black Belt Eagle Scout just getting started. The album is out on Good Cheer Records in August 2017.
—Alex Hebler
https://blackbelteaglescout.bandcamp.co
Lindsay Clark finds balance between traditional folk, english folk, country, and her own version of experimental folk that seems to emanate from the depths of her soul. Exquisite and pitch perfect, her music speaks of quiet revelation, with a background of her own multi-tracked vocal arrangements. With influences ranging from the Beach Boys, Joni Mitchell, Elizabeth Cotton, appalachian folk, her classical upbringing, and her father’s record collection, she blends many worlds into a uniquely warm sound with lyrics indicative of a deep and thoughtful soul. She has carved out a unique and vibrant place as an artist with a penchant for rich harmony and a style of self-taught fingerpicking influenced by Nick Drake, John Fahey, and others.
Originally from the small gold rush town of Nevada City, CA, she now resides in Portland, OR. Her sound has been described as “folk with angelic vocals washing over smooth edges” (1859 Magazine). She has shared the stage with musicians such as Casey Dienel (White Hinterland), Nat Baldwin (Dirty Projectors), Ryan Francesconi (Joanna Newsom), Laura Gibson, Alela Diane, and The Lumineers. Her most recent record “Begin” was self-released in 2014; her forthcoming full length record “Crystalline” was engineered and co-produced this year with San Francisco’s Jeremy Harris (guitar/vocals – Vetiver), with plans to be released in September 2018 via Oscarson.
photo by Myles Katherine
LDYCP is a six piece melodic rock/avant chamber pop project, highlighted by “angelic-yet-angular” three part vocal arrangements. Referenced as sirens of the sea on more than one occasion, LDYCP propels through melodized inner dialogues and external discoveries like a cosmic river of sound, holding a construed sense of where the ideas begin and end and begin again.
Based in Bloomington IN, as well as Portland OR.
“Stunningly angelic yet angular triple vocal arrangements dominate this chamber folk / post-rock hybrid. But piano sneaks in as a surprisingly weighty rhythmic friend to avant-garde guitar textures. This is a young band in their most protean and creative time- and we are stoked about it!” -Marmoset Music
“Sherman’s vocals float over a stunning bed of instrumentation that brings the piece to life. Her haunting lyricism echoes throughout as it swirls around the keys that are gently, but prominently placed.” – Paste Magazine
“Ethereal vocals, replete with reverb to make you feel like you’re floating on a cloud amidst the direct – and welcome – contrast of heavy electric guitar. It’s upbeat, and there are certain aspects that really drive home for several different genres.” – Impose Magazine
West Valley Shakers’ broad appeal lies in the refreshing, relatable, and exquisitely crafted songs that touch the vulnerable truth in each of us, and yet somehow, don’t take themselves too seriously.Combining the animalistic passion of Jimi Hendrix, the simplistic purity of The White Stripes, and the truth and timelessness of the old folk singers, West Valley Shakers create a live show that gets folks up and dancing. While catchy melodic and musical hooks combined with Delta blues-style repetition and the occasional blistering guitar work surprises and delights fans from all backgrounds.
Guitarist/songwriter, Brent McLain met drummer/
West Valley Shakers are currently recording their new full length album in their home studio (nicknamed Electric Babyland). They will be hitting the road promoting their album all over the Northwest in the Spring and Summer of 2018 in festivals and venues and homes near you!
Dreamspook’s colorful and groovy first album ‘King In The Folly Keep’ was released then quickly lost beneath a sea of failed expectations and existential grief in the summer of 2017. So, tired of attempting to ‘make it’, the goal now is to subvert the expectations of himself and of the industry that is. Reinvigorated by the ever unfolding mystery of creation, and intending to mirror it, the project will continue on, concerning itself with exploration and beauty. ‘There’s only to become’, he sings in a song that may never be released, and what would it matter? If one person hears and finds themselves in the wonder of becoming, fractal reasoning would have us believe that real growth and change spirals out from the tiniest things.
When you hear the duo Heart Hunters harmonize, you might guess that Brianna Blackbird and Drew de Man were lovers. And you’d be right. Bri’s voice solos gorgeously and blends sweetly while she plays upright bass or guitar. If Drew’s voice has something twangy about it, he comes by it naturally, having grown up in the South. They blend in richly hued harmony, wrapping themselves around songs of love and loss, spiritual yearning and social justice. These are potent tunes – picked out on old guitars and upright bass, doused with pedal steel, sparkling with harmony. They’ve opened for Birds of Chicago, Gaelynn Lea and Richard Buckner.
Brianna and Drew met while studying music therapy in Portland, Oregon. They soon began writing songs together and recording, released a couple of EPs and later, their first full-length CD in 2015, all under the name “Pretend Sweethearts.” The duo played cafes, bars, and clubs all along the West Coast and also brought their music to homeless shelters, youth detention centers, prisons and rehab facilities.
As they were falling in love, Bri and Drew lived an adventurous life on the road–sleeping on moonlit beaches, in hidden caves, shitty hotels and under ancient redwoods. Their wanderlust – and their need to find affordable housing – led them deep into South America and finally to a mountainside in Bolivia. Bri and Drew immersed themselves in songwriting and Andean culture and had their son there. Their two kids travel with Heart Hunters, touring the US and Europe.
Growing up in Georgia, Drew’s soundtrack was country, blues, string band and southern rock, but he also went to lots of Grateful Dead shows, and never shied away from punk rock. Drew’s father is a poet with a penchant for quoting ancient mystical texts around the campfire. In this case, the apple fell not far from the tree. At age ten, Drew was given his first guitar and has never stopped playing. He founded his first band, No River City, in 2001 and spent the next several years making records, touring the country and sharing stages with such artists as Iron & Wine, Calexico and Alejandro Escobedo. On the west coast, he spent some years playing in Fast Rattler with Brendan Phillips, son of the late U. Utah Phillips, to whom the band pays tribute.
Brianna Blackbird was raised in Oregon and spent many a rainy day getting lost in cassettes of Celtic folk. The daughter of a music teacher, she was raised on classic rock and Beethoven, and sang in several choirs and studying various vocal techniques, piano and guitar. Bri studied performance and social activism at Naropa College in Boulder, Colorado before moving to Brooklyn, where she began songwriting in earnest. Her songs are political, spiritual and often pretty dark, borrowing equally from Celtic, 90’s alternative and songwriters like Kate Wolf, Patty Griffin and Neil Young. She picked up the upright after learning some bass basics from Joe Stevens of Coyote Grace.
Heart Hunters is currently based in Atlanta, Georgia. They teach music, work on houses, try to show up for marches, do session work and somehow manage to raise two awesome kids. Their new record, produced by Peter Case, is to be released in 2018. They’ll pack the babies among the guitars, smudge the van and hit the road.
https://hearthunters.love/home
This event is free and open to the public
Born on the gulf coast of Mississippi into a family of Dixieland jazz musicians, it came as no surprise to many that Matthew Fountain made his way back to music after an extended absence. After picking up a guitar at age 9 and playing in metal bands through his early teens, Fountain spent his twenties instead focused on screenwriting before making the move out west in 2008 to reconnect with his musical roots and start a band in Portland, OR.
http://www.matthewfountain.com
Ian Williams’ and Katie Mosehauer’s meticulous songwriting and production make up the centrifuge around which Glass Heart String Choir’s music spins.
The roles have been established over ten years of collaboration: Ian writes the lyrics, assembling songs into rawbone skeletons. He sends them to Katie, who adds flavor and layering. The song bounces back and forth, back and forth: Ian, the messenger, Katie the interpreter. Eventually, all the pieces are in place. Having built their own studio four years ago in hopes of creating a space where they could freely experiment with technique and sound layering, The Thoughts are able to take their time engineering and mixing, capturing every feature flawlessly.
New EP Light – engineered to perfection – deals in many ways with insecurity. Threaded primarily around uncertainty, anxiety, and the feelings of inability that come alongside not being able to capture beauty in a way that does it justice, The Thoughts’ nonetheless gorgeous EP is lush and layered, playing with surging vocals over baroque musical sheets, weaving together intricate stories that express leveling doubt. Pieced together meticulously by two classically trained composers, it’s a testament to the band’s sensitivity and work ethic: a tonal masterpiece that grounds listeners in reality as it flies them away with wonderment.
This event is free and open to the public.
Talia Keys is a genre crossing multi-instrumental “musical powerhouse” bringing you her brand of Soul-Funk-Rock n’ Roll, with unique vocal stylings and a storytelling flow.
Sourcing energies largely compared to the bluesy rawness of Janis Joplin and the fire of Jimi Hendrix. Synergizing that old soul vibe with new school sounds, best described by Katie Bain as “blistering.” Having been “struck by her talent, stage presence and refreshing candor.” – Insomniac: 2014 Best of Electric Forest.
This event is free and open to the public.
http://www.taliakeys.com/solo.html
Dustin Hamman is the front man for Run On Sentence. His musical tastes span many genres but have always been rooted in American folk music. He had an early fascination with American Indian singing and early punk rock but has recently been dabbling in marriages of a variety of genres including soul, psychedelic country and noise/ambient. Dustin has toured the United States and Western Europe extensively and continues to surprise audiences with his diversity as a performer.
This event is free and open to the public.